Nudity is hidden in the essence of nature
Niko Guido said that although he shoots nude, he doesn't get turned on. Stating
that the fact of "Nakedness" is not important to him, he said that this
situation exists in the essence of nature. The photographer said, "Some look at
the photograph of a naked model through an artistic view, and some may live
eroticism even in the toes. The stimulus a work of art makes in our brain
should not be related to the sex of the model."
The artist prefers to take his photographs in color and reflect the harmony of
nature with the model in the photographs. Guido has a nude photograph
collection of 20,000 frames. The primary element he looks for in his models is
self-confidence. Guido selects his models based on the applications he gets.
Guido mentions that he works both with Turks and foreigners and that foreign
models bravely exhibit their faces but Turks are a little hesitant. The success
rate of the nude photographs changes in direct proportion with the comfort of
the model.
Turkey's filter on nude photographs
Niko Guido especially prefers outdoor places in his shootings, because he wants
to emphasize the human who is a part of nature. Guido said that most of the
time he received mails containing negative reactions after his shootings. He
applied to exhibit his photographs in the halls of a foreign consulate and
received a negative response. A person in charge from the consulate made the
case that existing relations with Turkey were tense and although the
photographs were successful in terms of aesthetics, they could not be
exhibited. Guido said, "even the manager of a foreign culture center looks at
nude photography through the filter of Turkey."
Technique should not foil the photograph
Guido defines taking photographs with the word "love" and says, "When the
responsibilities of daily life were overwhelming, I wanted to take my dreams
and leave. The magic of photograph closed my eyes."
Salt Lake offers a convenient environment due to the reflection, which comes
from its depth and density. Especially in shootings with models, it gives the
impression that the person stands on water. Niko Guido's success in his "Water
Muse" lies in this point.
Guido states that the feeling of liking and desiring exist at the same level in
man and woman. He defines the emotion, which directs one to take nude
photographs is the expression of the exhibitionist feeling which is checked by
suppressions that exist in society. The artist didn't attach a lot of
importance to technique when he began taking photographs and conducted research
on shooting photographs in time. As his technical knowledge increased, he
started to see the minuses in his photographs and emphasizes that this took him
further from pleasure. Guido said, "I'm looking for love and excitement, not
for perfection. When I left technique aside, I regained my freedom. Without
technique, taking artistic photographs is very difficult, but the technique
should not foil the photograph".
Niko Guido said that he had many interesting anecdotes during the shootings.
The most interesting of these was at the Aspendos shootings. On the last day of
the three-day Aspendos shootings, Guido asked his model to pose naked on the
base of the statue, but he hadn't dealt with the legal procedure. About to
start taking photographs, Guido didn't even notice the person in charge who was
coming toward them in spite of all the gestures by the model. The person in
charge warned him and reminded him that in the case he continued shooting,
legal procedures would be initiated.
Another interesting story is as follows: Guido started shooting in a building
in Gokceada, which was about to collapse and he jumped at the sound he heard
from behind. A person aged 80 says to the photographer without any expression
on his face "the house might go down, don't stay for too long" and goes off
without paying attention to the naked model.
Turkish Daily News
