I have been reading a number of posts from naturist bloggers whom I respect, that are talking about the use of images on Naturist Blog sites. The consensus appears to be that “borrowing” images from the world of cyberspace, with the exception of images that are in the public domain of Creative Commons, is a no-no. I have been of the same opinion for many years though I do admit that every now and then, one sneaks into a post without my first having done due diligence as to whether or not the image is actually in the public domain.
As a result, I am making an effort to verify all the images that haven’t been taken by me, or by someone who has given me express permission to use a given image. Even with these “with permission” photos, there is a legal requirement for having a photo release document for each of these photos if there are questions in the future. However, with the exception of such photos that I have used in my published poetry books, I doubt that I will worry about it. I did have the poetry book photos covered with release forms. So, if a photo disappears from an archived post, likely it is because the image was not proven to be in the public domain.
I am continuing to use photos, almost solely taken by myself, for this blog site. This is a naturist’s blog site and my photos will reflect that fact. That said, I am not “genital centric” when it comes to these photographs. For example, in today’s photo taken moments before I began to write this post, it is obvious that I am not wearing clothing and that I am outdoors. Equally as obvious is the fact that I am a male and wouldn’t qualify as a specimen showing a classical, muscular model. You don’t need to see a penis for the photo to do its task of telling a story. In this case, the photo was taken for my diary/journal in which I record my projects such as the current one where I am deconstructing a deck in order to rebuild a safer version of the deck. Some of the work is done while nude, while most of it is done while wearing clothing – it’s mostly about weather at this time of year.
Do I need to have photos? For me, the answer is quite easy. This is my site, one open to the world and more importantly, one that is about the reality of who I am. I choose what to say, I choose what images to use, and I choose over time, which posts will survive in the archives. Not everything I write needs to be saved for posterity. My journal is a different story. Just like writing and then editing a novel, or even a non-fiction book, not everything written gets to make the cut for the final product.
There are “purists” out there who would and do judge based on some sort of fundamentalist belief that a) genitals must be presented in a naturist photo, overtly or casually, b) that nude photos must be included, and c) that whatever has been written MUST be left in the archives. These fundamentalists don’t have blog sites for the most part though they are quick to let others know what constitutes a “real naturist.” It’s all about control. They want to have the naturist world conform to some vague, amorphous ideal that is circulating in their heads with the problem being that these ideals are set in stone, slightly differently, for each of the purist fundamentalists.
Okay, I got off track there, apologies [I am a Canadian and apologising is part of our cultural psyche – yes, this is humour] are extended.
I have been deleting posts from the archives. In my opinion, what is eventually left is worth reading. Some of them will likely be revisited and expanded upon as I perhaps gain a bit more wisdom or see an opportunity to add to the topic of a particular blog post from the past. Editing. All writers do it to some extent.
There, I have given my opinions, now it is time for you to agree, disagree, or offer amendments to these ideas. I am, if anything, open to ideas, suggestions, and even criticism. After all, in the end, you are my audience.
I like the idea of moving posts to archives and leave those that are more relevant to naturism. After all, isn’t that the point of writing on this subject and bring a positive light to it? As for photos, I will include my own if it supports the narrative. Keep up the excellent work, stay safe and healthy. Fabien
Thanks, Fabien.
In the early days of Naked Wanderings, we used to borrow a lot of pictures from the internet. We knew it’s not right but we used to ease our conscience with the fact that these photos will come better to their right on our 100% genuine naturist website than on the various dubious social media accounts where they could be found.
The reason why we used those pictures was because we thought they illustrated naturism better than the handful of naturist pictures we possessed of our own. We could have used no pictures at all, but that would make the text less attractive, which results in less social shares which then results in less reach. As bloggers, we strive to reach as many people as possible.
Today, we almost uniquely use our own pictures, with now and then Creative Commons images if we have nothing to illustrate the subject. We also refrain from genital centric images, in most cases even genitals at all. This is mostly because we believe that naturism is about being nude and not about looking at nude people. An additional advantage is that it makes our site much less interesting for those with the wrong intentions.
As you mention, some naturists will claim that genitals are an important part of naturist photos. We don’t agree. I you would take a survey among naturists, asking who of them takes full frontal pictures (let alone publish them online), we’re pretty sure that full frontal nudity would be much less naturist than one would initially think.
Thanks Nik and Lins for adding your words here. We have basically come to almost the same place in the world of blogging about naturism though I do defer to both of you as true blogging leaders in the world.