Have you ever wondered why you don’t think the “gross stuff” your partner does isn’t gross? Or why you love to grab your person’s gut after they’ve eaten? It’s probably because you’re evolved and realize that unsexy bodies — aka all of our bodies — are, in fact, sexy.

I can always tell how forward-thinking my significant other is if he thinks I’m attractive when I’m at my worst. For example, my fiance is still able to find the “cuteness” in me when I’m sweating out a bad fever, and have a snotty nose.

Now, it’s not like I go out of my way to look unattractive or unsexy, but most of the time, I just feel comfortable looking normal around him. I don’t have to suck in my gut for him to think I’m pretty, and that’s a pretty good sign that our relationship is solid, I think.

Over the past few years, visual artists have turned their lenses on themselves to experiment with their normal, unposed bodies. And guess what? A lot of these photos are incredibly erotic.

One such artist is Lauren Crow. Crow’s subject is considered “shocking” because she often focuses on people, such as herself, who don’t have Hollywood-ready, thin bodies.

In early 2016, Crow released a series of photos that feature her nude body in untypical nude poses. “Her nudity is neither a battle cry nor submissive, simply a state of being that we rarely see from larger people without needing an accompanying hashtag or campaign,” Dazed Digital reports. “The agency isn’t to prove anything with her work but rather simply to exist.”

Crow plans to up the ante this spring when she releases a new series of images that will examine the various types of intimate relationships the artist has in her life.

While all of us enlightened people know that every body is sexy, all of us also know that there are plenty of people who would like folks who have hairy bodies, larger bodies, out of shape bodies, etc. to cover up.

Crow’s work probably won’t make everyone swoon with joy, nor will it make body bullies change their tune, but her photos do help continue the “what is sexy isn’t always ‘sexy’” conversation.

Related on EcoSalon

On Slut-Shaming, Sexual Politics, and Barbie: #NowWhat

Gird Your Nipples, Ladies: A New Hampshire Politician Wants to Pinch ‘em: #NowWhat

How to Orgasm Every Single Time

Image via Lauren Crow’s Tumblr

The post All of Our Unsexy Bodies are, in Fact, Sexy appeared first on EcoSalon.

Welcome to a new series in which we round up the best Instagram photos of the week based on a theme.

We love photo sharing, and now we are sharing our favorites with you. Each week we will pick a theme, and bring you a round up of our favorite Instragram photos under that theme uploaded from users around the world.

This week we are exploring street art. Street art can be sprawled onto a building’s side or squeezed into the unlikeliest of places.  We especially love thoughtful street art that is a little quirky or comes with an inspiring message, but always brings something brighter into our day.

kcole716

lafemme_boheme

mrjohnson612

stephaniepresavoine

ryannworld

dymagate

sergiobang

sgsatd

bonbonlight

trinibad84

heathermariejewell

streetartnyc

paul3057

skevalley

jack_mochan

just1titus

featured image: bigpicturestuff

Have an idea or theme for next week’s Instragram roundup? Tweet to @spadesandsilk

See Also:

Graffiti Art Turns the Museum Inside Out

The Gentrification of Graffiti

The post Best Instagram Photos of the Week: Thoughtful Street Art appeared first on EcoSalon.

Photography tips like these make all the difference when capturing the delicate fragility of nature.

2. Use the Rule of Thirds. Try to position your subject (butterfly, mountain goat, or precariously perched tree) using the Rule of Thirds. Imagine placing a grid across your photograph, dividing it up into nine equally spaced cubes. In following this rule, you’ll want to place your subject at the intersections of these lines or along those lines. It is thought to provide a stronger composition and more interesting photograph than centering the subject in the frame would.

3. Look for patterns in nature. The human eye loves patterns, but to find them in nature you need to get in close for a detail shot. If you have a digital camera, don’t hesitate to get down on the ground or zoom-in to get close enough to see patterns emerging.

4. Do the Cha-Cha, the Visual Cha-Cha. To really capture being in a location, you have to do the visual cha-cha. You’ll want a wide shot, medium shot, and three detail shots. A wide shot would be a landscape shot, or think of it as if you were omnipresent. The medium shot would be a subject or two. And your detail shot would be the texture of a leaf or your friend’s chalk-covered hands while rock climbing. Just remember wide, medium, tight-tight-tight. — Christine Coester

This article appears courtesy of Sierra Magazine

Related on EcoSalon

Litter’s Little Big Problem: Cigarette Butts
Top 10 Tips for a Guilt-Free, Eco-Friendly Cup of Great Coffee
Healthy Trees Equals Healthy Humans

Image: Vinoth Chandar

The post 4 Photography Tips for Taking Gorgeous Nature Photos appeared first on EcoSalon.

No matter how accomplished, cool, or experienced we are, all of us get scared sometimes.

Even veteran National Geographic photographers, like Paul Nicklen, who was, as he says in the video below, terrified, before meeting up with a huge leopard seal in Antarctic waters. Nicklen says, “my legs were shaking and I had dry-mouth.” What happened? How did he deal with facing fear? You have to check out this gorgeous video to find out! 

Related on Ecosalon: 

Captivity Sucks (And Doesn’t Have to Be Permanent): The Great Dolphin Escape

Breeding Endangered Species: Should We Be Giving Pandas Viagra?

The post Facing Fear: National Geographic Photographer Teaches us How in Scary Encounter with Leopard Seal (Video) appeared first on EcoSalon.

World monuments are spectacular feats of humankind in and of themselves, inspiring awe in their architectural detail, grandeur or simplicity.  Match that with a keen photographer in just the right moment and the outcome is a new piece of inspiring artwork. Here are 21 incredible photographs of world monuments like you’ve never seen them before.

image: Marvin Soriano

1. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, USA

image: Andrew E. Larsen

2. Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocoo

image: Paul Stocker

3. Petra, Jordan

image: Trey Ratcliff

4. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia  

image: Jon McL

5. Inside the Pyramid of Unas, Saqqara, Egypt

image: Koen

6. Taj Mahal, Agra, India

image: James Byrum

7. Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia

image: Jason Pier

8. Colosseum, Rome, Italy

image: ThomasThomas

9. Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru

image: New York Public Library 

10. Statue of Liberty being assembled in Paris, France

image: dalbera

11. Alhambra, Grenada, Spain

image: Notre Dame Architecture Library

12. Great Sphinx, Giza, Egypt

image: Christian Córdova

13. Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile

image: Jean-Marie Hullot

14.  Bagan, Mandalay Region, Myanmar

image: photophilde

15. Le Louvre, Paris, France 

image: Dennis Jarvis

16. Great Wall of China, Juyong Pass, China

image: Nitin Gajria

17. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

image: Taro Tyler

18. Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

image: Lab604

19. Pashupatinath, Kathmandu, Nepal

image: Gonzalo Díaz Fornaro

20. Big Ben, London, England

image: Josh Gross

21. Ankor Wat, Cambodia

SEE ALSO:

40 Gorgeous Photos of Europe

40 Gorgeous Photos of North America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Latin America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Asia

40 Gorgeous Photos of Africa

25 Photos of Islands Threatened by Climate Change

40 Photos from Flea Markets Around the World

The post 21 Incredible World Monuments Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnWealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. – Epictetus

Qingiun began photographing people and their possessions ten years ago:

Huang took his first pictures as a teenager, inspired by an uncle in an era when the obvious hobbies for young Chinese were calligraphy and singing. His first proper camera, bought when he was 18, was the most valuable item in the family home.  He was clearly committed to the process.

Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the first photograph Huang took in the series. He plans to mark it by returning to the places he’s visited, or rather locations that are still recognizable – to see what has changed.

“In the last 10 years, China has seen such a fast rate of growth, I want to go back and see what the effects have been on their lives,” he says. “From the possessions each family uses in their daily lives, you get a good sense of the real levels of life for China’s people.”

Inspired by an article in BBC News.

Eco, trends, art, creativity and how they tumble through social media to shape culture fascinate EcoSalon columnist Dominique Pacheco. Her trends blog, mixingreality, speaks to these topics daily, and here at EcoSalon, she takes a weekly look at the intersection of eco and art. We call it heARTbeat.

The post heARTbeat: Huang Qingjun Photographs Chinese Families’ Worldly Goods appeared first on EcoSalon.

A powerful non verbal film that shows us the state of our world. 

In the day and age of information overload, it’s not uncommon that our brains shut down when we are overwhelmed with data. Statistics about how many people are dying from malnutrition, what percentage of our food we waste, how many parts per million of CO2 our atmosphere can sustain; at some point, we can only take in so much.

But then there is the power of visuals and music; two forces that can tell a story and pass along an idea without words.

If you have seen films like Koyaanisqatsi or BARAKA you know exactly the power that non verbal filmmaking can have. SAMSARA, the new movie from director-producer Ron Fricke and writer-producer Mark Magidson (BARAKA and CHRONOS) which opens on August 24, 2012 is exactly that, a beautiful, and at times somber, compilation of visuals that showcases the world that we live in and leaves us to make our own conclusions.

Filmed over a period of five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on 70mm film, SAMSARA transports you to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders. The result is breathtaking.

“We’re trying to stay away from a real strong point of view. It’s a real fine line to walk with editorializing and having strong opinions. We’re trying not to interrupt that flow… where you guide the viewer through those locations and through that subject matter,” says Magidson.

Although it results in a strong cultural critique, SAMSARA, a Sanskrit word that means “the ever turning wheel of life,” is first and foremost about imagery that fits the film’s name, as Magidson puts it, “birth, death and re-birth.” That imagery is intended to allow the viewer to connect with what they see; focus not on facts or numbers but simply on a place and a feeling.

“Because it’s all non fiction imagery there is an essence and power that is hopefully captured in the imagery. You need to feel the totality of that when you’re finished watching that. Find how that connects together in a way you didn’t imagine,” says Magidson.

The intent is less about politics and more about emotion, encouraging the viewer to come to their own conclusions. “It’s not doing a documentary about food processing… we just try to show how all of this is interconnected,” says Fricke.

In this case, less is more, and the ultimate impact comes from the essence of what the viewer sees, not necessarily just the subject of what they are watching.

“In an abstract way, you are providing what you hope is a moving emotional experience… regardless if you are commenting on it in an intellectual way. A lot of people feel a sense of compassion. That is a pathway to a more activist reaction potentially. We’re not trying to say what people should do.. we’re trying to provide a strong profound feeling state,” says Magidson.

Learn more about the film and screenings near you here. 

The post SAMSARA: A View of Our World, Shot in 5 Years, 25 Countries and 5 Continents appeared first on EcoSalon.

Video“Art can remind people that they need to care.” – Sheperd Fairey

What happens when you put a renowned photographer and artist together to work on a social issue?

Violence. Poverty. Death. Shooting images of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota for the last seven years, photographer Aaron Huey was devastated by what he saw, his work turning him from photojournalist to activist.

“That was the moment it stopped being just about journalism and I actually chose a side. I chose their side and I I chose to say what they wanted me to say, whether it was realistic or journalistic no longer mattered,” says Huey in the trailer for Honor the Treaties The Film.

Honor the Treaties | The Film from Eric Becker on Vimeo.

Home of the Lakota Sioux, in Pine Ridge Reservation, sometimes referred to as Prisoner of War Camp Number 334, 90% of the residents live below the federal poverty line. The life expectancy of males is 47 years.

Taking his sobering work on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Huey collaborated with artists Sheperd Fairey and Ernesto Yerena to launch a street art campaign of murals and posters inspired by Huey’s original photography, giving the general public a visual of a subject often forgotten, or pushed aside, intended to spark a discussion of Native American treaty battles.

Spread the word. Learn more about the project and download the posters for your own dissemination here.

The post Video: Honor the Treaties, The Film appeared first on EcoSalon.

The power of art as activism.

What does it take to change perspective?

That’s the question behind Streets of Afghanistan, a bigger-than-life art exhibition that highlights the beauty and soul of the land and the people of Afghanistan while challenging existing perceptions of the war-torn country.

These aren’t your average travel photos. With life-sized images, the exhibit, a project by Mountain2Mountain, is a ground-breaking collaboration of Afghan and Western photographers, immersing the viewer in the busy streets of Kabul, transporting them directly into the culture and mindset of the country’s people. Through art, we have chance to step into a world that most of us will never see.

Focused around connecting communities through art, this fall the traveling exhibit will return to the place where the images originated, bringing the images back to the streets of Kabul and making the project come full circle.

“These images have allowed the voices and stories of the Afghan community to be heard, unedited, in the United States. Presenting them on the streets of Kabul to share with the Afghan gives back to a people from which so much has been taken and used to fulfill a particular narrative. The power of public art ignites conversation, community, and opens our eyes to both the beauty and the heartbreak seen every day throughout Afghanistan,” says Mountain2Mountain founder Shannon Galpin.

This kind of an endeavor does not come without costs, and Streets of Afghanistan is currently fundraising to make the Afghani exhibit a reality. You can support the project on Kickstarter.

Images: Streets of Afghanistan

The post Support Bringing the ‘Streets of Afghanistan’ Exhibition to the Streets of Kabul appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnCalling all senses, calling all senses…

Mad Hatter: Do you care for tea?
Alice: Why, yes. I’m very fond of tea.
March Hare: If you don’t care for tea, you could at least make polite conversation!

Once you click around graphic designer Dinah Fried’s website, it’s obvious that she’s a reader and a bit of a book geek. Works titled:
What Book?, Shelf Help, Abridged II, Gatsby I and Sound + Fury are dead giveaways.

The series “Fictitious Dishes” holds a special allure, as one of the graces of reading is the ability to immerse oneself in a story so completely that the setting, smells, era and foods become the world one inhabits.

Fictitious Dishes Oliver Twist

Fried has done just that with her photographic series imagining the viewer as protagonist of such classics as The Catcher in the Rye, Moby Dick and Oliver Twist.

Fictitious Dishes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hovering about the table settings as the person about to stir a cup of tea, or requesting more porridge is the sort of point of view a book lover relishes. The stripped down idea leaves us just enough room to imagine who might be sitting with us, what the conversation around us sounds like, and perhaps most obviously what the menu actually tastes like. It’s also a great little game we can play called: “Have you read that one?”

Fictitious Dishes Moby Dick

Fictitious Dishes The Catcher in the Rye

Inspired by Senior Editor, Shelter, K. Emily Bond

Top Image: Fictitious Dishes Alice in Wonderland

Eco, trends, art, creativity and how they tumble through social media to shape culture fascinate EcoSalon columnist Dominique Pacheco. Her trends blog, mixingreality, speaks to these topics daily, and here at EcoSalon, she takes a weekly look at the intersection of eco and art. We call it heARTbeat.

The post heARTbeat: Dinah Fried Creates Characters with Fictitious Dishes appeared first on EcoSalon.