Sinful Sunday: Challenge Accepted!

I don’t have a catchphrase or a life motto; very few of the things in which I believe most deeply can be boiled down to a handful of words or a pithy aphorism. But if I had to pick one expression that summed up my attitude to sex, photography, my friends, adventure, and sure, life generally, it might just be the title of this post: challenge accepted!

I am game for most things (you may have noticed): the more ridiculous or extravagant, the better. So when Exposing 40 mentioned casually a while back that she was trying to take nudes in each of London’s Magnificent Seven cemeteries*, obviously I wanted to get involved. And that’s exactly what I’ve done! From the silliness of Highgate’s perfectly-located Vault of Cockshott to the muted colours and contrasts of Tower Hamlets, I helped with two of the six she ticked off over the last couple of years – leaving only one to go.

That final location on her list was Brompton Cemetery, possibly the busiest and most exposed of the seven. Not an easy place to ‘bag’, especially on a sunny weekday afternoon with runners, dog walkers, tourists, and people just making their way between two busy Fulham main roads to contend with. But if there’s one thing E40 is good at (and there are many), it’s spotting opportunities, so I felt sure we’d find a way to get it done. Yep, challenge accepted!

The photo itself is a pretty good one, I think: not the best of the seven, maybe, but not a let-down either, nor one that struggles to stand up alongside the other six. Like a lot of E40’s cemetery shots, I feel there’s a fun element of “how the fuck did you manage that?” about it – or maybe that’s just how I feel after waiting nervously for the coast to be clear enough for us to take it.

Anyway, I’m very happy I managed to help someone complete their own ridiculous mission, and I hope E40 considers it a fitting conclusion. I don’t know what’s next for her, or who else will ask for my assistance with their own photo adventure (or, I guess, suggest one for me to do on my own), but I feel confident my response will be the same as it was when E40 proposed a trip up to Highgate in July 2019.

Challenge accepted.

*This is perfectly legal, for anyone wondering, and the etiquette (IMO) is broadly the same as for nude photography in any public place (it’s just a bit more important to stick to it): don’t thrust it in the face of someone who hasn’t consented to it, or involve members of the public (however unknowingly) in your business; don’t be disruptive or disrespectful (so pick your moments carefully); and stay alert! If no-one sees or gets upset by what you’re doing, you’re doing nothing wrong.