When he is not taking pictures - or even when he is, he has a liking for the great outdoors and indulges himself in activities such as extreme rock climbing surfing, mountain walking and nude sunbathing “In my late twenties” says Glyn, “I discovered the freedom and liberation of sunbathing on naturist beaches and became acutely aware that naked bodies outdoors can be so utterly natural and wonderful”.
When Glyn found himself surrounded by the some beautiful, sensually shaped sand dunes, he felt inspired to set up his camera, remove his clothes and attempt to capture this co-joining on film. Later he found himself fascinated by the link between the stripped-bare naked form and the naturalness of the wind-formed sand and the project was born.
He advertised for some intrepid amateur models, prepared to bare all for what could be termed ”extreme modelling” in some of the most inhospitable places Britain has to offer. Considering that many of these volunteers were not too confident about posing for every day portraits, it's incredible that they were able to leave their comfort zone and do something most people would never dream of. I watched each model enjoy a real sense of liberation after removing their clothes and posing for the photographs. There was often a nervous panic at the point of finally removing their underwear but after just a few seconds, having realised that no one was shouting or whistling, and that the sky hadn’t fallen down, I witnessed a rapid change in confidence. I could almost hear them say, “Well blow it, I'm nude now and what can be seen has been seen, so let's make the picture work”. One model, after she had posed on a mountain top crag, with me photographing from perhaps 40 feet away, just screamed out into the void, “I can't believe it, I'm on a huge Welsh mountain top and I'm completely NAKED!” I had a big grin on my face because I knew exactly what she was feeling, and once you have experienced something amazing like that, it can never be taken away.
The pictures will be on show at a major exhibition of approximately fifty prints at the prestigious Oriel Ynys Môn Gallery in Central Anglesey from August 9th - September 21st 2014.
http://www.visitanglesey.co.uk/en/whats-on/events/landscape-figures-glyn-davies/#.U-JeZoBdVi5