NUDE Magazine Flashback - Nick Ash

With the permission of Carrie Leigh and the amazing people over at NUDE Magazine, I am going to be, here and there, displaying some of my favorite features from past issues of NUDE Magazine.

I am going to start with probably one of my all time favorite features, from the Winter 2007 issue, Nick Ash.

This shoot is in a lot of ways very near and dear to my heart because I myself am a closet conservationist. It is sad for me to see the impact of our "civilization" on the world ecology. From the poisoning of our air and water to the extinction and near extinction of so many species of animals. From the refuse that floats in the middle of the ocean like some island made from our garbage, to the receding glaciers which do more than most really understand to protect our environment that we need to live.

Nick Ash went up to Alaska and shot with models on some glaciers and came back with not only beautiful photos of models, but exquisite photos of nature. --Joel

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NICK ASH
Ice Cold Nudes On Alaskan Glaciers

by Nick Ash

For some time I have had a vision of shooting art nudes on glaciers. It seemed though to be a daunting task given the extreme elements that support the existence of glaciers and the obvious challenges that would need to be overcome. And given that, how would I make the nude blend into this frigid environment in a natural and aesthetic way? It is very important to me that the final image is striking and pleasing to myself and others.

Alaska is the most beautiful, extremely wild, unpopulated and unspoiled place. It is home to some 100,000 glaciers and much wildlife. It pains me to think of these beautiful glacial formations disappearing out of existence through global warming.

To the inexperienced, careless and unsuspecting, Alaska can be very dangerous. The bookstores in Alaska are full of books chronicling all the deaths and maimings that have occurred over it's history to those that disrespect it's ever-changing temperament. Glaciers are no exception. They are constantly on the move, groaning under foot, dropping huge chunks of ice, and opening new crevasses.

Initially, this trip was to be an exploration trip for coming back in the summer with models. As it turned out though, I did find a suitable glacier and a couple of willing models, Tamara and Eileen that really wanted to participate in this project.

Both of them took to the ice with ease and they did not seem to look or feel out of place in this environment. They were cold for sure, however, the fact that it was a sunny day and there was little to no wind is what made it possible. Remarkably, the sensuous shapes and forms of the ice, blended and mimicked with the sensuous curves of the body in a striking and unusual way.

Our time was not without surprises, incidents, or the element of danger. One such incident occurred after placing Tamara on what I thought was a solid piece of ice with a river running around it. Well actually it turned out to be a small iceberg that was floating freely. Much to my surprise, it started moving away with her on it!

On another occasion, Tamara lost her grip in the ice and fell into a crevasse. I managed to catch her on the way down and only just held enough grip on the ice myself to get her out. It would have been a serious situation , since the crevasse was quite deep and narrow and would have adequately jammed a body between it's icy walls. Now that would have been quite a find for some future archeologist!

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See more of the amazing work of Nick Ash at: http://www.viewsinlight.com/

Buy this issue while there are still a few issues left at Carrie Leigh's NUDE