– – Colette, The Vagabond
I have always photographed strong women.
In the seventies I looked to my circle of friends for inspiration. We were women who dared to be different: feminist, independent, self-reliant, active women who felt there was nothing we could not do or be.
In the eighties, I focused my camera on another group of powerful women who displayed the essence of the feminine spirit: those who were working out in gyms. They have taken the raw energy fueling their belief that they are capable of changing the world and have channeled it back to the foundation, to the physical body.
I became fascinated by the aesthetic of the muscular female when I began photographing the women at my gym and at bodybuilding contests. Some of the athletes I chose for my book STRONG & SEXY are competitors, some are champions, some are wives and mothers, and some are discovering their first real sport in bodybuilding.
