Just finished the first indoor shoot for the book.  I only plan on doing a few indoor shots for the project.  Yuduvudu (Rachel) drove down to the studio from Ft. Collins for the shoot.  We did a couple of looks for the book and then experimented a little.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from the shoot.  Everything about the pose, look and lighting say "bad ass".  The confidence and comfort she shows in her own skin is impressive.  It made for a great shoot all around.

  Model Mayhem #1424397

        

I have been thinking about doing this book in various forms since the late 90's.  My inspiration came from a book I discovered by French photographer Marc Riviere titled up & down.  Basically he walked around Paris and asked women if they would mind letting him photograph their breasts.  The fact that he had the gall to try something like that is impressive enough.  The fact that he found enough willing participants to fill a book just amazed me. 

The U.S. and France aren't that far apart in today's world however; culturally we are worlds apart.   In the U.S. is someone where to try what Marc did in France most likely they would be arrested and charged as a sex offender.  This made me think about what was so wrong with the human body that it could never be shown.  Why was American society so different than France's?  There were many more questions that it raised.

I knew that I could never answer all of my questions in a single book.  At times I wasn't sure that I could answer any of the questions but I was sure that I could make people think and ask their own questions.  After 10 years of thinking about this I stated shooting my book Brazen & Bare. 

I never had any intention of copying Marc Riviere and approaching women on the street.  My intention is to show the human body as it is, natural.  Maybe as a society we can come to view nudity for what it is, our natural state, the way we came into the world.  We need to stop equating the naked body with sex and porn.

        

Wrapped up shoot #3 this week.  Once again I was fortunate to work with a wonderful model, Kelsie Leigh.  This shoot focused again on the Urban portion of the book.  We managed to get some great shots that will work well in the book.


Here is one of the pictures form our shoot.  The train passing in the background makes this shot interesting.  When I look at this picture nothing seems to be out of place, not even the nudity.  Unfortunately one of the most natural things in the picture, the human body, must be concealed and hidden because of how "man" views himself.

 
Kelsie Leigh Model Mayhem #659810

        

Just finished with the second shoot.  I was fortunate to have another wonderful model, Sara, to work with.  The temperature  was around 40 degrees with a steady wind.  Certainly not the most ideal conditions for an outdoor nude shoot bu we did manage to take a few pictures indoors where it was much warmer.




Sara Lynn K -  Model Mayhem #899059

        

Several people have expressed interested in modeling for the book so here is how you can too.  First and foremost this is a book exploring nudity so all models must be willing to pose nude.  Secondly you must be female.  Finally you must be where I am in order to shoot.  Most of the shoots will be in Denver and Colorado in general.  If you happen to be visiting Denver or nearby between now and September 2010 and would like to model, contact me.  I will be doing some shoots out of state.

I will be traveling from Denver to Northern NY during July 2010.  States that I will be traveling through and near major cities include KS, MO, IL, IN, OH, PA and NY.  Most likely I'll travel I-70 from Denver to Pittsburgh then north to Buffalo and East on I-90 to Syracuse.  If you are along that route and would like to model for the book contact me.  I will have some leeway in where I go and may take a different route on one leg of the trip.

You can contact me on Model Mayhem or by sending an email to marc {at} brazenandbare.com

        

Brazen & Bare : Transformation a book by Marc Hathaway

Tentative publication date November 2010.

The book takes the viewer on a photographic exploration of society, culture, beliefs and nature in relation to nudity.  If everyone is created and born nude why is nudity treated as shameful, disdainful and our natural bodies hidden?  Is what man has created and done better than nature?

The book is a journey from the disdainful view of nudity that man has created to it's natural beauty.  This blog is a behind the scenes view of the creation of the book.  A journey in it's own right.





Featuring Models:

Allison
Kelsie
Sara Lynn K
Yuduvudu

        

The first shoot went very well, thanks to the wonderful work by model Allison.  It's always a pleasure to work with someone that enjoys what they do and it's a bonus when they are very good at it.

The location was lower downtown Denver.  I was able to get some photos for the middle urban section of the book.


Model - Allison Model Mayhem #769938