Lake Superior Nudes
Of all the photographers I know of that are working with nudes outdoors – also called “environmental nudes”, a term I think meaningless; you can’t take a human being out of the “environment” any more than you can take the land out of the “landscape” – Craig Blacklock is probably my favorite. He is better at it than anyone I know of and is far better at it than me. Blacklock is a landscape photographer who lives and works around Lake Superior. (There is something about the Upper Midwest that seems to breed photographers of the nude. More on that in subsequent posts and reviews.)
Last year he published a book entitled “A Voice Within: The Lake Superior Nudes.” You can have a look at the book here and buy it which is something I’ve been intending to do. Maybe now I will.
Here are a couple of his photos which I especially like. 
Notice in this one his skill in deciding what to leave out of the photo. One of the skills in composition that all great photographers develop lies in deciding what to leave out and this photo is a fine example of that.
Many of the photos in the book convey, primarily through the posing skill of his model/wife, a wonderful tranquility. 
But the composition of the rest of the photo contributes as well. The line of rock which occupies only the top of the photo gives way to that little rock island upon which she sits which then leads your eyes to her partial reflection then to the expanse of slightly rippled water. Note how almost all the space in the photo consists of that quiet gray water.
All the photos in the book were taken around Lake Superior and, if you think she looks a little cold in this photo, wait until you see the “ice” photos.
Explore posts in the same categories: Art, Fine Art Landscapes, Fine Art Nudes, Great PhotographersTags: Blacklock, composition, Lake Superior Nudes, still waters, tranquility
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July 5, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I meant for this to go here:
Now that’s oool. (no pun intended…) I had a great time photographing ice volcanoes on the shore of Lake Michigan near Milwaukee some two winters ago. Now that my photography is improving, I want to try that again.
Nudes in the upper Midwest? I’d wager that may come from our sense of how great it is to be outdoors in the short time we can do that without getting cold. Here in Milwaukee, we don’t have it nearly as badly as they do up near Lake Superior, so maybe it’s even stronger for them up there.