In another topic, I've just read an interesting post by iiyamaxx that I partially paste here.

He wrote: " Thanks Hal. (...) let me share my opinion on the new clips compared to the old ones. There is one thing i liked more in the old ones. When you let the models walk on gravel you used to let them walk some distances that they had the chance to get used to the gravel or even had them walk the whole clip on gravel like the classic "zoe on the gravel slope" video. In the new videos you just let them walk a bit and cut away soon. I attached some pictures as examples of the videos I mean."

Below, I re-attach the images he attached.

It's a very much interesting post, IMHO.

I have bought through the years ANY clip the great Hal published about outdoor barefooting , and I enjoyed making a review of ANY of them, for my personal use and amusement, putting them in a rank, a chart, under the strict aspect of the CAPABILITY TO STAY BAREFOOT ON HARD SURFACES (of the model in the clip, obviously).

So I well know the three clips represented in iiyamaxx picture.

Therefore, here it is my curiosity.

In the three clips mentioned, the models got badly shaken by the terrain, and by the fact of insisting on it despite not being tough enough to walk there without feeling a lot of pain.

Curiously, the one that iiyamaxx specifically mentioned is maybe the worst case: Zoe got... severely destroyed, and ended with trembling legs, paralyzed, unable to move a single step further.
(But the other two models ended with only enough strengths to TRY HIDING the troubles they were in. Mainly Sheila, who insisted a lot visibly surprised to be so unexpetedly challenged, as her feet tell a REAL barefooter's story... she probably not admitted being totally drained to Hal himself.)

Let's be clear: they're GREAT BAREFOOTING CLIPS!!!, high-level material, as any clip from Hal.
Indeed, I recommend any of you to buy them. There's REAL BAREFOOTING, in a very difficult environment.

But recently, as iiyamaxx wrote, Hal's models are using to deal with that TERRIBLE terrain in a different manner: not taking themselves to the limit, not completely ending strengths insisting despite pain. But rather taking pauses, avoiding sharp stones for several seconds after having been hardly touched by very difficult passages, and so on.

So this is the question: WHICH SITUATION ANYONE OF US PREFERS?

1) The "first T.I.A. era" : a model that, despite realizing the terrain is too hard for her soles, reacts exactly as she had shoes: not preserving herself at all. And ending, obviously, in EVIDENT PAIN AN TROUBLE.

2) The... "second": a model that preserves strengths regulating them, carefully RECOVERING, any time she's touched too hard, and doing this in several manners, more or less evident: simply avoiding sharp stones for some steps, or STOPPING AND RESTING if it's not possible to do whatever.

I know my personal answer: BOTH.
But it's not an acceptable answer.
I mean: what I like is an extreme barefooter able to walk ANYWHERE WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM.
But the great Hal itself has maybe ONLY ONE GIRL whose bare feet toughness is beyond those stones: ELSA.
For the other models, goin' barefoot over there is PAINFUL, and so, sooner or later, feeling pain at any step makes strenghts blow over. It's only a matter of time, before a naked foot can't be posed without trembling, or can't be posed at all, if that bare foot feels pain any time she's posed. Obvious.

Having to choose, I prefer the FIRST situation: a barefooter that does not "cheat" (or "preserve strengths", as you prefer and feel) but insists BAREFOOT AS IF SHE WAS SHOD.
Until she has no more, if, sadly, the terrain is too much for her soles.

I guess for example that Feetosopher is on the opposite side: he hates seeing a barefooter in trouble. Better if she not over-challenges herself, if I correctly read his tastes.

What do you prefer? ... ELSA APART?
A barefooter in visible troubles because she doesn't make any compromise while walking?
Or a barefooter not showing any difficulty, because... "cheating" or if you prefer "rationing her strengths"?



F.

Fascinating topic. My vote is for 1:

"A model that, despite realizing the terrain is too hard for her soles, reacts exactly as she had shoes: not preserving herself at all. "

Hi my friend ... so it's 2-0, until now.

I fear some of us has a diagonal approach: they prefer IMAGINING a barefooter without any problem on any terrain, even when in front of their eyes there's a barefooter in evident troubles or a girl in clear pain who needs shoes!

In this case(s), my questions looses its sense and my little call is unuseful. But long live the freedom of ideas!

I prefer the first : "a model that, despite realizing the terrain is too hard for her soles, reacts exactly as she had shoes: not preserving herself at all"

Notice that the railyard test,in some places, especially on the piles of rocks,is very hard also because the rocks hit the feet not only on the bottom,where the most of the model have toughness,
but also on the lateral part of the feet and some time on the top and on the ankles,where no one of the model is used,but instead are tender.

3-0 it seems 'til now.

Clipper, don't worry about the "unusual strokes" the models receive on that terrain: it can be true, but there's no weight at all. It can be a little bit bothering, nothing more.

That terrain is simply TERRIBLE ... a top-level challenge for a naked foot, in the "normally extreme" barefooting.

Over there, there are only the situations that involves a specific, excruciating training:
- "freezing situations" (snow)
- "wounding" surfaces (thorns, thumbtacks ...)
- "BURNING surfaces", one of them STOPPED ELSA IN A CLIP (!!!!!!)

... probably in this order.

Dear Flowwer.. yes, you hit the target.. I definitely hate seeing barefoot girls suffering from barefooting!!!
In general, seeing women suffer is a great turn-off for me. I get excited when I see a barefoot girl walking on difficult terrains APPARENTLY with no effort at all, giving me the impression of being totally at ease. Indeed it's probably just a matter of being able to handle the pain, because - despite being no barefooter myself - I believe that the infamous disused railyard of Hal's videos is really the ultimate testing ground for any barefooter.

You should remember that - to many forum members' envy, I guess - I am surely THE ONLY GUY HERE (except Hal, of course) who had the privilege of enjoying the memorable ELSA vs. NORA race on gravel LIVE.. plus I admired other gorgeous TIA models testing their soles in that location, right before my eyes: Heike, Janina, Paloma, Sheila, Lo..
Apart from Elsa's legendary performance (I really could not believe my eyes!!!), I would say that the ranking in "showing confidence" while barefooting on those terrible rocks is the following:
1) HEIKE: her soles are not calloused at all, but she has top-level barefooting technique: "it's all about weight distribution!!!", she told me with a great smile after the shooting.
2) LO (same as Heike.. even if I must admit that I was a bit distracted by the fact that she was barefooting on those sharp rocks STARK NAKED in one of my videos for the BAREFOOT URBAN NUDITY project: check this link.. )
FREE VIDEO of LO WALKING STARK NAKED on SHARP ROCKS
3) JANINA & PALOMA (ex-aequo: both have really hard soles & good barefooting technique, but I picked a couple of "ouch!!!" faces from them during the shooting)
4) SHEILA & NORA (ex-aequo: despite having really tough soles, they looked definitely not at ease in several occasions).

This said.. what really matters to me is that the girls are good looking, barefooted and (if possible).. STARK NAKED!!!
CHEERS FROM ITALY!!!

So it's 3 on 1 ... plus a VERY VERY INTERESTING personal chart by Feetosopher, who has seen those barefoot walking LIVE!

Not enough time now, but I will (maybe this evening) compare my chart with his one!

I promise I will not alter in any way mine!: if it corresponds ok, otherwise... let's see how the mediation of a camera can deceive my eyes, trained by 8 years of hard training the toughest barefooter I've ever seen!

See you soon folks.

Well Flowwer.. my chart is in no way meant to be exhaustive.. it's just about the girls I have had the privilege of admiring LIVE in that disused railyard.
This said, I have bough ALL Toes-In-Action's barefooting videos released in these 10 years.. sure there are other very tough barefooters in Hal's roster, like Katja, Janne, etc etc..
And finally, as I always say.. I am mostly a fetish/glamour/erotic photographer.. surely my expertise about hardcore barefooting can in no way be compared with yours, DG's..
Yet I'd be very curious to see your chart!!!
CIAO!!!

Wow. I didn't expect my post to start such big thread afterwards I think you can't decide how a model will deal wilth the gravel. She does it her way. IMHO I dont even think Hal asks the models to be this or that way. Some models are confident barefooters and now have to prove it on the rail yard. Others like Zoe are not but she just tried go give her best. Which I really appreciate. So my interest is in the differences between models. For some models gravel is difficult and they show it others try not to show it. Thats their personality. And there is some models for which is is not difficult at all. So if you ask me, I really like both, but what I prefer is a model that tries not to show it because it makes the challenge even bigger. And to get to my major point of my post finally. I just wanted to point out that the gravel content in the recent videos has unfortunately changed in a way that the models just walk a too short time in one piece on the gravel until the vídeo cuts to a new scene. So this is what makes it really hard to judge what kind of a barefooter a girl really is. This is why I always come up with the idea of a real barefooter vs a non barefooter / occasional barefooter. And I really have to emphasize it again. This is criticism on highest level! Edit: And I realized that city-feet videos changed in the same way too....

Thanks a lot ... so we have "a sort of 3-2" so far.

I write "a sort of" because iiyamaxx deviates a little from my question, where he writes "I really like both, but what I prefer is a model that tries not to show it because it makes the challenge even bigger".

I mean: we (probably all of us) totally agree!

But what I was asking for, is: if a model IS NOT ABLE TO hide her troubles, because the terrain is too much for her, what do you prefer? ... she AVOIDS SHARP stones, she STOPS AND REST her battered feet, and let's call it "cheating", or she walks exactly as she had shoes, going in VISIBLE TROUBLES? ... let us seeing she's not able to stay barefoot over there?

Well, iiyamaxx, if you don't answer let's remain on a "3-2", in this little poll.

to make you poll complete flowwer what I meant was of course the model should go on as normal as possible and try not to show that it's difficult for her. because thats the only way of comparing between models. because if she starts "cheating" as you call it you have to take that into the consideration which is impossible. I even like it if you can see whats the normal pace a girl walks on a street and then tries to keep the same speed on gravel. Like Vikki did:

iiyamaxx, thanks for your contribute, and ... you couldn't choose a better example!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that clip (that I've had to buy again as I had it in my "chart" but I don't find the video file any more ...) shows one of the most interesting and touching performances of the T.I.A. library

I've placed that clip in the - ehm - "pure weakness" section of my personal chart, but in the note I've underlined "this girl is INCREDIBLY BRAVE"

she has extremely vulnerable soles, she's in terrible pain, almost paralyzed at a certain moment, but she tries and tries and tries and tries!

"wonderful", really: it doesn't meet my personal tastes at all, but "chapeau", without doubts: THERE'S NOT ANOTHER T.I.A. CLIP WHERE A BAREFOOTER, TOUGH OR NOT, TRIES SO VALIANTLY TO OVERCOME HER LIMITS, HAVING REACHED THEM