I could make this really easy on myself and entice you to buy Sasha Eisenman‘s new book by telling you, gently, how many naked boobies you will see. Sasha says he hasn’t counted them but the book is 250 pages “and there are boobs on just about every page, so do the math”. But I won’t because the nudity is only part of the story. California Girls is cultural project, a book with a soul and a heart, or as Sasha proudly states, “a true labor of love, six years in the making”.

I asked him a few questions:

NJ: Can you tell me in your own words why you chose to do this book?

SE: Back in 2008 I was very social. I had a big group of friends in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles. I was going to a lot of music/band shows, and also having quite a lot of parties at the house I had just bought that year. So at a certain point I realized that I knew all of these very interesting, stylish, unique, and creative young women. So I decided I would try and photograph the girls and I would make it about girls from California. I was really into the photography and books of Sam Haskins, Harri Peccinotti, David Hamilton, and of course vintage issues of Playboy Magazine, so I thought I would try to do something in that vein.

NJ:  What is special about Californian girls in particular?

SE: A real native California girl, especially if she has a background of several generations here, and especially if she is a beach girl, has this very unique laconic and confident way of being. But also very positive, and relaxed and not caught up or overly impressed with other places, NY included, haha! So yeah they just have this way, a certain something special, even the accent which is very particular when it’s coming from a true native, almost a Southern drawl but better, softer, more drawn out and beachy. And I’m not talking about the Valley Girl type thing; that was an anomaly that ended up taking over the entire nation and is, I would say, now the root of the way people on reality shows speak, but it has zero in common with true California beach speak.

NJ: Why nudity?

SE: Well as I said I was into certain photographers from the 60’s-70’s and wanted the work to be sensual and romantic so I decided that a certain amount of nudity would be interesting and unique in some strange way as the images are not trying to be super sexy or anything like that. Its more natural, intimate, friendly.

So there you have it: a romantic book about friendly girls from the California beaches! Photographed by Sasha Eisenman and designed by Buero, New York, California Girls is available for pre-order on amazon.com and on the publisher Damiani’s website. The book will be released worldwide mid-October 2014.