Business & Tech

Musicians 'Get Naked' for Local Photographer, Health Insurance

A local photographer created a "naked calendar" in the hopes of raising money for musicians without health insurance. The artwork was recently displayed at Newtown Square's coffeehouse Burlap and Bean.

MEDIA–Musicians can get personal and expose themselves through their songs and music so why not show a little more skin and raise money for the music community at the same time.

The Naked Folk calendar was created by a local photographer who hopes to raise money for musicians without health insurance.

Jayne Toohey, of Media, was photographing a folk music group called Full Frontal Folk years ago and told them, with a name like that, they had to get naked for the photo shoot.

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The pictures were a hit and led Toohey to the idea of creating a naked calendar full of folk musicans. And Naked Folk was unrobed.

Toohey's first Naked Folk calendar came out in 2005 and she continued on with 2006 and 2007 calendars, took a break and then came back with a 2009 calendar. A shoulder injury, time and money prevented her from creating any new calendars. She had hoped for a 2012 calendar but her shoulder injury held her back.

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But, her 2013 Naked Folk calendar is already in the works and she hopes to have it selling at music festivals this summer.

When she was creating that first calendar, a friend, musician and songwriter, Jack Hardy, suggested she raise money with her calendars for Folk Alliance, an organization for folk musicians, to help musicians pay for health insurance.

Most musicians can't afford health insurance, Toohey says, and in this economy any assistance would be benefical.

She says her goal is to raise money to create grants so musicians can pay health insurance premiums and eventually make it a full circle situation.

"Once (a musician) gets help, they can donate back to the fund," Toohey says.

Unfortunately, the calendars aren't at a profit yet since they are pricey to produce. So Toohey hasn't been able to raise any money for the fund just yet.

"It's a bigger goal, but I still believe it'll happen," she says.

Toohey, who moved to Media 30 years ago from New Jersey, has plenty of motivation to get musicians health insurance. Hardy, sadly passed away recently from lung cancer and he did not have health insurance so his children are stuck with a pretty large medical bill, Toohey says.

And Toohey herself, who has frozen shoulder syndrome, common among photographers, had to barter for massage therapy to help her condition rather than seek costly medical care.

Toohey, who first got hooked on photography in the 70s and has been a freelance photographer ever since, offered her skills to her massage therapist and after 18 months of intense therapy she's feeling better and owes her therapist more than just photos.

Now, Toohey has a private financial sponsor for her calendars and a few "bigger name" musicians, so her hope is that the 2013 calendar will be profitable and she'll be able to help musicians across the country.

Toohey has traveled the country and the world photographing everything along the way. Folk music is her passion but she says she loves just capturing the moment of the average person on the street.

She's photographed Susan Werner, Suzanne Vega and Janis Ian and on stage, she's photographed Dolly Parton, Bette Midler and Cyndi Lauper, to name just a few of Toohey's subjects. She's even had dinner with David Crosby and Graham Nash on their tour bus after photographing them at a show last summer in Oklahoma. They had barbecue for dinner, of course.

In the folk music community, Toohey's work is pretty well known, she says, and the calendar is getting even more attention.

"The standard joke has become, 'Hey, want to get naked' for me," Toohey says. "But people tell me after shoots that they were more comfortable doing this than a shoot with their clothes on."

Toohey keeps the photos very tasteful and discrete. The musicians are posed in just such a way that the calendar is in no way offensive.

Finding a location to shoot the photos can sometimes be more of a challenge, she says. But she brings towels and sweaters along and makes the client feel completely comfortable.

"It's about capturing the emotion," she says. "When I have a camera in my hand I'm in a whole different element and I can get lost in it."

Toohey doesn't just photograph musicians. She's available for portraits, public relations and marketing work, some weddings and special events.

Toohey's website is currently under construction but you can still check it out here. Check out some of her photos from the 2011 Folk Alliance Conference here and look for her 2013 Naked Folk calendars this summer.

If you stepped inside in Newtown Square several weeks ago and noticed the artwork of naked photographs displayed around the shop, now you know the story behind it.


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