Naturist Photos
I have to say that I haven't entirely made up my mind about the necessity and effectiveness of using photos in personal-home-page naturist web sites.
- On the one hand, photos of people enjoying outdoor recreation and other everyday "boring" activities without clothing can help those unfamiliar with nudism appreciate what it's about. (I can also imagine someone responding sarcastically to a total lack of photos by saying, "You have photos of yourself in other places on your site with your clothes on, but no clothes-free ones here? I thought 'those parts' of the body weren't all that different or embarassing for you!")
- On the other hand, there are people traveling the net who seek out naturist photos primarily for prurient gratification, without taking them in the spirit in which they are intended. And, for that matter, one of the most-visited naturist sites on the net, and one I have a great deal of respect for, cheef.com, has practically no photos at all.
For me, nudism is not so much about seeing, it's about being. The wonderful feeling of the sun and the ocean breeze unhindered by clothing is hard to capture on film. Nor do I think that it's really necessary to use a lot of photos to somehow "prove" I'm a nudist. (Actually, I don't have all that many clothes-free photos of myself or my family, in large part because bringing a camera on beach trips is more trouble than it's worth, and again, it's being, not seeing!)
When I was designing this site with all of these issues in mind, it was my hope that the picture I chose for my banner graphics would be a good compromise all around: A friendly, unashamed representation of my involvement in clothes-free recreation, but also a bit on the conservative side so as to (hopefully) not scare off any newcomers!
In the future, I do want to take some of my own pictures of Sandy Hook to use on my Favorite Beaches and Resorts page, so who knows, I might put some more clothes-free personal snapshots here later on. Meanwhile, to show that I'm not particularly opposed to naturist pictures (as long as they're "honest" nudist photos and not thinly disguised pornography), here are some links to naturist sites which I think have especially appealing photos illustrating the clothes-free philosophy in practice:
- Photos of Freedom from the International Nudists Association. This entire overall site, including this sample photo page, is such an excellent nudist resource that I forgive them for putting many more of their photos in a "member-only" area. ("Not that there's anything wrong with that," as Jerry Seinfeld would say. But do remember in your surfing travels that many other sites that charge for photos are not exactly in line with the INA's philsophy of non-sexual clothes-free recreation!)
- Photo Gallery of the Rivendell Naturist Resort in the UK. Mostly pictures of the facilities of course, but some very nice people photos too.
- The Caspescha Family's Cutlass Bay Photo Album Nice people with nice all-over tans at a beautiful island resort in the Bahamas.
What's your opinion of nudist photographs on web sites like these? Helpful? Good idea or not? Would you like to see more photos here? Whatever your thoughts, put them in an email and let me know. Because this page is generating so many comments, I would like to quote your comments in my Guestbook area. If you prefer I not do so, please indicate in your message.
Last modified March 31, 2001.
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