Nick Karras never thought a simple act of love would turn into an underground sensation. Wanting to counteract his partner’s insecurity about her genitalia by showing her the beauty that he saw, the San Diego-based commercial photographer took pictures of the most private part of her anatomy, and the ensuing positive response from her and a women’s group she was part of turned the onetime portrait into an ongoing series, and eventually a book.

“I never asked, I didn’t solicit, I never advertised, I didn’t pay; these were all people who heard about it and wanted to do it,” Karras said. “It kind of went into this group of small women’s groups that heard about it, and they would ask me to show the book and come and talk about it.”

Petals, a collection of 48 up-close portraits of female genitalia, has been four years in the making. Most of the women who participated in the project had some kind of sexual trauma in their past, Karras said, and the experience of being photographed was part of their healing process. “It’s been a hard-sell in a sense, because it bothers some people, but the healing effects of the book is what keeps me going, and I’ve done that,” he said.

Karras said the process was difficult for a lot of the women who volunteered. Many of them would bring a partner or a friend along for the shoot, and Karras always had a female come along with him to make sure that the situation was as comfortable as possible. “Usually, a lot of dialogue or discussion would take place beforehand, because it’s a real intimate thing, for them to trust me to do this,” he said.

The portraits, shot in black and white then softened with sepia tone, are not accompanied by any text, though Karras’ original plan was to include a first name and a few words written by each woman about the effects of the experience.

“There’s something about black and white that when you look at it, you stop and you see the tonal changes – you see the depth and the contours,” he said. Something about the lack of color made people more apt to study the images. “In a sense it’s like I took the sexuality out of it. … What I found is that when other women would come to the studio to take the pictures, if I showed them the writing next to the pictures, they felt like they were invading the privacy of another woman. And they didn’t like it. They kept telling me, ‘Leave the names off.’ If I laid out 10 or 15 pictures without the names, they were comfortable looking at it.”

The subject matter has garnered a variety of initial reactions, most notably between male and female viewers. “Most men aren’t that interested in this book,” Karras noted. “It’s not pornographic; it doesn’t stimulate and arouse. It’s fun to see couples look at it because he’ll go, ‘Eww.’ And she’ll go, ‘What do you mean, “Eww”? Why is that one ugly and this one’s not ugly?’ And these discussions take place, which is really interesting for me. But this book was done for women, it wasn’t done for men.”

The book has even improved his relationship with his parents, Karras said. His mother was initially horrified about the subject matter, as was his father – the founder of a Greek orthodox church. “This last year has been fantastic with the discussions and them telling me about their life and their culture, and how they felt about things,” he said. Reactions have also been positive from his commercial clients.

Though Karras’ collection of photographs totaled over 100, the idea of putting them into a book didn’t cross his mind until his 31-year-old son suggested it.

Karras then showed the collection to an old friend – a prominent gynecologist – and his wife, and had them choose 48 portraits (not a significant number per se, they just needed to settle on the size of the book) that they felt represented the broadest spectrum of female genitalia. And yes, the original portrait from his partner made it into the book.

One notable observation he’s made is that the women who were most comfortable with being photographed also tended to have higher self-esteem, made more money, were more satisfied with the results, and often had names for their genitalia. “There just seemed to be a correlation between owning that part of them,” Karras said. “I think that when we come to terms with our sexuality, it kind of frees us in a sense and makes us more powerful.”

He links the taboo aspect of female genitalia in our culture to male-dominated religious suppression and control of women, based on fear of the implicit power of female anatomy.

“I’ve come to the conclusion myself that this whole thing about penis envy, it’s not the penis that most women have the envy about – it’s the fact that we [men] love our genitals,” he laughed. “It’s the celebration that they are envious of, and to me, this book has helped go down that road to celebrate the beauty in it.”

Petals has garnered glowing reviews since its release, with critics calling it “sacred” and “a joyful journey through a vulva garden of delights.” Art critic A.D. Coleman, commenting on the book’s fitting title, said the delicate images Karras produced “with very near a botanists eye for the variety of this particular physical form.”

Karras tested the waters with a recent book opening in Victoria, British Colombia, in preparation for unveiling the book in his hometown. At a recent local book signing, well over half of the women who participated in the book attended, and many took their copies and had the other women sign their respective pages.

Though Karras describes the development and marketing of the book as “an uphill battle,” a unique twist has been use of the book among therapists and human sexuality professionals and students.

“They use my book a lot,” Karras said of a presentation he gave to a group of sex therapists. “They love it for healing – rape victims and all kinds of things. When I see that use it really inspires me to keep going on this.”

A documentary project is also underway. When the book was in development, a cinema instructor friend of his suggested that the process was as interesting as the product, and followed Karras around with a camera as he photographed, interviewed and compiled the book. Some of the early footage was made into a 35-minute DVD, but there are hours of additional footage, including interviews with sex therapists and lectures Karras has given since he finished the book, that are waiting to be edited. Because his friend is moving and cannot complete the project, they are looking for a film crew to take on the additional footage and make the 35-minute DVD into a full-length film.

An opening reception for Petals, including a screening of the DVD, takes place Jan. 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at 414 Pennsylvania Ave. The gallery exhibit will be on display until Jan. 23. Call (858) 336-1285 for more information.