#85 - Pose Nude For A Photo

As I've worked my way through my List of 100 Things To Do In One Year I've developed an interest in working with and for my local and global community, through volunteering opportunities, raising money for assorted charities.  It's quite thrilling to do a small thing collectively with a group of others, thus resulting in a bigger impact.  There are quite a few community focused groups who do great work and one that has come to my attention recently is The Butterfly Foundation.  TBF is dedicated to the support and treatment of Australians affected by eating disorders.

My mate Dario brought a fundraiser to my attention - a group photo shoot to be printed and sold with the proceeds donated to TBF.  But there's a twist.  It was to be a naked group photo shoot.  

The concept, similar to photographer Spencer Tunick, was to get as many people to lie down stark raving naked in the shape of a love heart and take some happy snaps.  Tunick takes some great shots using models of all shapes, sizes and race in a completely non-creepy artsy way, depicting the beauty in genetic diversity across the human race.  Fat ones, skinny ones, brown ones, white ones.. they're all there represented equally.


Now before you go making all sorts of assumptions about what kind of a person would agree to a naked photo shoot I will plea with you to hold off on any judgments.  Participating in a photo shoot wearing one's birthday suit is by no means necessarily amalgamated with anything unbecoming of a lady.  This was for a good cause remember and frankly it's worth experiencing at least once in a person's life.

My first thought upon arrival at the venue for this photo shoot was 'there are wangs everywhere'.  It's true, there was an awful lot of cock.  More than you could poke a stick at.  I was decidedly over dressed.  I was only one of a couple who remained fully clothed right up until the photo shoot.  It was only then that I dis-robed in favour of a sarong and then, right at the last possible moment it was my moment of truth.


Similar to Spencer Tunick's subjects there was a variety of people at our photo shoot.  All perfectly normal, imperfect yet beautiful-in-their-own-right, young and old men and women.  Personally - and surprisingly - I felt entirely at ease.  Sure, I caught a few people having a look, but then they would have caught me looking at them too.  Certainly not in a perverse way but in a way that you run your eyes over a person's outfit or hair or physique when you meet fully clothed.  It was no different.


It was the most resplendent, bright and glorious day to be outdoors.  The sun was warming our skin in the way that only Brisbane's September sun can and birds were tweeting chipper little melodies.  An hour or so later we'd formed about half a dozen varieties of our love heart shape.  Some lying face down on the outline of the heart, some face up.  One standing up, holding hands, another we were all lying in foetal position forming the heart shape on plush green grass.


There'll be no photographic evidence of this one at least not on my blog.  There was only about 30 people who participated in the photo shoot, me the only redhead and I'm afraid it'd be all too easy to spot me in the crowd. 

Reexamining yesterday's experience I can't really believe I did it. But then again I also can't pretend that it was a big deal in the end.  Just another thing I've done for the sake of doing and another charity I have supported whose work I truly admire.  If I had the opportunity to nude up again for another cause I'd consider it, depending on the circumstances of course.  But for now I think I'll put my birthday suit to the back of the wardrobe... at least for another year.