These days, whenever I look at some Japanese nudes I always remember the tragic earthquake and Tsunami and the damage that they've left behind.
Maria Ozawa did survive that disaster, but many others were not as lucky. I truly hope that Japan would be able to recover quickly.
If you feel like helping the survivors, you can donate at the American Red Cross.
Maria Ozawa is a well-known Japanese pornstar, and is one of the model actresses that I truly respect, despite my general lack of interest/respect for average Japanese born. She's half-Canadian and half-Japanese. She acted in a couple of non-adult movies that were popular in Asia, before people started realizing that she's a porn star.
What I generally hate about Japanese porn in general is the 'submissive woman' stereotype, because I find it degrading, and I have to admit that Maria isn't that innocent, as she plays the exact same role in her movies. My respect for her stems from my impression that she's challenging societal and cultural barriers. It's similar with hundreds of other pornstars, and I can't really tell whether those really are her beliefs, but it's just my mental picture and it's not an ugly one. She reminds me of other great women like Sibel Kekkili, though Sibel apparently truly believes in what she did and her adult career was a true, brave, rebellion.
I hope that you'll like this gallery from Hegre's Asian tour. He has a lot of other sets with Asian models at Hegre-Art, check them out if you have the time.
I have little respect for the majority of Hegre's work. The themes seem to significantly repeat themselves. Petter does have superior technical skills and wonderful equipment, and arguably, some of the most beautiful models who ever appeared on nude websites. However, it takes more than that to create beauty.
It takes a vision. Photography often mirrors the photographer's vision, and while reviewing some of his galleries I found many of the images to be disrespectful. Not in the sense of being degrading, but rather in the sense of not capturing the entire beauty of a model, of often being mediocre in the themes, and in being more or less the same despite the fact that the models are often different. I don't know whether it's an issue with Hegre's vision or the fact that producing so many nudes for a 'nudes mill' steals away a photographer's creativity.
The only thing that still makes Hegre retain some appeal is his models. Those wonderful women who appear in his photographs. Their beauty can be so powerful that it overcomes those senseless patterns. This was the case with Muriel.
Muriel comes from Argentina. I originally mistook her for Lola from Walter Bosque Art - they look very similar and Walter Bosque did collaborate with Hegre when Hegre visited Argentina, Hegre did some shoots with Jacqui and Tacha. Muriel and Lola look very similar, but their bodies are different, they're bot beautiful in their unique ways. Walter Bosque did confirm their being two different women.
I just couldn't let Muriel's beauty pass unnoticed. This is why I created this mega gallery, which consists of 96 images from 6 different sets - out of the 60 sets of Muriel that are available at the moment. This gallery is quite big, so it may not be suitable for you if you're on dial-up.
The second thing that I hated about Hegre-Art was his Mr. Right contest. Which basically was a matchmaking service between his models and his members. You became a member, sent a letter to the model who was looking for "Mr. Right", and then you could date her. It sounded like prostitution back then, but after actually talking to some Eastern European women it's not that hard to understand how a competition like that may work without direct exploitation from Hegre.
It's a fact that in the modern world there's an elite, those born in the free world have many privileges; In terms of travel, special treatment abroad - some parts of the Middle East may be the only exception, and civil rights at home. Many people in third world countries - most Eastern and Southern countries - look up to those nations and the visible inequality that can only be overcome through birth, marriage, wealth, or outstanding abilities. The easiest way to get into the aristocracy - those are the same rules that were in place in order to be accepted as a part of the aristocracy, there are even some aristocrats who are squeamish about the idea of 'new money' becoming aristocrats, or to get a citizenship or the permission to live in the free world is arguably marriage. Those women are often trying to escape economic hardship, corruption, or are simply looking for less abusive relationships in cultures that are less macho. Some simply don't want to live their entire lives bumping against low glass ceilings, so they go somewhere else where the ceilings are a bit higher.
Some models from Russia for example get into modeling because they want to travel the world, go to other European countries, not to settle there per se, but just to see how life's really like over there. To get a taste of the freedom that they keep hearing about. It may sound simple for most of the EU citizens. Some people go all over Europe with basically a couple of hundreds of Euros and a backpack. Those young women can't do that, even if they have the money. They need permissions, invitations, or truly significant amounts of money for luxurious tours.
The cultures of those countries were mutilated by communism, gulag systems, and Stasi-like agencies. The free world became free because the revolutionaries were honest enough to give those who supported them the freedom that they all fought for, while for others that freedom was quickly stolen away, by those who were in power. Many old Eastern Europeans are even starting to question the revolutions, since some of them think that nothing much has changed. The stores were empty, but they had the purchasing power, now the stores are stacked with products, but they don't have the money to pay for them. Some people with strong connections were the old regimes suddenly became in power, so it indeed seems to them that nothing has changed.
Some countries were geographically fortunate enough to be close to the forming EU, and reform was being pushed down from the EU, often in exchange for aid. Those countries are making some progress, their citizens feel more free, and some of the people are starting to feel optimistic despite the fact that employment and business opportunities are still based on connections, just like they were back in the soviet days.
However, for the unfortunate countries which are still far away, it means that dreams like the EU will not come true, and now almost universal austerity measures are even making the future more bleak for the citizens of those nations. Which brings us back to the easiest, and sometimes the only, way of having access to the free world, namely, marriage. Which has created the whole mail order bride scheme, in which women do risk their lives, in return for freedom, whether social, civil, or simply economic. The economic part is almost universal, and it may be easy to find rich people in those countries - who are often seen as being corrupt.
However, there's some humiliation in the process of listing oneself up for marital 'adoption'. It basically is a process of selling oneself, in the form of sex or beauty, in exchange for access or admission to that form of aristocracy. Prince charming may be a sex offender, or simply a prince who's not at all charming. There's also the reverse phenomenon, with young men choosing to marry old women from the aristocracy for the exact same reasons.
This means that there indeed is a competition regarding who crosses the border based on merits like physical beauty or sexual attractiveness.
If we apply the same about close neighbors, we can talk about things like the Arizona law. Which I think is only a form of 'palliative' treatment. I don't think that immigrants like standing out in the crowd or the discrimination they face, but rather they're forced out. The true political remedy would be supporting civil rights in those countries where immigrants come from, achieving equality, and then removing all the artificial borders. Back in the dark ages there were no real borders, but people mostly stayed where they are, that because the technology was the same, and you could, for the most part, leave if you didn't like the rules of your tribe/group.
Anyway, Hegre may have started this matchmaking service upon the request of his models, as a way of helping them fulfill their dreams. I think that it's as bad as mail-order brides, but some of the models came from places like France - which for the most part is free, with the exception of some weird laws. The models get to choose, and it's not as straightforward as pay and have this model - a mail-order bride shop, where the most beautiful Barbie doll wins.
But even freedom has its enemies from within, stupid bills are being passed/proposed more than before. The Founding Fathers had remarkable foresight when they said the following words:
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
"If once [the people] become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions."
So, it's not as bad as it first seemed. The exploitation isn't Hegre's fault, it's the fault of human inequality and artificial borders.
Hegre-Art may be the perfect example of how work pressure can kill a person's creativity. Just take the time to compare between Hegre's old works and the new ones. It's somewhat rare these days to find some galleries from there which are that tasteful. Which is strange...He has somewhat shifted from presenting simple artistic images of his beautiful models into producing tasteless erotica and I believe the reason is simply because you can't just be creative when you have all that pressure to produce new galleries.
Creativity or innovation isn't something that is to be pushed. You just can't produce a creative thing when you want to. You must prepare for it, wait for the inspiration, think about how the gallery may look like, the costumes, the studio or outdoor settings. Unfortunately, that's not the case with most of Hegre's new galleries. I am just left to wonder about the reason his creativity and innovation were killed.
This is a gallery of one of his beautiful Ukrainian models, Lana, he has used the old window light idea that almost every photographer has used, but, at least he produced some beautiful images by doing so.
Mr. Hegre..If you ever read this..Please take the time to think about the gallery and to get to know the model, I am bored of all your "bedside" galleries and the poses that you use over and over again. Sex sells, but this doesn't necessarily mean that sexual images are that good, beautiful, or innovative. If you're going to continue producing the same galleries you are now, then you should change your domain to Hegre-Erotica.
Anyway, I hope that you will enjoy this gallery of Lana from Hegre-Art.
I was just listening to a song by the German band Regicide called "Nothing In Here", The song is mainly dealing with the superficial values of our modern world which basically want women to look the same; skinny with tons of make-up on, but how does this relate to Graceful Nudes?
Some people may call me superficial when I mention that a certain model is beautiful without even getting to know her, some people may comment on the fact that I don't include pictures of women who are overweight. A simple reply may be, We have the right to appreciate outer beauty, however this kind of appreciation becomes obnoxious in real life only when this is the only thing you appreciate about a certain person, you should appreciate their personalities, their beliefs, and theirselves. These are the important things.
I don't include pictures of overweight models because I don't want to promote the health dangers associated with obesity.
Anyway, I just wanted to express a part of my philosophy regarding my choice of galleries to feature.
O.K. Back to our main topic, here's the description of Kathryn provided by Hegre-Art:
"Kathryn was born in South Africa but currently resides in London.
SHE MAKES her way in the world as a professional model and was delighted at the chance to work with a photographer like Petter Hegre. Having become used to the confines that are common in the world of fashion and glamour work, the opportunity to let loose and do a shoot completely nude was a fantastic change of pace.
With a slim and toned body, Kathryn readily admits her love of nature, especially the ocean. Her long brown hair and light complexion gives her the appearance of a mermaid when she glides through the water, her body moving with a certain harmony that only those who love the sea can possess.
Petter couldn't help but laugh a little and called her a hippie when he learned that she is a vegetarian, a fact that she is quite proud of."
Once you look at her model profile at Hegre-Art, you will understand why her sets are amongst my favorites. Some models seem to bring out the best of Petter, if you notice all of her galleries are innovative and unique.
This is just one of her sample Galleries from Hegre-Art.
Enjoy Kathryn in Esthetical!
More Marketa Belonoha Galleries
Marketa is one of the most beautiful models online, her beauty has been captured by many photographers and every photographer added his own touch to her beauty. You can see the true skill of Petter Hegre in this gallery. I believe that his classic works are much better than his modern ones, which are more sexually oriented than ever before. Some people prefer his new style, I can see some great images that are produced by him these days, but they aren't as great as those he produced a couple of years ago. This may be the price you pay for fame.
I hope that you will like this Hegre-Art gallery.
Enjoy!
This is a truly majestic gallery from Hegre-Art. Even though the idea is not that new, the gallery is substantially unique. It may be Dasha's inborn grace that's making it so enchanting, or it may be the classy settings at which the gallery was shot. However the reason behind its may be, it's always great to be able to enjoy such a tasteful gallery.
Enjoy this Hegre-Art gallery!
There's a remarkable mood of serenity and relaxation surrounding this gallery; Angelica's beauty is very calm and the soft lighting is making one feel very comfortable. This is one of those galleries that make you forget everything about your daytime stress.
I hope that you will like this Hegre-Art gallery of Angelica.
Enjoy!
There are certain things that I like about Hegre-Art, one of them is the quality of his images, I don't mean the image resolution by quality, I rather mean the sharpness and the overall image saturation. This can easily be done by a good image editing program and an expensive camera. So, what's the thing that makes this website special?
I believe that the beauty of his models may be the first secret behind his amazing success, I don't think that anyone didn't hear of his website or the excellence of his imagery till now, however, it's not just the beauty of the models, it's the way with which he takes pictures of them as well.
The only thing that I don't really like about Hegre-Art is the repetition of ideas, I have seen almost every one of his models next to a bed and doing the same poses, it's not that I hate it, but I would appreciate it if he takes more time thinking about where his next gallery will be shot. Searching for new locations can make his already excellent galleries unique and will indeed inscribe his name in gold on the walls of the hall of fame.
I hope that you will like this Hegre-Art gallery.
Enjoy!
What I really liked about this gallery is the green color in the background and the classy style with which these shots were taken.
I hope that you will like this gallery of Paulina from Hegre-Art.
Enjoy!
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