33 Photos by Ruben van Schalm Find Paradise in the Naked Male Body

The censorship of the naked male body continues to expand daily on the Internet. Helping photographer's like Ruben van Schalm launch their beautiful photobooks with crowd finding like Kickstarter, is a way to resist growing censorship.

About Ruben van Schalm's work: "I experience my work as a personal diary of special encounters in which the moment of looking through the camera gives me the opportunity to come into close contact with the unattainable. In this way photography allows me to closely examine the beauty of my objects of desire. The environment in which I place these objects of desire plays an important role, because framing the male body in a specific environment allows me to create the ultimate paradise I’m searching for in my work.

"Besides a certain sexual charge the photos also need to translate the energy of a playful moment in which they where created. My work method is very intuitive in this sense, and series of images form as a result of experiment rather than a planned staged shoot. A diary documents your life and always has unexpected turns that I want to capture in my work.

"The urban natural environment creates a sharp contrast with the body. My art works show a different sort of sensuality because they are layered by a certain vulnerability of the male nude that occurs when the natural environment touches the bare skin. In all these series I explore this connection of the body to the natural environment, specific to that unique moment and person. 

"Thank you so much for your support. This book is the conclusion of a period of time in the last 5 years and the opening of a new one with a new direction in my works as a photographer." 

See more about the project on Kickstarter, follow Ruben on Facebook, and view more work on Instagram. 

Ruben van Schalm was born in 1988 Rotterdam. He grew up in Hellevoetsluis, a small village in The Netherlands.

After schooling, he pursued modeling and acting. He travelled around the world to Milan, London, Berlin, New York. 

In 2008 he modeled for photographer Erwin Olaf in the series “FALL”. This led to other projects.

As a result of working in front of the camera with inspirational artists, both in still photos and film, he was inspired to create his own vision in photography beginning in 2012.