Fundamental Humanity is a series of nudes that I photographed in a burned-out powerhouse in an otherwise sylvan canyon northwest of Los Angeles.

I used ordinary people from all walks of life--photographers, musicians, academics, workers--specifically because they would not be entirely comfortable with public nudity. My hope was to contrast what we are as organic entities with the hard, often sterile, and sometimes shabby environments we have built for ourselves.

I was surprised that nearly everyone whom I asked to pose agreed to do so and understood what I was trying to express.