As soon as Greg Friedler opens the door and smiles, I understand why people are willing to take off their clothes for him. This talented New York photographer is imbued with "all-American" boy-scout innocence and his earnest expression impels me to trust him immediately. His books, Naked New York, Naked LA and Naked London are born out of his intense curiosity to document the various types of people who exist within humanity. These are photographs of the "Naked" rather than the "Nude" body: a testimony to the incredible diversity of the human body - in all its stages of living - rather than yet-another one-dimensional, airbrushed and media-generated image of the "sexy" nude 18 year-old.

The night before I meet Greg, I look through his books and can't put them down until I scrutinize every single photograph. I realize how deprived I am from seeing real images of naked bodies. Maybe I should join the "Nature's Club," I think, because I feel so empowered. I realize the power of the media in my own perceptions of beauty, sexuality and nudity. Looking through Greg's books, my naked body dissolves into a beautiful continuum of human bodies and my "faults" are no longer significant. "Nakedness is a great equalizer," says Greg, "and photographing someone naked is about trying to get at some kind of truth."

And this truth is exposed only when we strip away the public masks, our conventions of beauty, and our desire for sexual gratification. Vulnerable and honest, we reveal our distinctly unique personal and bodily expression in the instant Greg's camera flashes.

Karen Murray
Associate Producer, SEXTV