MEXICO CITY - Spencer Tunick, photographer of nude multitudes, announced the location of his Mexico installation: The Zocalo. The Zocalo is the most significant landmark in the Mexican capital, an enormous central square surrounded by government and historic buildings, including the presidential palace.
Tunick continues to hint that the May 6 photo shoot will have the most nude volunteer models thus far, surpassing the 7,000 that participated in Barcelona, Spain. The figure of 10,000 participants has been suggested by some sources. Other sources have signaled that Tunick’s original request to do the installation in the Teotihuacan ruins outside the city was refused by Mexican authorities, who feared that so many people at once could damage the ancient indigenous city.

	Visiting most nudist clubs typically requires traveling long distances down secondary highways and sometimes even unpaved roads. A few venues, however, are within easy access along major highways and thus can actually function as a nude rest stop when you’re on a road trip. This article is the first installment in a new series designed to highlight such “on the way” clubs.

Many thousands of snowbirds travel each year along interstate 75 which stretches from Michigan right into Florida. Right around Cincinnati, Ohio, you’ll find Paradise Gardens (not to be confused with Paradise clubs of Georgia and Florida), a rustic club nestled in the hills just off exit 31 along I-275 West. It’s conveniently located, especially if you’re looking to avoid the heavy traffic on I-75 through Cincinnati.
This writer briefly visited Paradise Gardens on a warm April day on my way to Kentucky. My host was Dave Gaston, who has managed the club for about a year along with his wife Denise. The site is open year-round and consists mainly of a large club house which has a couple of rental apartments on the second floor, a bar and disco on the main floor, as well as a small interior hot tub. A fairly big sunning area adjacent to the club house is where you’ll find most people on a nice day. The club also boasts a very large glass-enclosed pool, which is perfect for winter but gets a bit too hot in the thick of summer, as Gaston pointed-out.
Paradise Gardens certainly isn’t a luxury naturist resort, but it does boast several wooded acres with trails for nature lovers. Do be careful, however, as one patron was once knocked-over by a leaping deer, according to Gaston!
Note that Paradise Gardens is a clothes-free, not a clothing-optional, club, which makes it the exception among nudist clubs in the USA.

• Paradise Gardens’ web site

Laurie Jeffery is a photographer of nudes based in the United Kingdom. However, unlike a Spencer Tunick, he himself has always been nude whilst taking the photographs. We interviewed Jeffery about his art.

Nudist Day: When did you start nude photography, and when did you start shooting nudes whilst being nude?
Laurie Jeffery: I started shooting nudes when I was still at secondary school. As part of an “A” level qualification I wanted to work with a classic subject and one that would really test me, so I decided upon the female nude. As I remember I was 15 at the time. Being so young and at school, it wasn’t easy to find a model. But I ended up with 5 girl friends who wanted to help and the project got me an A grade. I started shooting whilst being nude myself at the same time.

ND: Is nude photography how you make a living?
LJ: Yes, I sell my nudes online and to publishers. I do still work as a director of TV programs, but nude photography is my primary means of making a living.

ND: We saw you maintain several sites related to nude photography as well as a blog. How do you find time for all this?
LJ: It’s not that hard. People I know tell me that I work very hard indeed, but it never feels like that for me. I find shooting as instinctive as breathing; and shooting nudes is my calling. As for the websites, they are made easy for me as I use very good computers, Apple Macs.

ND: We noticed you published nude pictures of your daughter. Photos of naked minors are a touchy matter these days. How would you respond to those who would criticize you for doing just this?
LJ: It’s a pity that in our society we have such taboos about nudity. This seems to be just another not-very-well-thought-out one to add to the list. As it happens, this is the first time this point has been mentioned. I’ve never been criticized for sharing the happy times I spend with my family.

ND: Your wife, Vicky, appears to be like-minded. Was she introduced to naturism by you?
LJ: I met Vicky when I was 19 at University studying for my degree. Again I needed models for a fashion project I was working on. I put up a rough poster in the fine art department. Vicky and a few of her friends turned up for the casting just for fun. A short time after, I asked her if she would pose nude for me and she didn’t hesitate. Since then, being naked is just a part of our life together. Yes, we are like-minded. And good friends as well.

ND: How do models generally react when they find-out the photographer will be nude? Has there ever been a model that felt uncomfortable that you were also nude?
LJ: To date every model I have worked with has been more than happy. I asked Leigh, who has modeled for me while we were both nude, to answer this question. She said, “Laurie had such an easy and relaxed manner when we worked. The fact that we were both nude during the shoot added to my own comfort. It was very fun, very natural.”

ND: What, in your opinion, are the elements of a great nude photo?
LJ: There are many–lighting, composition, etc. But it’s not only about the photography; not by a long way. The best work always inspires a sense of communication between the model and viewer. It’s a truly beautiful thing.

ND: Where, in your opinion, is the line between an erotic nude and an artistic nude?
LJ: Quite simply, the line between an erotic nude and an artistic nude is drawn in the mind of the viewer.

ND: Tell us about some of the publications that have included your work, as well as any galleries that exhibited your work, or are slated for the near future.
LJ: Gosh, there are so many. Magazine articles and covers include: Elle, Vogue, Cosmo, Red etc. I’ve done exhibitions in London, New York, dozens of books and book covers. Actually, don’t bother with this one–it sounds like I’m boasting.

ND: Does it ever bother you that it’s likely a lot of men view your photos and videos with an interest other than artistic?
LJ: Yes and no. The fact that people are seeing my images is a good thing, I hope. I choose to focus on the considerable feedback I get from viewers telling me that my work is stimulating and inspiring in many positive ways.

ND: Would you call your web sites a labor of love as opposed to a means to an end?
LJ: Both, but only 60/40. It is a labour of love for sure and it is also a means to an end. But honestly I don’t want it to end. Know what I mean? So much of the reward in what I do comes from the process and the experience.

ND: What are your plans for the future?
LJ: Keep working. Keep promoting nude art. Keep promoting naturism.

Related Links:

• The Naked Photographer web site
• The Naked Photographer blog

Related Stories:

• Tunick’s Mexico Shoot Postponed One Week
• Nude Photo Shoot & Protest Set for April 22

ROME - It was a hot day in Rome, Italy, and a 40 year-old woman from Milan decided to take a nude swim in the fabled Trevi fountain, in full view of tourists. After her swim, she sunbathed among the fountain’s large stones. Her bliss was short lived, however, as the Roman caribinieri (police) soon showed-up and charged her with public indecency.

The Fitness Buff is a radio show about sports and physical fitness, but unlike other shows of its kind, it’s broadcast live from Paradise Lakes, a luxury nudist resort in Florida, and its hosts and often its guests are all nude. We asked founder Pete Williams about his show…

Nudist Day: When and how did the Fitness Buff start?
Pete Williams: I was thinking of launching my own show on AM 1340 in Tampa Bay, which is a “brokered time” station. That means anyone can purchase air time, create their own show, sell their own advertising, and control all of the content. I’ve worked in sports radio, but the last thing the world needed was another sports talk program. In recent years, I’ve been writing fitness books and contributing to publications such as “Men’s Health,” so I thought a fitness program would be a different approach to take. I already had been doing some media consulting for the Paradise Lakes clothing-optional resort and they signed on to sponsor the show. I already was considering calling it “The Fitness Buff,” so that worked out well. It also was a nice coincidence that AM 1340 is WTAN – “The Tan Talk Network.” Our first show was on October 21, 2005. We’ve been on every Friday afternoon since.

ND: Which came first: Buff or Fitness? In other words,we’re you a nudist before this all started?
PW: That’s hard to say. I’ve been involved in sports and working out since childhood. Though I like to think of myself as a lifelong nudist, at least in spirit, I wasn’t raised in a nudist household and didn’t start visiting nude beaches and clubs until after high school. I’m the staff writer for the American Association for Nude Recreation’s (AANR) monthly publication “The Bulletin” and have written for it since 1994.

ND: How has the radio show been received?
PW: We’re received tremendous response. I thought the fact that we broadcast from Paradise Lakes in the buff would be a bigger deal, but most people kind of shrug when they hear about it. Here in the Tampa Bay area, where we have so many nudist resorts, nude recreation is practically mainstream behavior. I frequently run into people who say they’ve been to Paradise – or know somebody who has. We invite all of our guests who live in the Tampa Bay area to appear on the show live and the only people who have turned us down are those who can’t make it because of scheduling issues. (Since we air at 5 p.m. and Paradise is a little north of town, it makes it tough for some people to leave work, especially trainers who work with clients immediately after work.) Not everyone who comes out disrobes for the show, though some guests have.

ND: Has the regular press generally made a joke of the nudist aspects of your venture?
PW: Quite the contrary. The Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times, the local newspapers in the Tampa Bay area, understand what a big business nude recreation is because of the nudist resorts in Pasco County, just north of Tampa. They’ve covered our show much like they would cover any other radio program. The coverage has been fair and objective. We’ve also had queries from a number of prominent national publications, and I’m told there might be some coverage in the coming months.

ND: Tell us about your curvaceous blonde co-hosts…
PW: Any radio show needs to appeal to both male and female listeners, which is why I didn’t want to go back to the overwhelmingly male demographic of sports radio. My favorite talk shows have banter between male and female hosts and that’s what I wanted to create. Plus, if we were going to talk fitness, it couldn’t be all men’s fitness. We needed a female perspective. Sabrina Vizzari, my co-host, is a perfect fit for the show because she’s a fitness nut, has worked for several nudist resorts, and is terrific on radio. I don’t think of the women on our show as “curvaceous blondes.” They all have lean, athletic physiques and work in some aspect of the fitness industry and/or are avid recreational athletes. Plus, we’ve had female guests and guest hosts with black, brown, and red hair.
On a related note, having a nude radio show has helped us generate publicity, but we’re a serious fitness show. Our guests have included best-selling fitness authors, fitness magazine editors and writers, prominent trainers and national fitness personalities, nutritionists, representatives of fitness equipment manufacturers, and local race directors. We celebrate the beauty of the human body and the athletic physique, but if we were a show that focused solely on nude recreation, we’d have run out of material a long time ago.

ND: Many, including nudists, argue that exercising in the nude is unsanitary, never mind the ancient Greeks. What’s your opinion on this?
PW: The only instance I can think of where it would be unsanitary is if you’re working out nude in a gym and did not place a towel between your body and the gym equipment. Using a towel is proper nudist etiquette and just plain common sense.

ND: Can you tell us anything that might not be widely known yet, such as a future event you’re planning?
PW: We’re always got various shows and ideas in development. Probably the most concrete “scoop” I can give you is that we’ll soon have a live Web cam for the show at www.fitnessbuffshow.com.

Related Links:

• Fitness Buff web site