Several years ago, I was struggling with what to get my wife, Joan, for Christmas that would be fun and personal in a sexy, sensuous way. For several years, I'd bought her some sexy lingerie; not overly skimpy, sleazy stuff, but definitely not what she'd likely buy for herself. After a few years, I figured out that other than posing in it for some sexy photos, she was only wearing the items I had given her on a few special occasions, like birthdays and our anniversary. I finally got it, that I was buying these things more for me and my fantasies than for her enjoyment. So, I thought about what I could give her that would be just for her pleasure yet be fun with an overtly sexual theme.
A friend I worked with had told me about a gift his wife had given him a few years earlier. She had made a calendar of racy photos of herself appropriate for each month of the year. She had her sister do the photography and they used an off-the-shelf "calendar making" software to create the pages. I thought, why couldn't I do that for a very unique Christmas gift for Joan? There are "Chippendale" calendars commercially available for women, so why not make one with photos of me for her?
I knew I could easily find the software package; but a photographer was another story. None of my male friends would likely want any part of taking nude photos of another man. And trying to come up with a woman who knew her way around cameras, was willing to get involved with my nudity while not offending her husband or boyfriend, and whose seeing me naked wouldn't upset my wife appeared to be a Herculean task. Looking at the safest women, my sisters all lived out of town, and probably wouldn't have been too keen on the idea any way. The next safest, my sisters-in-law were out of town too; with the one most likely interested in the job being in Seattle, halfway across the country.
I could think of more than a few women who would think doing this kind of photography would be a lot fun and had some excellent camera skills. Several were single with no significant others to get upset. But I wasn't sure Joan would be too amused with my posing nude for nearly all of them. I already had access to a fair number of nude photos of me Joan had taken to cover several months, so I figured I could likely use a tripod to do the rest. We had been to 5 or 6 clothing-optional beaches and had great photos to use at least for the summer months. I had used a Santa suit for pictures with the kids and Joan, and we did some "adult" photos with it later that would cover December. And Joan had gotten a shot of me in my birthday suit when celebrating my birthday in May. So, I had at least five months covered already.
At home we had appropriate "props" for key holiday months, including January (a Happy New Year's banner), February (a Happy Valentine's Day sash), March (a St. Patrick's Day hat), April (an Easter basket), October (a Halloween trick-or-treating pumpkin), and November (a Happy Thanksgiving banner). That left only September to figure out, and while it was already mid-October, any outdoor fall setting would do. The indoor photos were easy, and Mr. September was done at a local park on a weekday, with no one around.
I printed the 12 months and cover on heavy, high quality photo paper and spiral-bound it at the top with a stiff cardboard backing. I was mostly happy with the product. Now the wait until Christmas to present it to Joan. During the time remaining before the holidays, I started having serious second thoughts about some of the photos. More than a few of the props I had used now seemed kind of cheesy, making the pictures seem pretty unimaginative and predictable.
I knew I could come up with better props and certainly some better settings, particularly some scenic outdoors locations. But some of the best would be in places that only provided short windows of opportunity without other people present or their being too close for discretion. Setting up a tripod and getting in and out of cover clothing quickly just would not work; I'd need a photographer. Back to thinking of who Joan would find acceptable. I had previously worked with a woman Joan had gotten to know and like, and with whom she knew there would never be any "funny business." And she had a trusted co-worker who was also a long-time friend I'd also gotten to know, and whom I thought could be interested.
Both women seemed to pass my litany of litmus tests. I called my former employee, Teri, first and told her what I had in mind. After a short pause, she said, "Sure, I could do that." I followed up by asking what her husband would think of the idea. "Does he have to know?" she asked pointedly in return. I felt a little silly for asking since I knew their marriage was pretty rocky.
We planned a noon-hour photo session for the next week at a lesser used park not far from downtown. I wanted to emphasize the scenery in reflecting the calendar month theme vs. some common traditional props and posing in our home. This park is large with a variety of landscape and water features, so time permitting I planned to knock out September, October, and November in different locales there. Teri told me she'd do multiple sessions if needed.
We met Tuesday as planned at a parking lot at the foot of a classic old pedestrian bridge that is a main entry to the park. I wore a baggy T-shirt, and equally baggy athletic shorts with no underwear for easy "on-and-offs." The Crocs on my feet were easy to kick off too. I gave Teri a quick tutorial on my camera, and the set up for the first shots. She would be downstream from the bridge and at an angle to shoot me at the peak of the bridge looking over the railing. I hoped she'd be careful to avoid the railing structure blocking the view of my "junk". We'd have to watch somewhat for car traffic, while we'd hopefully see walkers with some time to cover up.
She got in place, and I left my shirt with her and went to the middle of the bridge. When she was ready and the coast was clear, I kicked off the Crocs and tossed my shorts out of the frame, and she shot 8 or 9 quick photos. I felt an unexpected and strong sensual thrill in being naked outside with the lingering possibility of being seen by any women passing by, but, but mostly from my being so exposed to my friend Teri. Then I asked her to go to the end of the bridge and do some shots of me walking toward her. This gave her a totally unrestricted view of my whole body. It seemed she was not too subtle in looking at all my bare body. I was so wanting to ask if she found this situation anywhere near as sexually exciting as I did.
The next location was beneath an abandoned railroad bridge, where the bridge framed the scene on three sides with the river along the bottom. This area allowed significantly less chance of spectators so we could take more time being creative. Teri said more than once, "Joan is really going to love this one." I know my increasing arousal may have caught her eye and gave the illusion I was more endowed than I am.
For the final setting I stood by an "S-curve" in the river. The fall colors in the surrounding trees made for a picturesque setting. Again, it was a more private spot which allowed time for more poses and angles, along with more intimacy between photographer and model. She was a much more talented photographer than I had expected. It truly was a picture-perfect scene and quantum leaps better than any of my first attempts with the tripod.
