by Mel Kanner
Number 6 in a series of articles examining the changes that I have observed to the practice of nudism over the years and our society’s view of nudity.
Another problem at our nudist beaches and parks is photography.
Many nudists have been reluctant to disclose that they were nudists because of the fear that they might face job discrimination or censure. School teachers typically fall into this category. Being photographed nude was taking an additional risk. As a result most nudist parks have had rules about photography — typically, only on special occasions, such as an event, only by designated photographers, only for a specific purpose, and only with signed permission forms. One does not take out a Kodak Brownie and just start taking pictures.
At beaches that was not as easy to control. At our Blacks Beach outing, we could see that our looky-loo (LL) had a large camera with a large lens. His intention was obvious. And he was successfully thwarted by the Blacks Beach Bares.
But that was 10 years ago. Photography has changed. We went digital a while back. You can no longer just rip out the film from a confiscated camera. (Big film making companies like Kodak have stopped making film.) Cameras have gotten smaller and smaller but are still noticeable.
But, for quite a while now, cameras have been embedded in cellphones. Many parks banned their use while on the grounds. But that is no longer feasible. Cellphones really shouldn’t be called phones, since making phone calls is only one the many functions of these personal electronic assistants. And for many, its least important. For many, their phone is absolutely necessary — calendars, text messages, email, notes, twitter feeds, Google searches, web sites, and occasionally phone calls. iPads and other tablets fall into the same category, they just have bigger screens.
And they all have cameras, usually two. And there really is no way to tell whether a person is taking a picture or just reading email. And that picture can be uploaded to the internet in seconds.
This revolution sneaked up on us while we weren’t looking. And the change is only going to increase. The electronics keeps getting smaller and faster (estimates are half the size and twice the speed every year and a half). You can already buy a pair of glasses that has almost all of your cellphone capabilities. With a camera. And a connection to the internet. You can tell it to take a picture, or movie, of anything you are looking at. (It’s called Google Glass and here is a link to it. https://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/.)
It is highly probable that they will be able to embed the same functionality into contact lenses, and there is speculation about electronic implants. Complete control of the taking of pictures at nudist beaches and parks is impossible.
There is no going back to the good old days.