| When I photograph, I try to incorporate experimentation, discarded trends, and a sense of story. My projects explore the relationship between subject and environment, holding reverence to the human condition. I am currently working on a project involving women, nude, in their homes. I started the series in the summer of 2007; the first “home girl” was photographed in Las Vegas. That summer I took a road trip across the U.S., photographing girls in over 20 cities. The results were published online; the response was fairly positive, and the project continues. While my personal work is mostly introspective, collaborating with my first “home girl” and subsequent “home girls” has shaped this series into something more universal in concept and more accessible. | 
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Nathan Appel
Nathan Appel, Jolie in Miami, 2008. Courtesy of the artist.When I photograph, I try to incorporate experimentation, discarded trends, and a sense of story. My projects explore the relationship between subject and environment, holding reverence to the human condition. I am currently working on a project involving women, nude, in their homes. I started the series in the summer of 2007; the first “home girl” was photographed in Las Vegas. That summer I took a road trip across the U.S., photographing girls in over 20 cities. The results were published online; the response was fairly positive, and the project continues. While my personal work is mostly introspective, collaborating with my first “home girl” and subsequent “home girls” has shaped this series into something more universal in concept and more accessible.
The process for the shoots is rather straightforward. I scout each city I am visiting for prospective girls to work with; sometimes they contact me. I tend to keep communication brief before the shoots. When I show up at their homes, we walk the house or apartment, we choose a location, and shoot. Location is often dictated by the quality of light in each room, as I prefer to use available light. The situations and the posing are determined by the attitudes and personas of the girls. I prefer to keep minimal contact before the shoots, as first impressions—when we do actually meet—shape how I feel, and how I want to shoot each individual. My desires and intentions at the shoot are to photograph more than just a pretty naked girl, but her spirit.
