Freeing body and soul
Freeing body and soul.
For a long time I had admired Pralad’s work and the immensity of sensations that those brave bodies conveyed through the lens.
Seeing those images gave me the feeling of being able to hear the silence and stillness of the city or place, while the beauty of all those different bodies dazzled my eyes and stirred my being.
Admiration! I longed to experience and convey for myself what I perceived in those women through the image.
It’s not that I didn’t feel secure with my body or my nakedness, but I was attacked by those horrible insecurities that society has imposed on us and that we impose on ourselves, where they want us to believe that showing, enjoying and freeing the body is obscene, lurid and inappropriate.
For me it’s more than taking off your clothes: it’s taking off fears, taking off insecurities, taking off millions of phrases that have stayed marked like wounds on the skin, taking the patriarchy off your back, taking off so-called “evolution” and going back to what is natural, to nakedness, to the seed, where I always wished to be again.
A while ago I began to deny these impositions a voice and a place in my head and heart. I started a work of liberation in different areas of my life, and as if it had been manifested, this opportunity came up, and I saw in it a chance to set in motion the beginning/end of a new person in me, to be reborn, to empower myself, to win myself over, to win over my past self who couldn’t let go of this body that was asking only for freedom…
And what better way to begin this journey of liberation than with my friend, my companion, my sister, my person♡ Ligia. I’ve felt free with her ever since I met her in this life (we surely knew each other in another), free to be who I am and always encouraged to be who I want to be, my “similar soul”.
Thank you for being my grounding wire and my wings to fly to the sky, I admire you and I love you♡
Thank you Pralad for creating this space, for flowing so well with us, and for your great talent.
Thank you, universe, for filling me with abundance lately~
Berni
IG: @bern4sty
This session started because Berni saw that Pralad had posted a story asking who was up for some photos. Berni sent me the story and said we should do artistic nudes. I said yes, but I was too embarrassed to do it alone, so it had to be together. A few minutes went by and she told me we were all set.
When I found out the session was booked I felt nervous, anxious and excited. I had very basic questions, like “will all my flaws show in the photos?” or “will I be able to pose naked?” “will I feel comfortable?”, but going with Berni already meant 99% confidence and certainty that the session would turn out great and fun.
Doing this session together made me think a lot about our friendship, because honestly it was an instant yes, like, yes, we want to do the session together and we feel totally comfortable with it being the two of us.
When the day of the photos came, it was all super coool: zero awkwardness, it wasn’t hard at all to take off our clothes and get under a waterfall at 7am hahaha. That water was delicious for waking us up and getting us even more motivated.
We had a great time with Pralad and it wasn’t hard to understand each other. Since we were first-timers at posing he guided us, and every now and then spontaneous ideas came up, like covering ourselves in mud for some photos, and we were up for everything.
I never imagined it would all be so cool, comfortable, fun and spontaneous. I remember Pralad showing us some of the photos he had just taken and asking “did you imagine you’d look like this?” and us telling him no, because the photos really turned out so beautiful and tender.
Even if it sounds cliché, this helped me grow more confident and let go of some modesty. I’m very grateful and happy with the experience, and my thanks go to my shiki, my Berni, my bestie, my girlfriend hahaha. Maybe she can’t imagine all the things she has taught me and pushed me to do; well, this is one of many, love you always. And of course I also want to thank Pralad for his time, patience and work, for making us feel calm and confident. I really felt the three of us worked very well together, and you can see it in the photos and in the adventure of that day.