This picture is a nude. But it is not only that. It has a story that I would like to share with you.

We had been shooting for a while and Thekla had been trying out some props. Then she decided that she wanted to use a fabric bag that she was pulling over her head. She told me that she likes absurde situations that she wants to explore artistically.

Imagine the situation. A naked woman, a clothed photographer, firing the camera at her incessantly. Then she pulls the bag over her head. She kneels, sits on the floor. She can’t walk because she cannot see. And the photographer asks her to lie down completely, to stretch out on the floor. She does it. She can’t see the photographer, she just needs to trust, to give in, to surrender. And so she does. She lets the man that she has met only once before in her life take pictures of her in this submissive pose. She then continues the set by moving on the floor, striking other poses, giving him the opportunity to create more pictures.

For me this was a situation where somebody gave me deliberately a huge amount of power without any hesitation. And for a moment I felt this surge of power of making another person do what I want and to surrender to my will. It was only a very brief moment which immediately was replaced by amazement and a slight feeling of guilt on my side.

The room was very hot and after about 10 minutes she stopped, telling me that she was tired and needed to have a break. She removed the bag and at that moment I took the second shot that I am showing here. It shows her exhaustion, how physically and maybe also emotionally worn out she was.

I want to express my admiration and my gratitude to Thekla. Apart from the photographic and artistic experience this was a deeply moving human moment for me.