Photography by Steven O

On July 7th, 2022, David Isaac Shaw and Krys Fox hosted the most recent Natural Pursuits event in their Brooklyn apartment. Home to photographers, performers, and nightlife personalities every inch of this garden-level space represents a potential vignette.

Photographer, Steven O, joined the festivities with light sticks in hand ready to take advantage of the willing models and unique space.

Artist Interview

Natural Pursuits (NP): What is your relationship to casual nudity?

Steven O (SO): I used to dread looking at myself nude or even being nude until I started hooking up and being more comfortable only because men would find me attractive. Eventually I realized that was wrong and became more comfortable with nudity once I was more comfortable in expressing myself the way I wanted.

It gave me the courage to attend these type of events and even going to nude beaches and bathhouses where I found I love being nude as it feels very liberating, relaxing, and natural above all else.

NP: We’re happy you came! What were your impressions of the day?

SO: I didn’t know what to expect that day but it was very different to see men of all sizes and ages just being natural and being nude without the expectation of sex. It was very easy to get comfortable and forget the fact that we’re all nude and just be able to connect and actually speak to each other.

I loved how I felt no one was being judged for what or how they looked and just being friendly with each other. Very different from when someone goes to a sex party. The vibe was definitely more relaxed.

NP: Great to hear! We work hard to create that vibe. The apartment we shot was wild! How did the place, people, and vibe of the party affect how you shot the event?

SO: First of all the place was fantastic and so amazing. I loved how each wall and area of the place felt like a little art installation to take photos which I’ve done with models before for fashion photoshoots. The people were so kind and I did feel a little shy at first which affected me asking to shoot people but as time went by the vibe of the party made me comfortable in creating such amazing photos.

And the people I did photograph were so willing to be photographed that it made it easy for me to pose them and think of how to utilize the space to my advantage.

NP: Colored lighting is important in much of your work.  Can you talk a bit about how you use it in your work?

SO: Colored lighting and color itself has been very important to my work because I love the many ways I can play around with it. I use it to add light to my models body and highlight them in a attractive and very sensual way. I also love how the colored light changes the mood of my photos and can bring a different feel to them.

Like for example red gives a darker feel to an image but pair with a purple color it gives a more sensual and mysterious vibe. Pink gives a more romantic and lighter feel to an image. When I use color lighting I do think about how it will look with the backdrop and how it will change the look of the garments and fabrics I have my models wear before I do the shoot.

NP: We’re going to throw in a photograph you took without colored lighting, so the readers can feel the difference.

NP: Anything else you want to mention or promote? 

SO: Even though I’ve been getting more into nude photography and focusing on it a lot more these days I still do fashion photoshoots which I’m very passionate about. And any other stuff you’d like to see that I do is in my linktree on my Twitter and Instagram.

About the Artist

I started doing photography with models doing fashion photoshoots. Until one day I started seeing nude photoshoots and realized a lot of these photographers only shoot very fit and muscular men. I wanted to change that because in our community there are more body types than just the physically fit. So I began shooting nude photos of men of all shapes and sizes. I believe anyone can be beautiful because within my own sex life I’ve been with men who were skinny, physically fit, thick like myself and of course older or even younger than me. That’s why b.a.r.e. actually stands for bold,alluring,real,explicit. 

Instagram: @_b.a.r.e._

Twitter: @BAREnudephoto