A decade ago, it was different. Back then, websites like stern.de bought my photo spreads. There was still a lot going on in the magazine market, nudity was not yet frowned upon. Magazines like Men's Health had monthly sex guides that would be illustrated and there were still many country editions of Playboy magazine and besides that other magazines like TRIP or Matador that also published very nice nude photo series.
In this age, it made sense to come up with a broad and fresh portfolio. I wanted to be seen and show everyone how diligently and intensively I work.
My work is still just as intense. Meanwhile, I dedicate myself to nude photography seven days a week and sometimes my wife kicks my ass for it and says she'd like some time with me, too.
At the same time, I devote much more time to my blog than I did before the pandemic. And social media eats up a lot of time, too. Basically, I've been a content creator for a long time. It's just that I don't get paid for it.
Actually, the concept of offering everything on the internet for free has always been somewhat questionable. Daily newspapers tried to recoup the costs through advertising. But that wasn't enough, and now there are online subscriptions and pay walls everywhere.
In the past, porn had to be bought as a video cassette or expensive magazines from the U.S. had to be purchased at a well-stocked magazine store (for us European teenagers). On the internet, everything was offered for free as a matter of course, and it still is today. I once read that porn accounts for three quarters of all internet traffic. So 75% of the bandwidth is pornography. Why shouldn't this cost money?
But each production costs a lot of money. And when you don't earn anything back, your work becomes somewhat useless.
So last year I had to realize that I can no longer produce for free. As I said, nude photography is my life's work, not just a job and not a hobby. I devote myself all day to the subject and burn for it. A real passion. How can it be then that this is not honored?
I know that I will alienate many regular visitors with this. And I am sorry for that. I hope you understand my side as well. And if you don't feel like Patreon, you can still buy my calendar or a print, purchase my coffee table books, and pick up a Playboy issue every now and then if there's a spread of mine in it. My blog stays free (and free of advertising), too. I hope that's a small consolation.
Please feel free to drop by once in a while. I have already produced months of content in advance and my next photo shoots are already planned.
