BLACK & WHITE ONLY: Nude Photos
Black & white photos have a beauty all their own. This is a place for posting and discussing black & white photos, also monotone sepia photographs as well as the aesthetics of portraying nudity inB & W.
- created by Leolucbx
Nudist Photos: Innocent, Subliminally Erotic or Just Plain Erotic?
Return to DiscussionsMost of us who enjoy B&W nude photography have a real affinity for Vintage nudist photos. I think there's a common consensus too, at least within the nudist community, that Vintage photos have a real "innocence" about them. I can't help but agree. Many are of groups of nudists engaged in some sort of activity: hiking, volleyball or whatever, even just clowning around. They're often shot from a distance and don't really show too much detail as far as genitalia. Though regarded as innocent by today's standards, there was controversy and legal action taken back when they first appeared. Most of us today are aware of the difference between simple nudity and pornography--but there is a vast gray area between the two. I sometimes wonder when a nude photo "crosses the Line", and wonder how fellow nudists respond to that paradox.
One theory I've come up with is that most vintage pics (at least the earliest ones), there is no facial definition, so they are carefree third person photos with no involvement by the viewer. Focus is on the ACTIVITY seen from the outside. At some point photos began to be taken at a closer range, showing one or more nude persons rather than mere nude activity. Subjects' faces became clearly visible, a naked person(s) was looking into the camera and, importantly, images were usually "posed". Thus, there was eye contact with the viewer (making him/her part of the depiction) and the posed photos called attention to the subject's nakedness, his/her body. Focus was on a NUDE BODY rather than activity, and EYE CONTACT pulled the viewer in, making him/her part of what was happening rather than being a mere distant observer. POSED photos tend to flaunt the subject's body, rather than the pastoral setting of vintage group photos. The fact that we enjoy nudity as outdoor recreation and also include nudity as part of sex indicates a very fine line between the two. Where does that line lie, and at what point is it crossed in nude photography?
Jan . 22 , 2019 . I think when Vintage B & W photos were taken , they were taken to show a common activity with people together . Photos of men and boys at the old YMCA swimming pool , or of nudists next to a stream with trees , or laying out at a beach naked . Those photos show an innocence in nudity because that was how you went . You were expected to be naked at those places , doing those activities . Nudity at YMCA while swimming ? Normal activity . Being naked at a beach or stream ? Normal . It was the way everyone swam back then . You slipped out of your clothes and into the water . Come out of the water and dry off , while still naked .
Today , we look at those photos as quaint , a by-gone era . Because we made it that way , especially here in the USA .
I came to nudity through the nude in art, both collecting and creating nude pictures and statuettes. I find the nude body very pleasing to the eye -aesthetically rather than sexually. So it is with the old masters from Michael Angelo onwards. Their creations are truly beautiful. Having said that I understand that the works were sponsored by patrons who did want something erotic. So there is overlap.
Quite often a scantily clothed body is more erotic than one which is fully nude. I remember thinking this on my very first visit to a nude beach, watching a previously nude lady put on a see-through dress (and nothing else) to leave the beach.
Now there are photographic exceptions where the genitals are featured. It is true that earlier photos did not show such detail, focussing on the activity, the surrounding landscape or the whole body. When I was young even the porn mags could not show genitals or pubic hair.