Ariel is a very well-known model in the world of nudes. She has her own website and has appeared on almost every website that you can think of. However, she often collaborates with photographers who aren't that interested in the production of tasteful nudes. This time it's different.
It did come as a surprise when I read Stefan Soell's name on this gallery. Even more surprising was the fact that he created a lot of explicit images in this particular photo shoot. It's no secret that Stefan has recently been pressured to create more explicit nudes and he often complied by producing a couple of explicit pictures here and there, but this gallery was full of them. However, he still managed to create some beautiful and tasteful nudes that you can see here.
I certainly hope that Stefan will keep on producing tasteful nudes. I don't really understand why he yield to such pressure. He's the only FEMJOY photographer whose name appears on every image that he creates and his pictures has helped make FEMJOY what it is today. All I can do is hope that he won't abandon capturing beauty for anatomy-textbooks style pictures.
Anyway, I hope that you will enjoy this FEMJOY gallery of Ariel by Stefan Soell.
Books are one of the few sources of pleasure in life. Their ability to absorb and ignite one's imagination is unmatched by television and the Internet (that is unless you're reading books on your computer). That encompassing quality is unsurpassed by anything else.
Personally, what I like about good photography books, despite their relative lack of words, is the fact that they're tangible and are beautifully arranged. I can bookmark a page and keep coming to it over and over again, or I can flip through one of them in the morning when I am having my coffee for inspiration.
So, I decided to make a list of books that look tempting. This list is more of a wishlist than of a list of the books that I do have, but those are the books that I am very likely to buy right away. I hope that you do like this list.
If you do have a favorite book that I missed then please feel free to mention it. I will be glad to add it to my wishlist. :)
Beauty represents power. It represents freedom. Freedom from the influence of the society and its constant pressure for conformity and mediocrity. That's what makes beautiful women so threatening, they represent all the beautiful values of humanity. The values that, when discovered, helps us realize the beauty of life.
How often can we experience something great? Something that helps us know and realize our true potential, our own power, our own values, our own beauty? It takes courage to experience such a thing, to be enshrouded in its light. I think that's why beauty is so vilified by all those who worship mediocrity, who abhor individuality, and who hate freedom. It helps us break free from that cycle of slavery.
It is true that you become a slave to others when you mindlessly submit to their whims and rules. It is indeed dangerous when someone starts a rebellion by simply discovering her/his freedom and by showing everyone the superiority of having those unique human values, the values that we have learned to hate.
A simple smile showing the benevolence of it all is dangerous. Someone admiring that smile is even more dangerous. It is funny that a bold message need not be hidden in order to be invisible. Beauty has such a message, a message that many people just can't see.
Try to throw all that you've been told about nude women behind you for a second and take a simple look at a picture capturing an instance of beauty. That sort of empowering generosity is not evil, it's human. It's a true shame that we now consider ourselves evil.
Just think.
From one of the most exotic places on Earth comes a strong and a rare form of beauty, captured by a doctor who was captivated and determined to help show it to the world.
When I first heard about Joel Pelerin I was told that he comes from a place called the Reunion island, an overseas region of France that's to the east of Madagascar. A hidden Shangri-la in the middle of the Indian ocean.
He says that he wants to show the world the "metissage", or the mescigenetic - mixed ethnic - origins of most of those wonderful women of that Eden. The pulchritude that radiates from the models who collaborate with him is marvelous. One rarely comes across that sort of bravery and beauty from a place that's so close to Africa.
Honestly, I don't think that place or color matter that much. It's challenging the established rules which are designed to keep people from pursuing happiness through actions that do not inflict harm on others. Challenging every artificial barrier will mean that one will be more capable of coming up with unconventional ideas, those are the ideas that change the world. Change is something that we all desperately need. Those women are discovering their potential and helping others discover theirs, may their rekindled passion retain its vigor. This is what we truly need, new ideas.
There are a lot of things in the world that every one of us cherishes, it's one of the things that make us special. We have all those warm memories, all those moments, and all those ideas and beliefs that we hold. Beauty represents all of that for each of us, and that's why it's so special.
Anyone who is into wine tasting knows the value of a glass of fine wine, all the memories and smells that it carries; the sun that suddenly shines out of nowhere, the meadows, and the vineyards are some of the visions that some may have. I think that it is this fantastic nature of it that makes fine wine so expensive.
However, wine is material, beauty isn't, and that makes it much more powerful in my opinion. It's out there, and it is, more often than not, absolutely free. It is this non-inhibited nature of beauty that makes it so despised; that's why it is often considered a bohemian value in our world of pure order and classification. We strangle our own senses through that mundane system; an average person sees a nude picture and he or she will gasp and call it obscene, or will just dismiss it as a product of perversity, without even thinking about it, and he or she will feel satisfied for that quick judgment. It is this exact lack of connection with beauty that makes us often feel very powerless.
Yes, we will make it on the deadline, we will get that degree, but there's a lot of scarring along the way if you don't manage to rediscover your passion for beauty and your connection to it. That's what will make the journey enjoyable; unless you take an occasional rest, a dash along the most beautiful trail in the world will still leave you breathless.
Note: This is the first gallery from Michelle 7, it's one of those rare websites out there that offer premium fine art nudes. It has left a very good impression of me so far, but I am yet to fully explore all of the beauty that's there. There will probably be more to come from there.
If you're anything like me, then you probably have a treasured personal library containing a lot of books that are thought-provoking and that give you pleasure. I think that books are one of the basic necessities of life, as the Chinese saying goes “When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a book with the other”.
Well, this is not the original proverb, but I think that this version is just as beautiful, I will buy a lilly if I find a third penny. :)
But what if you can make that library more beautiful, to add something that will make you even more proud of it and that will help you through the those times during which you are not willing to do anything, or that will just help you relax after a long day at work or at university?
I think that this Body in Mind Book is the answer to that question. It's definitely something that will adorn your library and make it a bit more lively. It will also show those dear ones that have access to your libraries another aspect of your personality, which is that you can enjoy true beauty.
There are a lot of other websites that make their own books, Natural Beauties, the book of Domai, is an example, but I personally prefer this one to that of Domai at the moment for various reasons. I will buy the Domai book if I find a fourth penny, but for me the second penny is reserved for the Body in Mind Book. :)
I haven't featured a lot of drawings on Graceful Nudes before, but I am honored to make an exception to show you a small collection of outstanding drawings of Jacques Miller.
Drawings show the beauty the artist sees, just like photography, but in drawings the artist has more control on what she sees and what she draws. By inspecting the drawings of Jacques Miller one can really see his view of the world and his grasp of beauty. It takes a lot of practice and a developed aesthetical sense to produce such beautiful pieces.
It's not strange for a man who gave the world so much to give it much more, perfect beauty.
Enjoy!
I think that the thing that's making many miss the main point of tasteful nudes is the quick labelling that we're used to in real life. When viewing tasteful nudes your job isn't to label or to judge, your goal should be a profound enjoyment of beauty while transcending material thoughts or any distractions, i.e. it should be similar to meditation; approached with a clear open mind and a passion for the life forces and the discovery of truth, whatever that truth may be.
Let's imagine that you're at a park and that you encountered a magnificently beautiful rose, the rose's beauty stopped you from thinking about your worries, your fears, and the bombarding thoughts that are racing through your head. You no longer hear the barking of the dogs or the noise of the children, the rose absorbs your complete and absolute attention with its simple beauty.
What would you do if you're in that situation?
I liken those who suddenly have an urge to pick that flower and to deprive the world and itself from its selfless beauty as those who start having sexual fantasies about the models. Not that sexual fantasies are wrong, but sex is beauty that's shared, not beauty that's forcibly taken, not even in one's head.
Others may just look away and get back to their train of thoughts, continue being distracted and even regret "wasting" a few seconds contemplating the beauty of the rose. Those not only lose an opportunity to have a few rare moments of inner peace which may enhance their ordinary daily functions, but they also miss the point of life. Sometimes one needs to be a machine, but not giving the machine some rest will lead to quick erosion of its parts.
Also, There are those who will mindlessly point at the flower and start talking about its sexual function and the evolutionary benefit of flowers represented in their ability to attract certain species of insects that will aid in the pollination process and the reproduction of those plants. It's great knowing the function of something, but that function should lead to even more fascination, not total obsession. There's no point in pointing at nude female bodies and saying that those forms are the result of eons of sexual and natural selection without seeing the complete picture and appreciating what one sees, with an open mind and beautiful emotions.
Then there are those who ideally start inspecting every aspect of the flowers beauty, see how the lines and curves join together to form that picturesque view. They pay attention to the fine details that others miss in their hurry, they let themselves take what the rose is trying to give the world, which is simple beauty. Those benefit the most and rediscover themselves and life through the simple dedication of a few moments to unleash their pure human emotions and to get to know their true self without any artificial boundaries or limitations.
I think that we all can lead more satisfying lives if we take a few moments each day to enjoy life, in all its magnificence and beauty. Seeing beyond the material rose and aiming for the higher meanings that can direct us towards a better future and alleviate the stresses of our modern lives.
Experience beauty!
The first thing that attracted me to Patrick Jan Van Hove's works is the honesty of them. I am indeed very glad to having found a photographer who's brave enough to show the bodies of the models the way they really are, and by using normal model. There's no need to be lipophobic unless you're a blind follower of the media, and there's nothing to hate about striae unless you're a plastic surgeon.
Few are the ones who are daring enough to capture ordinary ladies and to bring mundane settings to life as he does. If you take a look at his models you will notice that they don't have the "perfect body", yet they are absolutely beautiful. It's just a testimony that beauty can be found everywhere, not in a fancy studio and a model whose bloodstream is full of glucagon.
Another thing to be admired about his works is that he works with a lot of pregnant women, showing the beauty of the fascinating conception.
My words aren't enough to describe the images that you can find in this gallery, therefore I invite you to go ahead and to feel the inspiration of beauty.
In real life I often admire a person who has principles and who's doing everything for a reason. In my opinion doing anything without having a good reason is like being a toothed wheel in a clock, you are there and are doing a good job but have no idea why you're there and don't care about it. It's those idealists who have principles that I admire the most, because those are the ones that are changing the world.
A website has a character, I treat every website the same way I treat a person. In real life you can find a greedy person without morals, someone who's working just to get money but managed to maintain some morals and values, and that who's working to make the world a better place. To me, FEMJOY is like that second person(money + some morals), and I have some good reasons that have led me to that conclusion.
They offer a smorgasbord of content, varying from the very erotic(I am not using this adjective in a good light) to the highly artistic and retouched sets. This is a good thing, but I don't see any text anywhere that says why they have such a variety of content. Most of the text describes the girls in a way that I will never use to describe them. I honestly don't care whether you, my dear visitor, prefer a certain "body type" or a certain look of a woman, why should I?
In my opinion the text must describe the true model's personality or the editor's feelings, not a fake biography or how her body is perfect(nobody's perfect and no body is perfect). I want to hear how a certain set inspires the editor or how it is different from the other sets that are out there. A set that doesn't add to a website subtracts from it, as those sets act as rust, they spoil the appearance of the sets surrounding them at first, and then completely destroy the look of a page.
But then two updates per day is a high rate of production and you need to feature those quick erotica sets in order to satisfy your users and to meet your deadlines. Whenever I see a website with a high rate of updates I almost always think that the true motive behind the creation of that website is monetary gain. Every true artist in history has a limited capacity of production, and inspiration comes randomly. Therefore, you can't expect a steady rate of updates because you can't predict an artist's ability to produce a masterpiece.
This great collection also leads me to think that they are trying to satisfy the taste of all of their visitors, it isn't a bad thing, but it also reaffirms my belief that it's all about the money.
I am not trying to judge them, they have wonderful photo sets there(and I will keep promoting them as long as they are ethically treating their models), but I always prefer that person who has a vision, whose beliefs are everywhere and who inspires those around her. Most of their videos are absolutely beautiful(they had an unstable update rate, but now that a video is added periodically I can guess that their quality is going to deteriorate). I may be biased because I am comparing every single website to a my favorite website(Body In Mind), but I still think that they will have much more to offer if they state their philosophy(if it's not related to using beauty to make money) openly. It will make each and every visit worthwhile.
However, when I put all of this aside. I realize that their sets are still able to inspire me, let's take this Jadi set for example, it's name the tree of knowledge means a lot. It can mean that beauty is the source of all inspiration and wonder, and that's not just feminine beauty. Beauty is the ultimate teacher of the world. The set is beautiful, Demian Rossi is highly skilled, and Jadi is beautiful(I am really wondering whether she has an eating disorder or not, beauty doesn't mean being as thin as a coat hanger). It's worthy to watch this beautiful set, but it is still missing the secret ingredient of beauty, a belief.
Embrace Beauty!
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