278 Days - A Nude Attitude

It’s Sunday afternoon, and Sean is probably rolling back into the Gulf Coast Florida town where he and his family are visiting his momma right about now. They drove from L.A. to the East Coast last week, as they do every year, to hang out with friends and family, and to fish, and hunt, and laugh, and frankly, to live. Sean knows what it is to really, truly live. Shit doesn’t bother him, at least, not when he’s around us. Nothing fazes him. Arm lost in a threshing accident? No biggie; he’s got this one he can use. Black bear knocking on his door? Rad, man! Look how fuzzy that thing is! So when Todd asked Sean if he would make a special trip up to Atlanta while he was on the East Coast to take tasteful pictures of his naked wife (moi) Sean didn’t bat an eye, and not because Sean wanted to see me naked because honestly, he’s seen naked a shitload more women a lot more smokin’ hot than little ol’ me. Sean said yeah because it was the Sean thing to say. He’s in it for his friends. He’s in it for the adventure. He’s in it for what will inevitably be a great story in the end which will add yet another layer to his already badass, passion-filled existence. And he’ll walk away not even knowing that the people whose lives he just affected will be changed forever. Sean Murphy may have done what most of my life’s advisors were unable to; he showed me by way of example how important it is to take a step back from what you’re doing, think before you act and take in what exactly is going on while being in it while it is. Moments. I’ve typed that word and spoken that word and shared that word so many times in recent months, but yesterday I applied it to my life along with a whole new attitude about what the future holds. So today, in the form of photos from yesterday’s shoot by the wonderful, talented, and non-religiously spiritual Sean Murphy, I share with you… The Moments of Eve.

No nude photo shoot prep should be complete without plenty of wardrobe changes (steamed and hung), accessories, heels, makeup, and of course, Jose Cuervo:

Sean took some ridiculous shots in the process of prepping, but since 90% of the photos aren’t for public consumption, I’ll share with you the few that can be shared here, and as you may have already guessed, that will be pretty much the way it goes for the rest of the post. 

Presenting, hair and makeup: 

Now, this first set up was genius. I swear I have no idea how photographers see ahead of time what idiots like I couldn’t in a million years. Todd played the role of key grip and did a great job of also snapping some of his own behind-the-scenes shots with a second camera. Here’s what Todd and the rest of the world would have seen if they walked in on the first series of photos being taken:

And here, prepare ye those with a weak heart, is what Sean saw in his mind:

I hardly believe that’s me. Seriously. Who IS that??? Holy SHIT – that’s ME!!!!!!!! This is about as risqué as you’re going to get today though kids, so gawk it up while you can, ‘cause Todd was being drunkenly kind in letting me even use this as fodder. But how could I not? Come on - that might be the hottest picture I have ever taken/will ever take in my existence. Screw "might." Replace immediately with "is." I seriously still can't believe that's me.

Okay, so, the idea of this next series of pictures came to Sean on the spot, yet they’re my favorite images from the day. In his mind, they were to look sort of retro/70's. Todd said something about it looking like it could have been Natalie Wood, only not drunk or dead from drowning. I kind of agree… it totally has that throwback feel, doesn’t it? Oh, and by the way, this is the part where Sean sees my boobs. The Cuervo helped, I think. Honestly once the bra was off and I saw that Todd wasn’t uncomfortable it kind of just became clinical. Like I said, the man didn’t blink. Fucking bastard.

I’ve got to admit I thought I was going to get cold nipp... uh, feet! But once it was all out in the open, which happened rather quickly, it really was second nature. Nude is cool, man. I think every one of my gal pals out there needs to do this before you get really old and really wrinkly. This is it now… I’ve been memorialized and hey, you can get memorialized too!

Here are a couple of fun shots taken with Todd’s dress shirt and tie and not a whole lot else. Wish I could show you more, but, you and I might both pass out if I did:

Kind of has a whole Aaron Sorkin/Newsroom feel to it, doesn’t it? Except people are naked and have wedgies from thongs. Yeah. It’s like that. Anyway, the next two shots are by far the most gorgeous of the day. The two people in these photos are strong. They are filled with a desire to keep real love going, and they want, more than anything, to be better people and better to people, every day. For those yet to experience the madness, the wonder, the greatness and the pain, this is what love looks like:

Sean also did a bang-up job of grabbing some close-up images throughout the day. A shoe here. A thigh there. The occasional ass crack. It was awesome. He took a fair amount of headshots too, Here are a few of Todd's favorites:

Nice, huh? Now do you see why I was so excited about doing this thing? When we sat in our living room last night in front of Sean’s Mac going through every image (thousands) from the day, it was as if I was having an out-of-body experience. I was looking at myself like I hadn’t ever. I mean, yes, I modeled and I’ve had some really beautiful pictures taken in the past, but I have never been on the eve of forty before, so this – this thing with the lingerie and the nakedness and the boobs and the sexy poses – this was all new to me at THIRTY-NINE years old because it's all new at thirty-nine years old. These moments were being created and we were living in them simultaneously – Todd and Sean and I – we were all in it and living. It was beautiful in more ways than I can define and it really happened; I was there.

To close out the day we stood in the middle of a field with the sun in just the right position, the wind at just the right angle, and the mood with just the right amount of perfection. Sean had yet another vision that he was going to turn into a work of art, just as he had done with every vision before. This time, however, it would be about water and wind and feeling a little like a hippy. And just as we had expected, Sean had created a masterpiece once again.

Thanks to the one and only Sean Murphy, and thanks to the man who loves me most – my gorgeous, unbelievable husband, and thanks to you guys for showing interest in my blog and my story and this journey and the whole concept. Doing this thing was so much fun with all of you coming along with me.

Here’s one final look and the last leg of Eve’s shoot…