i wasnt familiar with the photographer, so i looked him up and has a great portfolio. I also looked up the person who "called him out" and they have some of the most biased and chronically online takes about everything. Social media is a disease sometimes.
I agree that there can be nuance to it. But yeah, there should be scrutiny to men who basically only take nude photos of women looking in a specific way
In regards to the first segment of your video: I am very glad you dedicated time to this topic. You are absolutely correct in that this is incredibly nuanced. Full disclosure as a photographer I have dedicated a lot of my work to nudes, partial undress, or full erotic imagery, so my first point is that photographers especially male photographers who shoot female/female presenting nudes or anything of the like should do so with strong intentionality. There are far too many photographers shooting nudes or near nudes, completely unable to explain why or what any of it means. I also wanted to bring up where it seems things got a little blurry to me; from everything I understand the photographer in question is not being accused of any physical impropriety which makes comparisons to photographers who have committed heinous crimes inappropriate. Instead this feels like a discussion on personal taste and the ethics of the male gaze. I have had to come to terms that my work will not appeal to everyone even people for whom I hold great respect might not like what I do and find it to be nothing more than exploitation of the male gaze. I have to accept that and at the same time continue to ask questions of the work I make to ensure its authenticity. As I think you mentioned in another comment what makes this situation most problematic is the way the photographer took the personal defensive rather than acknowledging the very real feelings that many have about men shooting nudes of women and then taking the opportunity make it a discussion. It’s a very important topic worth devoting actual dialogue on.
I have some thoughts to share/add re: toxic male photographers. To start, I guess I want to say I really appreciate your stance given your somewhat sizable reach on film socials, etc., when it comes to calling out bad behavior from men in various photo spaces. Spooky Park Bench, included. The one thing that really caught my ear from this video is when you mentioned that models/non-men who have interacted/shot with 360 had come to his defense. I have no clue about this specific drama other than this video, so I'll take you at your word and will default to trusting that response from said models, etc. I think absolutely in the photo/modeling/etc world that men should pretty much always defer to others (non-men) with cases like this. (cishet, especially) Men are almost always the perpetrators in situations like these, and the male-dominated photo industry will always have trouble accepting that at large as long as the power dynamic exists in the way it currently does, e.g. how you mentioned 360 was not empathetic to the criticism he received in the first place. Now all of that said, I am also aware that folks who *are not* in power in communities can protect other men who may or may not be exploiting models/etc. In some Bay Area photo meetup circles back between 2017-2019, there were a few high-reach names that got called out for abuse in various scenarios. Friends of mine (including models who were exploited and abused by these photographers) were active members in the community, and some were actively/vocally *against* publicly calling out these men, and would give them the benefit of the doubt. Some wouldn't really take a stance at all on these situations. There were others who came to their (the photographers') defense because "nothing had ever happened" during their shoots together, despite dozens of independent parties coming forward with stories of abuse. I don't think women/non-men owe anybody, especially men (me), a stance in these situations. Especially because back then, I was very aware also of how the community as a whole was inherently coercive against those not in power (non-men, especially models). So, without a real rebuttal to anything said in the video, I'm kinda left just to share this idea that even though someone who *is not* in power in a given community/system (e.g. models) defends a man benefiting from the power dynamic (even if not actively/harmfully perpetuating it) isn't an inherent get out of jail free card. Hope that makes some sense and can add a little context for others.
Ur vids are great but always made better by how comfy u look, too. Can u wear an Arc’teryx parka inside in ur next one and look even more snuggly wuggly
I don't know this specific case, but I pretty much agree with everything said here. Of course some creepy idiots try their best to ruin it for everyone else, but that doesn't mean there isn't good art being made out there. I know at least one very serious male artist who works with nude models (of all genders), and he has spent the last few years in endless battles with Instagram censorship. On Twitter he can at least post his art without it getting taken down and threats of losing his profile. There is nothing explicit at all about his photos btw, so Instagram is just hopeless on that front.
I think with the nude model stuff my take really is just at this point its just boring and played out. If you want to make a project exploring anything that involves nudity that's totally cool as long as there is total enthusiastic consent the entire time (and everyone is of age and sober of course). That said when I go on r/analog it feels like I'm on a soft core porn website, I haven't seen anything interesting come out of nude photography in a long time so I constantly find myself asking 'what's the point of this?'. If I want to look at porn I'm a few clicks away, I want to look at art. Edit: Film photography has been a rich kids game for basically the entire 21st century. I shoot it because I can, the vast majority of people very sadly cannot.
Definitely agree, I often find that a lot of nudity included in todays photography really doesn't contribute much to the overall image that considered clothing would not. That being said, I have a lot of female a male model friends who find modelling nude to be quite empowering to them personally in the right situation so it's a tough call.
