
Photography and Text by Tony Ward, Copyright 2023
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Amsterdam: The Deck
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Whenever it was a sunny day which at times seemed too few and far between, Amsterdam street cafes and private decks were the place to visit with friends. When the sun was out, everyone was always in a good mood, no matter what personal circumstances may have brought gloom and doom on any given day. My friends used to say whenever Tony is in town the sun is shining. I was lucky that way.
On this particular sunny afternoon, old friends from different generations were amongst the first native women in Holland I came to know. Ellen, the woman being photographed with a flip phone, owned a lovely lingerie shop called Female & Partners in Amsterdam’s city center in 1999. I was referred to visit the shop when I called upon a stylist and asked for a recommendation for a store that sold unique lingerie sets as I was preparing for a new series of photographs for a magazine article about my erotic work in Europe. When I entered the exclusive women’s boutique the young woman taking the picture was behind the counter. Not quite like the way she looks in this picture but close. She had the most adorable face and Dutch accent that I couldn’t help but ask to photograph her while she was behind the register. From that point on we kept in touch and would see each other around town within our circle of friends.
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Four years later in 2003, Ellen, the woman being photographed in these pictures was the original owner of the shop. I didn’t meet her on the first day of my visit years earlier, but we later met through friends and enjoyed each others company. Whenever I was in town it was a delight to meet up with Ellen for drinks and hear all of the latest insider gossip. She was truly a free spirit and exuded a certain joie de vivre. She defined Dutch beauty at any age. I can’t recall why Ellen and Sita came over to the apartment that day. Maybe it was purely just to enjoy the sun. get naked and take a few pictures with my new toy, a Nikon Coolpix digital camera. These are amongst the first images I produced with the new digital medium. Nowadays, I’m using a pocket size Sony mirrorless camera.
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To access additional articles by Tony Ward, click here: https://tonywarderotica.com/tony-ward-diary-the-early-nudes/