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Steamboat Springs — Photographer Jessica Maynard first saw the women of Denver-based troupe Ooh La La Burlesque perform at Ghost Ranch Saloon last fall.

Taken with how comfortable the women were with their performance and themselves, and how well the audience responded, Maynard approached the group about doing a photo shoot.

“What I saw in them is that they were very comfortable in their bodies,” Maynard said. Without hang-ups about how they should approach sexuality, the troupe members gave Maynard new ideas on how to photograph the female form, she said.

In the 23 shots featured through March 14 at RED Contemporary, Maynard hopes to break down common perceptions about “what the female form is supposed to look like,” she said. A reception for Maynard’s show is from 5 to 9 p.m. today at RED Contemporary, an art gallery in the Sheraton Steamboat Resort. Admission is free.

For the photo shoot, Maynard spent a day photographing the members of Ooh La La Burlesque in locations around Denver. The images in the show “are just a small percentage of capturing who they are,” Maynard said. After the collection leaves RED Contemporary, the photographer hopes to take it as an installation show in galleries around the country.

In her artist’s statement about “Photographing Burlesque in the 21st Century,” Maynard writes:

“I sought to make pictures that might break the preconceived notions and expectations surrounding the decline of Burlesque and its practitioners’ ravaged reputations … with hopes to raise questions surrounding the courage of positive self-image, regardless of the packaging. … The women portrayed here have a high level of self-esteem; regardless of their social standing, these self-avowed performers proudly ‘own’ the legacy of their chosen profession, moving grandly and creating quite a stir.”

A professional photographer working with portraits, weddings, documentary work and photojournalism, Maynard has lived in Steamboat Springs for 12 years. Learn more about her work at www.jessica-maynard.com.

To reach Margaret Hair, call 871-4204 or e-mail mhair@steamboatpilot.com