As I have written before, the B&W Spider Awards is a competition that I normally enter every year and have been doing so for about ten years. For most of those years, the best I could accomplish was for one photo to get an Honorable Mention. Twice, two photos would get an Honorable Mention – and in some years, I didn’t get anything at all.
That changed last year, when a photo that I made in Mexico in 2023 earned a “2nd Place – Merit of Excellence” award in the competition in the Nude/Amateur category, along with a couple of Honorable Mentions in the Portrait and Silhouette categories. (You can see my post about that here.)
Nude, Nevada, 2024 – with art model Katie Marie
Normally, the results of the competition are announced in October, first with the nominees for each category and then with the winners. This year was a bit different, as the results were not announced until this week. In fact, I have been so busy lately that I completely forgot about it, and I was rather surprised when another photographer wrote to congratulate me that I had won an award.
After reading that and thanking my friend for letting me know, I went over to the Spider Awards’ winners page and saw that I had indeed won an award – another “2nd Place – Merit of Excellence” award in the Nude/Amateur category, this time for a photograph that I made of model Katie Marie in the Nevada desert outside of Las Vegas last year.
So, I had won 2nd Place for the second year in a row, which is pretty good, I guess, but that’s not all. Like last year, I also received two Honorable Mentions – one again in the Portrait for a photo of model Irida that I made when I was in London last year (going for the “Cyclops” look), and another in the Nude category for a photo that I made of models Meghan Claire and Astrid Kallsen underwater in Mexico last year.
Overall, I think I did fairly well – but as I wrote last year, I still need to try to get a 1st Place finish.
You can see the Nude/Amateur winners here and all of the winners of this year’s awards here.
Nude, New Zealand, 2025 – with art model Illyria Wulf
As many of my readers will know, I have done a lot of traveling and photographing this year to build up my international portfolio to celebrate this year being my 30th year of doing art nude photography. Some of the countries I have visited this year I have been to before, such as France, Italy, Portugal and Latvia. Some are places where I had never been to before at all, such as Spain and Poland.
Lucy Artmodel
In addition to those European countries, there was one place where I photographed nudes for the first time – Morocco – that was also the first time that I had photographed nudes on that continent (i.e. Africa).
Valentina
However, while I finished most of my art photography for the year with my trip to Poland and Germany in early September, I was not quite through yet. One more place remained to visit, and it was the farthest away of all of the places I’ve been to this year – New Zealand.
Lucy Artmodel
As noted above, I had never been to Spain or Poland before, but this year, I’ve been to Spain three times and to Poland twice. Likewise, I had never visited the southern hemisphere prior to this year, and now I have been there twice – first to Peru and now to New Zealand.
Valentina
I had been wanting to visit New Zealand and Australia for some time, but just never got around to going. That changed this year when I saw that Artventures Aotearoa (“Aotearoa” being the native Māori name for New Zealand) had a photo event planned for late November and early December. I thought that going there would be an appropriate way to end the year, going so far away, but doing so would also add another country and another region (Oceania) to the 30 year retrospective book that I hope to put together next year.
Illyria Wulf
Now that I’ve been there and back, what did I think of it? Well, my first impression, seen through some airplane windows, was of a place that seemed very lush and green. That impression was backed up on the ground on South Island, which had a landscape filled with many mountains, lakes and waterfalls (but with a lot of wind, too).
Lucy Artmodel, Illyria Wulf, Valentina
Our small group of four photographers and three models (Lucy Artmodel, Illyria Wulf and Valentina the Black Pearl) traveled to a variety of these places, with time to photograph at waterfalls, fields of flowers, rocky areas, mountainous spots, lakeside waterfronts and lush forests. (New Zealand actually reminded me quite a bit of Iceland, though perhaps not quite as cold.)
Valentina, Lucy Artmodel, Illyria Wulf
Here are some of the photos that I have worked on so far. I’ve got more to edit, of course, but despite that, I hope return one day to create more.
It’s been a while since I made a posting here – mostly as this is the time of the year when I do my sports photography (football and volleyball), which keeps me pretty busy both photographing and editing. (Doing the editing actually takes a lot more time than the photographing.) However, I was even busier than usual this autumn as I also decided to go back school after many years away from academia (though, regrettably, I decided to withdraw from the program a couple of weeks ago for a number of reasons).
Still, the time has come to finally find the time to make a post, so here goes.
Nude, Morocco, 2025 – with art model Rebirth of the Bird
Sometimes, when you are photographing, you have to force yourself to do something new (or, at least, different) from what you normally do.
This happened to me earlier this year when I was photographing models at an event in Marrakech, Morocco, with models Caroline, Katline and Rebirth of the Bird. The event was for three days, but after two days, I had photographed in pretty much all of the locations in the riad (aka guesthouse) in which we were staying and using as our photo location. What could I do that was different? Looking at the intricately carved wooden doors that were used throughout the riad, I decided to use a technique that I used before: double exposure.
Nude, Morocco, 2025 – with art model Katline
I had first played with double exposures many years ago, long before I had begun doing fine art photography, but I began doing it seriously in 1997 – my third year of doing fine art photography.
What inspired me to do it? Believe it or not, of all things, the 1939 film version of “The Wizard of Oz.” I’m referring to the scene in which Dorothy and her friends pick apples from the apple trees, causing the apple trees to come to life and fight back, with the trees having faces within them. This made me think of a person actually incorporated into a tree, so at a workshop in Santa Fe in 1997, I used double exposures of a model and tree – one exposure with the model in front of the tree, one without – to make it look as though the model and tree were one.
Nude, Spain, 2025 – with art model Illyria Wulf
Back to this year, instead of using a tree as in Santa Fe, I used the double exposure technique to make it look as though the models were parts of these beautifully carved doors.
I didn’t only do so in Marrakech, but also at the villa near Essaouira where we went next, using both doors and other objects. Not only that, but I also created double exposures the month before with model Illyria Wulf on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, as well as in France (with Irida the Shapeshifter) and in Latvia (with Ilvy Kokomo and Katerina).
Nude, Latvia, 2025 – with art model Ilvy Kokomo
Of course, the way to create double exposures has changed for me over the years. In my earlier days, using a 35mm camera, I had to push the film release button on the bottom of the camera (so the film would not advance), use the film advance lever to cock the shutter (with the film not advancing) and then make the photo.
Nude, France, 2025 – with art model Irida
(Another way to do it, as used by the great photographer Lucien Clergue, was to expose a roll of 35mm film, rewind it and then put it back in the camera, aligned with the cogs the way that it was the first time so the frames would be aligned properly, and then expose the roll again. He did this to randomly overlap things like nudes, bullfights and paintings in museums – always interested in seeing what he would get.)
Nude, Latvia, 2025 – with art model Katerina
When I switched up to my Pentax 67 medium format camera, I sent the camera to Pentax in Colorado to specially have a multiple exposure switch installed in it. For my tree photos in 1997, before I had the Pentax altered, I used my Rolleicord camera, which allowed me to do it. Besides these, I used a Holga, where all you need to do to get a multiple exposure (whether you want to or not) is to not manually advance the film.
Nude, Morocco, 2025 – with art model Caroline
Now, with my Fuji digital cameras, I do admit that it’s easier to do because I can make one photo, then see that photo in the electronic viewfinder while I make the second image. In the past, I would always make the first photo with the model and the second one without. Now I do the opposite – I photograph the background first, as I can then see the background while I try to find the proper spot for the model in front of it. With the model going first, it’s too late to change her position when I make the second image.
My last blog post was a long one that took a lot of time to put together, so I thought I’d let it stay at the top for a while. I was also away photographing in Europe continuing to photograph for my 30th anniversary of beginning art nudes, but now my travels are over for a while – especially as I am now a student in an online Master of Science program with the University of Edinburgh. (The last time I was in a university degree program was 31 years ago, so let’s see how I can handle it all of these years later.)
Man at Boat Yard, Lima, Peru, 2025
In that last post, I began by mentioning that I had just returned from a trip to Peru. It was certainly an adventure, being my first trip not only to Peru, but also my first trip to South America as well as to the Southern Hemisphere, and visiting areas that ranged from high heat and humidity to cool with thin air. So, while I have more posts to make about my art nudes, I’ll begin posting some of my Peru photos now.
Girl, Amazon River Region, Peru, 2025
Before I went away, I told people that my models for the trip would hopefully be the Peruvian people. Fortunately, I was able to photograph some people there – in the Amazon River region, in the Sacred Valley of Cuzco and Machu Picchu (pronounced “maa-chew pick-chew”) and in the southern high plateau region near Lake Titicaca (pronounce “titi-haha”).
Here are some of those photographs.
Shopkeeper with her Daughter, Sacred Valley, Peru, 2025
It’s been several weeks since I made a blog post here. That’s because I was away from home recently on a three-week trip to Peru. The trip entailed a lot of firsts for me – my first trip to Peru, my first trip to South America and my first trip to the Southern Hemisphere.
Untitled Nude, 1996
I made a lot of photographs on the trip and have a lot of blog posts to make, but I am not posting one today. That’s because I’ve got one that’s more important to make right now – one that has been 30 years in the making (quite literally). Today – August 19, 2025 – is the 30th anniversary of my creating my first art nude photographs, which were made at a weekend workshop in Woodstock, New York, on August 19, 1995.
Nude, New Mexico, 1997
Yes, it was 30 years ago today that I attended what I thought would be nothing more than two days photographing art nudes. Basically, “Been there, done that!” As it happened, one of the other participants invited me to join him and two other photographers at Woodstock the following weekend to photograph a couple of models (they wanted one more person with whom to share the cost), and one of those other photographers invited me to attend another event. That’s how the ball got rolling……and it’s been rolling ever since.
Nude, New Mexico, 1998
However, today marks another anniversary, as it’s the 10th anniversary of my 20th anniversary celebration. It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years already, but for some time, I had the idea to celebrate my 20th anniversary of art nude photography in 2015 by returning to Woodstock – to the exact spot where it all began – but with a bunch of models instead of the just one (which is how many I photographed on my first few rolls of film). Somehow, with the assistance of my good friend, Dave Levingston, we were able to pull it off and get nine models to join us. (You can see one from that first roll at the top and a photo of the nine 20 years later at the same location in the 2015 photo below. Notice the wood paneling.)
Untitled Nude, 1999
You might think that 30 years would call for an even bigger celebration, but I made no such plans this year as it’s been a pretty busy year for me. I had intended to at least photograph one model today, but sadly, I made plans to do something important today without realizing what the date was, so I’m afraid that I won’t be photographing anyone.
Nude, France, 2000
Nonetheless, the reason that I’ve been so busy, as readers of my blog may know, is that I’ve been celebrating the entire year as a 30th anniversary celebration, so while I will have nothing to show from today, I do have plenty of photographs to show from this year overall – and I am certainly not finished yet. Ultimately, I would like to produce some books featuring 30 years of my art nude photographs, many of which will have been made this year, so that is something to look forward to.
Nude, Colorado, 2001
As I began with my 15th anniversary, every year on this day (or soon after) I make a post featuring one photograph from each calendar year that I have been photographing art nudes, so here are 31 photographs, highlighting each year from 1995 to 2025.
Enjoy – and if I am still doing this ten years from now, perhaps I’ll try to plan something special for my 40th anniversary. (As always, stay tuned.)
I have done a lot of traveling and have been to a lot of places, especially in Europe, so it is always a great thrill to visit a country that I have never visited before. One such place was Spain, where I had never been before this year, but which I have now visited not once or twice but three times this year.
Monika
It was very nice to finally visit Spain, but last month I added another country to “first visit” list – Poland. I have visited Berlin in Germany many times over the years, and while it’s not too far from the border with Poland, I had never ventured eastward to cross over.
Nadine
That finally happened, however. Following up on my last blog post, I took a train from Berlin to the Polish city of Poznan to attend a photography event organized by Belle Shoots. The event actually took place at a palace located nearly an hour’s drive from Poznan, and while we stayed one night at the palace, I did get to spend two nights in Poznan and from what I saw, it is a fine old city with many beautiful old buildings. (Sadly, I did not have the time to spend an extra day to explore the city at greater length.)
Rose
Regarding the photo event, it was good to add Poland to my 30th anniversary project, and I think I made enough good images to add a nice section on Poland. A number of the models were from Poland themselves, with a few more from eastern Europe and one from western Europe: Zuza, Rose, Monika, Julia, Margoreett, Nadine and Beth Kate. I even spent an hour photographing the event’s organizer, Olga!
Julia
The palace itself was a nice place, with interesting locations, both indoors and outdoors. Here are some photos.
Hi, everyone. I just returned home from a two-week trip to Europe in which I visited three countries, but as far as this blog goes, I am still working on my previous trip during which I visited six countries in four weeks.
I have written posts about my first two stops on the trip, France and Portugal, so now I’ll be writing about my third stop on the trip: Germany. Following my trip to Portugal, I flew to Berlin to visit some family I have living there. As I wanted to continue to add to my international portfolio of art nude photographs, I contacted the Ukrainian model Sophie La Sage, who lives in Berlin and had been recommended to me by several people.
I had photographed a model once before in Berlin, three years ago, in a large forest area, but I wanted to try a different location this time, so we agreed to meet one morning to create photographs in the garden area behind one of the city’s palaces.
As I had visited this place before several times, I knew that other people would likely be around, so I decided it would be best for Sophie to bring with a black coat that she could wear and close up in front if we were not alone. I also asked her to bring with a pair of black shoes, which would match well with the coat.
Overall, I’m happy with the fashion nude images that we created, and Sophie told me that she was happy with them, too. Here are some for you to see now – and stay tuned for more photos made during my travels this year.
Following up on my last post about my photo event in France, I continued my European adventure with country #2: Portugal. I had visited Portugal for the first time in October of last year when I attended a photo event on the Portuguese island of Madeira (though I did spend one night unexpectedly in Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon, when my planned flight to Madeira was postponed due to very high winds).
Kayla and V Wild Art
Rather than be on an island out in the Atlantic Ocean (as Madeira is), this trip was firmly rooted on the mainland, in the southern region known as the Algarve. As before, I attended a group photo event, this one organized by the Venus Collective (aka Venus de Tierra) and featuring two models – Kayla and V Wild Art.
V Wild Art
However, unlike the previous event in France, which was held in a castle and its surroundings, this one was dedicated mostly to the figure in the landscape, and we spent most of our time creating photographs on a number of beaches on Portugal’s southern coast. In addition to that, we also did two mornings of art nude photography in the streets of one of the towns in the area without any problems, as none of the people around who saw us seemed to care.
Kayla
Overall, it had been a while since I photographed art nudes out in the landscape, so it felt good to get my feet wet on the beaches (quite literally). I also think that I made a lot of good images. Here are some of them.
I recently returned home from a four-week trip to Europe in which I visited six different countries. The primary aim was to do art nude photography as part of my 30th year of photographing nudes. (Think of it as being my “30th anniversary tour.”)
Cosima Lydia
The first stop on the tour was in France, where I took part in a photographic event organized by the photographer Dan Hecho at a very old castle located south of Paris called “Le Donjon.” (For those of you who are wondering, yes – it does mean “The Dungeon.”) How old is it? Well, I spoke with the owner of the property, who told me that the property had been owned by the kings of France, going back to Louis VI in the 12th century. That, of course, came to end with the French Revolution, when the building was burned and gutted. Everything except the walls was subsequently rebuilt.
Julia
Considering that it’s called The Dungeon, the interior decoration was very nice, and I stayed overnight there, as well, in a huge bedroom.
As for the photo event itself event itself, it featured six models, five from Europe and one from Canada: Dora, Cosima, Julia, Kristina, Zuza and Daria. I believe that I made good photographs with each one, so here are some for you to see.
Zuza
Regarding this being my 30th anniversary year, the ultimate goal of my traveling and photographing now is to create a book (or books) showcasing my 30 years of art nude photography. As I have done most of that photography here in the USA, I’ve been traveling to several European countries (and one in Africa) to add to my international portfolio. Hopefully the effort (and the money spent) will be worth it.
Kristina
I plan to post more photos from my European trip in the upcoming weeks.
I’ve made a few blog posts about photographing models in Morocco, first in the city of Marrakech and then near the city of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast.
After the second group finished, most of us returned to Marrakech to fly back home. However, as this was my first trip to Morocco, I decided to stay a few days on my own in Marrakech to explore the city more.
Here are some of the photos that I made on the streets of Marrakech, trying to show the Morrocan sense of design and decoration (among other things).
Figures of Grace 