'There are 1000's of nudies of all ages shapes and sizes clearly just showing a bit of body confidence and having fun.'
Last month, I featured a day of London themed posts, (HERE:) a location at the top of my long list of places to visit. As part of the theme, viewers took a visual trip back to the 2011 and 2012 London World Naked Bike Rides, (WNBR) through the lens of photographer Andrew Bowman. Not only did the images feature a visual bike tour of the city's most prominent sites and locations, Andrew's images also merged together so many themes that I love to explore on FH.
Although the site's focus is on the male form, I strive to do more than just post image after image of nude male bodies. I love to explore the stories behind the visuals I present, and Andrew shared his personal history, experience and participation in the London WNBR's.
I also really love exploring other themes involved with events like WNBR's. Themes like exhibitionism and voyeurism, both a part of any public event involving nudity. Yes, the bikers are stripping down, many with the goal to draw attention to the vulnerability of cyclists on the road versus car culture and oil, but many are also there to make a personal statement or to just have fun.
Of course, with so many nude bodies on display, there are also cmnm and cfnm themes inherent to the day. Many people arrive to the event fully clothed, and remain so throughout. Their goals, sometimes go beyond just supporting the cause and the riders or to simply just enjoy the event. Many are there a voyeurs, with their phones at the ready to snap images of bodies they fancy or desire.
There are many professional photographers there as well, but as a professional, Andrew has rules he tries to follow. As a participant himself, generally his fellow riders are open to him snapping away. Andrew also respects privacy, and if anyone mentions are motions they don't want to be photographed, he doesn't shoot them. This seems especially vital to the female riders, who are generally in much smaller numbers than the male riders.
Vulnerability is theme I also love to explore. Vulnerability is certainly present in a studio shoot, with just a model shooting nudes with one photographer. One can just imagine stripping down, only to have dozens of strangers shooting your naked body without asking, nor knowing how the images will be used, who they might be shared with, or if they'll end up on the net. I'm sure many of the more exhibitionist inclined riders enjoy this aspect, but not everyone who rides feels the same way.
One theme however, I think all of the riders agree on it's in inclusivity of the event. Sure, there are many hot, in shape bodies cycling through the London streets, but it is not a requirement. Bodies of all sexes and genders, races and cultures, shapes, sizes and ages participate in the event. Just in this series from 2015 from Andrew, I spotted men in their 60's, maybe even 70's, all the way down to new parents, riding with their babies on board. This 2015 event, also unfortunately marked the final year that Andrew participated in the ride.
'I gave up doing the ride around 10 years ago only because of the faff of having to book my bike on specific trains to get up to London from Oxfordshire - before that you could get on any train and put the bike in the bike carriage. The organisers do have an arrangement with a bike hire company and there are 'Boris Bikes' all around London so i might actually try it again next year.'
If Andrew does attend a future ride, be sure I'm going to ask about sharing his visuals. In the meantime, I still have one more year of WNBR images to share very soon. Andrew also still does attend a lot of other British Naturism events around the country including sponsored events for charities like the British Heart Foundation. I'll be sure to ask him about that event as well!
No comments:
Post a Comment