The story of The 70’s Bush starts 4-5 years ago prior to a shoot.
I always go over a list of things for the model to do before we meet, and the last of those things is: If you shave your pubes, do that a couple days before we meet in case you get razor burn, etc. The young lady I was giving this info to said, “Awww damn!” to which I asked, “Wait, what?” She went on to explain that she had this beautiful 70’s bush and she didn’t want to have to shave it off. Once we cleared up the confusion (I obviously didn’t want her to shave it off! Bodyhair is a personal choice and it’s NBD to me), I asked her to tell me what she meant by a 70’s bush.
She explained that from the time she hit puberty until after high school, she shaved because that’s what all her friends were doing and they made such a big deal about it that she just went along with it. But then, one day after graduating high school, she was in a shop that was selling vintage Playboy magazines. Having never seen one before, she grabbed a copy from the mid-70’s and was floored: All these women with these beautiful bushes! Her thought? “I want one of these!!” and so she stopped shaving and let it grow. And she was proud of her 70’s bush. We had a great time shooting (and she wore a pair of knee-high tube socks from the 70’s which only made it even more retro cool).
Fast forward to 2021: I don’t remember how we originally got to talking about this, but Kirsten (@bemmbry) and I have talked about The 70’s Bush throughout our time shooting. But as always, I don’t try to influence personal choices regarding pubes.
I’d not seen Kirsten since Oct, but we met up at the end of December 2021 for what would be our last shoot of the year; after we’d sat and chatted and caught up, she removed her clothing to begin taking pics and I saw a beautiful and amazing sight:
A 70’s Bush!
In all of it’s hairy, unruly splendor!
Straight out of a 70’s Playboy magazine, but beautifully and uniquely her own!
I cheered!
I exclaimed!
I probably embarrassed her!
I apologized for calling attention to it!
I asked if we could get a couple of pics of it!
I heard the reply that I always hope to hear: “Well, duh!”
And so now, faithful reader, here in all of it’s shaggy glory, I present to you:
The 70’s Bush!
Both of these shots were taken with the Graflex Speed Graphic 4×5 large format camera using Arista EDU Ultra 400 B&W film.
Perfect. Vintage 1970’s Playboy & Penthouse magazines are what inspired my own work. I love the look!
Love the photos, and love the story!