Barbara Nitke is an American photographer whose career began around the end of the so-called Golden Age of Porn, before the advent of home videos made furtive jaunts to a theater obsolete. By the early 80s, these skin flicks featured relatively known stars and a semblance of plotlines, requiring at least some direction and reshoots. As a set photographer for many of these films, Nitke was able to capture not just the hot and heavy action but also the humorously mundane moments in between — dozing off between takes, a fit of the giggles, the director giving instruction mid-copulation, and so on.

A selection of these images will go on view at One Eyed Jack Gallery in Brighton, England. But for Nitke, these images represent more than an opportunity to marvel at Ron Jeremy’s pre-Viagra prowess or chuckle at bad 80s perms. Now a faculty member of the School of Visual Arts in New York, Nitke is a staunch champion of the First Amendment and freedom of speech. In 2001, she filed a lawsuit, along with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, challenging the Communications Decency Act, a law prohibiting the publication of obscenity on the Internet. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and, although she lost, porn is clearly thriving.