Tampa, Florida-based photographer Katty Ryan Hoover has an intriguing series titled ‘Lake Como’ that explores the lives of nudists living in the state.
Hoover chanced upon a couple who belonged to a nudist community while looking for subjects to photograph nude, and was introduced to the community’s way of life through them.
She shot her subjects in Florida’s Lake Como, which is home to the largest concentration of nudists in the United States.
Her portraits feature naked people, young and old, lounging on lawns and by lakes, being one with nature.
Hoover recounted the challenges she faced while working on the series, which involved leaving her comfort zone to document people who have adopted a clothes-free lifestyle, something that is foreign to most of us.
“I have to navigate that tension of wanting to connect and be vulnerable while managing a fight or flight impulse,” she said in an interview with Feature Shoot.
She also revealed that she went nude while shooting her subjects as it felt natural to do so; her lack of clothes actually removed any suspicion between her and the nudists.
Check out more of her photographs here and read her interview here.
[via Feature Shoot, images by Katty Ryan Hoover via New Orleans Photo Alliance]