photographs

Monthly hotties coming your way

~ Josie Baker ~ Leave a comment

Meet Mr July…

Portrait of attractive young man with beard and open shirt revealing sixpack abs, sitting in leather armchair

Okay, I have yet another confession… as a little girl I used to sneak into my dad’s collection of Playboy magazines. I just loved reading the letters to the editor and dreaming of the day I might look like one of the sexy centerfolds. I suppose my enjoyment of naughty magazines was an early manifestation of my appreciation of all things sensual, which grew into an urge to create my own erotic worlds through story.

Now I’m a big girl, my dream is to have my own monthly Playmates – or play boys. At this stage I don’t have the time or finances to go scouting for talent (damn!) so in the meantime I’ll showcase gorgeous characters from my stories.

First up, Mr July – Zane Winters, aka as Shadow…

Continue reading →

Iconic Playboy

~ Josie Baker ~ Leave a comment

I’ve just started watching the docudrama American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner story and I was surprised by his very ordinary early life. I think we’ve all known a guy like the young Hugh – shy, awkward and deep thinking.

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I have to applaud his commitment to shine a light on the necessity and normalcy of sex in the repressed and puritanical era of the 1950s, when ‘doctors refused contraceptives to single women and the Hollywood production code dictated separate beds for married couples’. Continue reading →

Parisian kisses

~ Josie Baker ~ Leave a comment

Slow and sensual in a sun-dappled park; enthusiastic and artless on the banks of the Seine; fast and furious down a cobbled lane-way … Paris is the ideal place for kissing, and has been for decades (or centuries?)

There are many gorgeous images of passion in Paris, captured on paper, canvas, or through the lens of a camera, but there is one that—for me—captures the essence of the City of Love.

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Le Baiser de l’Hôtel de Ville (The Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville) was taken by the great French photographer Robert Doisneau. It’s a photograph of a couple kissing, in the midst of a crowd. The image was captured on the corner of rue du Renard and rue de Rivoli, across from the town hall, in the Spring of 1950.

Doisneau’s pictures made the private and the personal visible, focusing on people to make a connection with the viewer. There is an excellent article about how he used friends and actors as models, in response to privacy laws (yes, even back in the 1950’s).

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170213-the-iconic-photo-that-symbolises-love

As always, images have been my inspiration and I have shared some on a pinterest board…

Le Clos Tranquille

~ Josie Baker ~ 2 Comments

I had a lovely surprise today, while searching for a boring old document on my computer… I came across some photos I took on my visit to Giverny (Monet’s home from 1883 to 1926) more than 2 years ago. I don’t think I even glanced at these images when I got home, so it was like unwrapping a gift – and a beautiful reminder of my visit.

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It was a gorgeous September day, the temperature was perfect (for eating icecream), the gardens blooming…

There is something magical about the light in Europe, so clear yet gentle, not like the harsh light I’m accustomed to at home in Australia (which is beautiful in its own way, especially when it is illuminating the beautiful blue skies and vibrant earth of the outback).

I thought I’d share my favourites with you. You may notice, as I have just discovered, I have a ‘thing’ for dahlias in their many forms. I always knew I had a weakness for French bees…

And of course there are the delicious stories of Monet’s women: his first wife, muse and model, Camille (below); the affair he supposedly had with his patron’s wife, Alice, who may have nursed Camille on her deathbed, and then became Monet’s second wife…

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When is naughty still nice?

~ Josie Baker ~ 2 Comments

I hope you all received a warm welcome from the new year and 2016 has treated you well so far.

My job as a graphic designer becomes very demanding at the close of each year and I admit to suffering a touch of burnout. I’ve spent the time since Christmas quietly re-energising: lots of sleeping; reconnecting with nature & myself; cooking & eating. I’ve read some beautiful fiction (The Lake House by Kate Morton and Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase), found the inspiration to do some writing of my own and spent many hours exploring gorgeous images on Pinterest.

There are some very talented artists and photographers sharing their images and I became addicted to collecting my favourites and following the trails from one alluring image to another. I found some of them titillating, a reflection of my latest foray into mild BDSM in fiction (prompted by Sierra Cartwright’s ‘With this Collar’ which also lead me to try my hand at writing a Dominatrix character in a novelette called ‘Mistress’ to be released on Amazon in the coming weeks).

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Some images I found a little too naughty for my comfort. I guess the line between naughty-but-nice and shocking is dependant on the viewer, their sex, cultural background and his or her personal experiences. And maybe we become jaded or blasé over time.

I’d love to hear if you think my collection is on the nice side of naughty. I do…

Images sourced on Pinterest.