New Years Wishes and an Announcement

Photo by Nicolas Taillard

I am starting off the year with the news that as of today the Art Nudes blog will no longer be updated regularly. After so many years I can no longer devote 2 or 3 hours every weekend to blogging. Plain and simply, what should be a joy has begun to feel like work and I am tired.

I was determined that this would be my big farewell, but the idea of simply turning off the lights and walking away on so many year's worth of work and having the Google servers erase the blog for inactivity was too much to bear. More importantly, losing the opportunity to communicate with so many great artists is a blessing I can't simply toss away. So what is the answer? For now, it is taking an extended break of a month or two. After that, posts will go up when I find art or information that really inspires me. There will be less posts advising about current exhibits, new books, etc., fewer repeats of old favourites and the work that gets posted will be the best of the best.

It was nine(!) years and nearly 3000 posts ago that I started this blog as an experiment in sharing my bookmarks. Little did I know what it would eventually become. The site has received literally millions of visitors. I've been interviewed for a nationally published magazine and for several different art websites. I've been humbled by very generous gifts of original photographic art and books. I've received emails from hundreds of photographers requesting to be featured and hundreds more expressing thanks for the exposure this blog has given them. Most importantly though, I've had the pleasure of forming friendships both real and "virtual" with dozens of the artists whose work I admire.

I couldn't have carried on this long without the support of several dedicated readers who regularly scoured the web and kindly submitted links for me to post. Some burned bright and faded, others are still going strong, but I am grateful to them all. With that in mind, I'd like to extend a special thanks to the following people.

Eric Kellerman
Michel Nahabedian
Nicolas Taillard
Chris Triance-Martin
Raymond Delhaye
Mariana Pinheiro
Brooks Ayola

Furthermore, I'd like to thank all you photographers that submitted your websites and online portfolios to me. I sincerely hope you continue to do so although posts will be much less frequent. It is my greatest pride that this blog is visited regularly by so many talented artists.

Thank you also to all my readers. Knowing that there were thousands of people a day visiting the site was an awesome responsibility, but one I was proud of.

Finally, I'd like to thank Jean Jacques Andre for sparking my interest in figure photography in the first place. Merci beaucoup JJ!

I sincerely hope my efforts have brought only good publicity and increased exposure to the artists featured here, and to fine art nude photography in general.

P.S. Please see the comments section below for a special message from long time contributor Eric Kellerman that he's asked me to post for him.

Dave Levingston

Long time friend of this blog, and figure photography stalwart, Dave Levingston wrote in to let us know he's relocated his blog to a new domain.

He's also got his annual calendar sale on right now, this year he's got no less that three different ones. The link to his online store is right at the top of his blog. Check it out!

Dave Levingston

Ray Bidegain

SALE NOW OVER - CATCH IT NEXT YEAR

WOW! American platinum and alt-process photographer Ray Bidegain wrote in to let me know that to celebrate his birthday for one day only all the work on his site will be priced to match his age. This year that's 52.

That's right, only for today September 29, it $52 for anything in Ray's extensive portfolio of gorgeous platinum prints. (Shipping and matting not included.)

I'm buying more than one.

Ray Bidegain Studio fine art Photographs in platinum metals

Eric Kellerman

A big congratulations to my friend Eric Kellerman on his latest publication entitled, The Box: A Typology of Poses in a Confined Space. The book will be released soon by German publisher edition GALERIE VEVAIS.

Visit Eric's site for a selection of images from the book.

Eric Kellerman Photography - Gallery The Box

NUDE Magazine in jeopardy

Photo by Carrie Leigh

I was saddened to hear this week that due to the closing of the Borders chain of bookstores, the good folks at Carrie Leigh's NUDE magazine have lost their major real world distribution source. Their website states that they are in the process of exploring their options.

Here's wishing this fine publication the best for their reinvention. Please support the people that support photographers like those I feature here.

Here's their blog post on the subject.

The Official Blog of Carrie Leigh's NUDE

Dave Levingston - L'Allure des Mots

Congratulations to photographer and longtime reader of this blog, Dave Levingston, for his feature interview is the excellent online magazine, L'Allure des Mots.

Dave's interview starts at page 62, but there's lots of other great photography and written content in the magazine too.

La Allure des Mots || Poetry || Fiction || Art || Fashion

Carrie Leigh's NUDE

The good folks over at Carrie Leigh's NUDE magazine wrote to let me know they're selling off their back catalogue. If you're a collector or a completist, here's your chance.

Here's Carrie's blog post explaining the situation.

The Official Blog of Carrie Leigh's NUDE: An Announcement from Carrie Leigh

Here's the direct link to their shop.

FYI, I receive no promotional consideration from this magazine. I just appreciate the good work they do getting fine art nude photography into print.

A Special Thanks

I'm extremely fortunate to have many of the readers of this blog submit sites for possible posting. I'm very grateful for each and everyone of you. Some only submit one or two links, others like my friends Eric Kellerman, JJ Andre and Chris Triance-Martin have been sending links in on and off for ages.

However, today I want to publicly thank two of the real unsung heroes of Art Nudes. I don't always credit the links they submit because there are so many, but between the two of them, Nicolas Taillard and Michel Nahabedian have probably submitted over 100 links to some truly amazing photography. Without their contributions, my life would be much harder and there's a good chance this blog wouldn't still be here.

So, to you two I say:

Nicolas Taillard - Merci beaucoup!

Michel Nahabedian - Vielen dank!

Rayzor Bachand

Art Nudes reader Rayzor Bachand wrote in to share Project REDSOKS his on-going (16 years so far) project for AIDS awareness & prevention.

Project REDSOKS

Dave Rudin

Long time friend of this blog, Dave Rudin recently migrated his blog "Figures of Grace" over to the Wordpress platform. So for those of you looking to follow his ongoing adventures, update your bookmarks!

Figures of Grace | The weblog of fine art photographer Dave Rudin

Joe Edelman on Beauty Lighting

Here's a couple interesting and simple to implement lighting tutorials for beauty lighting techniques by photographer Joe Edelman. Worth your time if you're looking to add a few things to your bag of tricks.

Beauty Lighting... Not the textbook version!

Don't miss the second in the series as well.

Beauty Lighting Part II… One Light Behind Your Subject

New Years Wishes and an Announcement

I am starting off the year with the news that as of today the Art Nudes blog will no longer be updated regularly.   After so many years I can no longer devote 2 or 3 hours every weekend to blogging.  Plain and simply, what should be a joy has begun to feel like work and I am tired.  

I was determined that this would be my big farewell, but the idea of simply turning off the lights and walking away on so many year's worth of work and having the Google servers erase the blog for inactivity was too much to bear.  More importantly, losing the opportunity to communicate with so many great artists is a blessing I can't simply toss away.  So what is the answer?  For now, it is taking an extended break of a month or two.  After that, posts will go up when I find art or information that really inspires me.  There will be less posts advising about current exhibits, new books, etc., fewer repeats of old favourites and the work that gets posted will be the best of the best.

It was nine(!) years and nearly 3000 posts ago that I started this blog as an experiment in sharing my bookmarks. Little did I know what it would eventually become. The site has received literally millions of visitors. I've been interviewed for a nationally published magazine and for several different art websites. I've been humbled by very generous gifts of original photographic art and books. I've received emails from hundreds of photographers requesting to be featured and hundreds more expressing thanks for the exposure this blog has given them. Most importantly though, I've had the pleasure of forming friendships both real and "virtual" with dozens of the artists whose work I admire.

I couldn't have carried on this long without the support of several dedicated readers who regularly scoured the web and kindly submitted links for me to post. Some burned bright and faded, others are still going strong, but I am grateful to them all. With that in mind, I'd like to extend a special thanks to the following people.

Eric Kellerman
Michel Nahabedian
Nicolas Taillard
Chris Triance-Martin 
Raymond Delhaye
Mariana Pinheiro
Brooks Ayola

Furthermore, I'd like to thank all you photographers that submitted your websites and online portfolios to me. I sincerely hope you continue to do so although posts will be much less frequent.  It is my greatest pride that this blog is visited regularly by so many talented artists.

Thank you also to all my readers. Knowing that there were thousands of people a day visiting the site was an awesome responsibility, but one I was proud of.

Finally, I'd like to thank Jean Jacques Andre for sparking my interest in figure photography in the first place. Merci beaucoup JJ!

I sincerely hope my efforts have brought only good publicity and increased exposure to the artists featured here, and to fine art nude photography in general.

Until we meet again, all the best for 2012!

P.S.  Please see the comments section below for a special message from long time contributor Eric Kellerman that he's asked me to post for him.
 
P.P.S.  It's somehow fitting that blogger is acting up right now and won't let me upload any photos including the very nice shot from Contributing Editor Nicolas Taillard that I was going to leave you with...I'll try to add the photo later.  All the more reason I need a break!  

Bill Ballard

Figure photographer and long time Art Nudes reader Bill Ballard has abandoned his old blog and started up a new one at Wordpress.

Check it out and update your book marks.

Bill Ballard Photography | A Weblog of Fine Art Photography

Holiday Break

Hello all,

I'm giving myself my annual present of two weeks off from blogging to focus on my eating, drinking and making merry.  I'll be back in January.  See you in 2011!

In the meantime, here's a special seasonal post for you all. Since this is the "season of giving", you may be interested in this list of secular charities. These organizations do great work without any proselytizing. I encourage you to support them.

UNICEF

Oxfam International

Doctors Without Borders

Kiva - Loans that change lives

The Nature Conservancy - Protecting Nature, Preserving Life

Amnesty International | Working to Protect Human Rights

New Edition of Nude Magazine

The fine folks over at Carrie Leigh's NUDE Magazine have started pre-ordering for the next edition of their quarterly publication. This issue has a feature article on a model many of us have had the chance to work with, the wonderful Candace Nirvana. (There's even a little quote from me in the article.)

Carrie Leigh's NUDE Magazine

Erographic Interviews: Chris Triance-Martin

My old friend Chris Triance-Martin just did an interview for Erographic. I've know Chris for more that 25 years and am delighted that his photography is taking off in such a big way.

Erographic: photography: Chris Triance-Martin

Server Issues

Dear Readers,

I've been getting repeated server error issues from Blogger.  This means I cannot upload images. I'm not sure what's going on, but obviously this puts a kink in my normal method of posting.

Therefore, rather than skip posting for the week, I present a special text only edition of the Art Nudes blog for today. Hopefully the server issues will be resolved soon.

This Week's Links

Absolutely stunning environmental nudes/installation art by Thomas Rucker:

Tomas Rucker

Terrific studio figure work by the Russian photographer identified as:

Studia18

Spanish Photographer, German Peraire has updated his website:

German Peraire

UK photographer Tobias Slater-Hunt started up a blog to introduce his latest work:

Tobias Slater-Hunt Blog

Photographer Peter Bruce wrote in to let us know about his new breast cancer charity book. A worthy cause indeed.

http://www.bforacure.com/

Here's the Sample Book

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

If you're a Lightroom user, you'll want to visit this terrifically informative and useful blog by photographer Matt Kloskowski.  It's full of great lessons and free presets for download.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

If you're a new user, of just want a quick hit of ten solid tips, you may be interested in this NY Times article.

Ten Photo-Editing Tips From a Pro - NYTimes.com

NUDE Magazine - Muse Search

Candace Nirvana by Michael Barnes

Every experienced photographer of the nude knows that to be a great model requires much, much more than a nice figure. A great model can elevate your work and inspire you. NUDE magazine is on the hunt for your suggestions of great models to celebrate in upcoming issues. I'm pleased to see that in the next issue, they are featuring the wonderful Candace Nirvana who I had the pleasure of shooting a couple months back.

If you're interested in nominating a model to be featured, here's what they say and a link to offer your suggestions:

Each issue of NUDE features a well known established model who has worked with a variety of photographers. With so many amazing models to choose from, we are turning to our audience for suggestions as to who you want to see on the pages of NUDE. Please send your suggestion as to who should join should join such greats as Charlotta Champagne, Veronika Kotlajic, Sarah Ellis, Datura Noir, and in our next issue, Candace Nirvana.

NUDE Magazine - Muse Search

The Female Nude in Western Art

The more scholarly amongst you may be interested in this new book by Art Nudes reader and Syracuse University sociologist Allan Mazur, which traces the changing ideals of the female body in art history.

The Female Nude in Western Art: A Biosocial Interpretation