Jasper Johal posts
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Acro yoga
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Lift, and you shall be liftedGive without expecting anything back,because beneath the forest floorall our roots are interconnected– Paredesi Pyara
King pigeon pose
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly–– from a poem by Langston Hughes (1902–1967)
Flow Yoga
“Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.”– Rumi_Sometimes flow yoga can turn into a dance flow, specially when one has some feelings to work out.
Story behind the name: THE BODY AS TEMPLE
When I first started shooting nudes of my yogi and dancer friends I was very clear that I wanted to create images that inspire, not titillate.But when talking to people who were not familiar with my work it became apparent that most people when they of hear of “nude photography”, the first thing that springs to their mind is salacious images from "men's magazines", or soft fuzzy pictures commonly referred to as "glamour" o...
Sign up to see art nude photo essay of this model
I have just posted the best 22 images from my shoot with this model named Eclipse. She is a wonderful yogi and dancer. Please join my Patreon at Tier level 2 or 3 to see this photo essay of art nudes.Members will also see over two dozen image posts already online besides this photo essay, and the numerous new images I will continue to drop on my feed in the coming days and weeks.SPECIAL OFFER: Join before the end of this month (March 31st) and yo...
Photo Essay - Eclipse
Eclipse Monday has one of the coolest names, doesn’t she?With her slender build, pale skin and cascading curly tresses she also looks like she just walked out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting, like John Everett Millais’s Ophelia or one of dozens of paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti of his wife, Elizabeth Siddall. So I set about shooting her with some golden light, evoking the palette and look of paintings from the 1800s.But Eclipse lives in the...
Inverted
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)If I can stop one heart from breaking,I shall not live in vain;If I can ease one life the aching,Or cool one pain,I shall not live in vain.– from a poem byEmily Dickinson (1830–1886)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀_PHOTO: Kitti is a skilled dancer and aerialist from New York. We met when she was visiting Los Angeles some years back.IG: @kkitcat
Phoenix
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)As if you were on fire from within,the moon lives in the lining of your skin–– Pablo Neruda
Drenched
Betcee had just arrived at my new studio. She asked to use the bathroom. Soon as she entered, I heard a squeak of delight. She popped her head back out and said, “Love your bathroom! Let’s shoot in here!”
Body beautiful
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Some consider it sinfulfrom the day it was bornOthers inflict austerities on itdamaging its formBut embrace this body, this vesselFor it is the only templeyour divine soul resides intill it’s gone––Pardesi Pyara_PHOTO: Sweet dear friend Kristin, from a shoot we did a decade ago.IG: @koyogafitness
Transcend
LIFE OBSERVED:“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.” ―Jalaluddin Mawlānā Rumi_PHOTO: ...
Cat cow
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)what a privilegeto be humanfor this speck of start dustto experience emotionsto experience love and losscherish your time–– Pardesi Pyara
Undulating
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)dancing in moonlightfor the love that wasdancing for lovethat is yet to belike the phases of the moonlife repeatsdon’t despair–– Pardesi Pyara
Suspended in memory
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outwornRaise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is tornDance me to the end of love– from a poem by Leonard Cohen_PHOTO: Missing my friends in California. This photo is from my first shoot with dear friend Crystal, over six years ago.IG: @mustbecrystal
Strong yet supple
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Take a deep breath and find your strengthIt is not the sprint that mattersbut the marathon— Pardesi Pyara⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀PHOTO: Dear friend Jasmina, who just became a new mama, is a beautiful human in so many ways. Love shooting with her. She has been on three of my Body as Temple calendar covers.IG: @yazsmachine
Heart opener
Often all that is requiredis that we keep our heart open.–– Pardesi Pyara
Twist
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Surprised by joy—impatient as the WindI turned to share the transport—Oh! with whomBut Thee, deep buried in the silent Tomb,That spot which no vicissitude can find?– from a poem by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
Rebirth
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Hardships of life cover us,like mud covering a seed, until we sprout againThat which smothers us now,is what provides us strength to rise again–– Pardesi Pyara_PHOTO: Met graceful Aria through a secret Facebook group. Ended up doing several magical shoots. Such a joy to work with.IG: @aria.vesper.love
Temple
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Your soul and mine have gone the way of lifeWe twain have bleeding wounds from love's deep knife,But you have kissed the tears that moist my cheeksAnd lifted me beyond the cragged peaks—– from a poem by Fenton Johnson (1888-1958)
Eternity
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Remember me when I am gone away,Gone far away into the silent land;When you can no more hold me by the hand,Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.– Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Passion
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)I loved you first: but afterwards your loveOutsoaring mine, sang such a loftier songAs drowned the friendly cooings of my dove– from a poem by Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)_PHOTO: Years ago I was visited by a feisty angel.IG: @shantiaveney
Rising
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Did you want to see me broken?Bowed head and lowered eyes?Shoulders falling down like teardrops,Weakened by my soulful cries?Leaving behind nights of terror and fearI riseInto a daybreak that’s wondrously clearI rise— Maya Angelou
Unfurling to the wind
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Dance me to your beauty with a burning violinDance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely inLift me like an olive branch and be my homeward doveDance me to the end of love— Leonard Cohen
Floating like a feather
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)O, lift me from the grass!I die, I faint, I fail!Let thy love in kisses rainOn my lips and eyelids pale.–– Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Melting into camel pose
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Oh plunge me deep in love—put outMy senses, leave me deaf and blind,Swept by the tempest of your love,A taper in a rushing wind– from a poem by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
Friendship
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Two sturdy oaks I mean, which side by side,Withstand the winter’s storm,And spite of wind and tide,Grow up the meadow’s pride,For both are strong..Above they barely touch, but underminedDown to their deepest source,Admiring you shall findTheir roots are intertwinedInsep’rably.–– from Henry David Thoreau’s‘Friendship’_PHOTO: Another time Erin visited my studio with her friend, Devon. They were both such a deli...
Floating
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)She walks in beauty, like the nightOf cloudless climes and starry skies;And all that’s best of dark and brightMeet in her aspect and her eyes;Thus mellowed to that tender lightWhich heaven to gaudy day denies.–– Lord Byron (1788-1824)_PHOTO: I have been fortunate enough to shoot with some exceptionally gifted dancers over the years. Erin was a ballerina with Texas Ballet Theater and Los Angeles Ballet. This image is fr...
Stillness
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Turn withinwhen the world gets too muchLike the eye of the stormstillness lies at the center of your being–– Pardesi Pyara_PHOTO: Over the years, each time Julina visits LA, she drops by my studio to share a meal, to converse into the night, and to shoot some beautiful images. Waiting for her to come visit me in Texas now.IG: @julinabliss
Wheel pose
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)Let our dreams rise like flameslet them consume our heart so fullythe Universe has no choicebut to let our dreams become real–– Pardesi Pyara
Suspended Repose
POETRY (#JasperPoetry)When buffeted and beaten by life’s storms,When by the bitter cares of life oppressed,I want no surer haven than your arms,I want no sweeter heaven than your breast.— from a poem by J. W. Johnson (1871-1938)_PHOTO: Ballet dancers, yogis and aerialists make hard things look easy. Supporting one’s whole body weight with a small grip but still managing to look light as a feather is a feat. Crystal can hang effortlessly fro...
