Fountain King

This photo of Derek Russo is from several years ago on the same shoot as the photo I published a week or two ago. This part of the shoot was in and around a stainless steel fountain on a property in the Hollywood Hills. In this picture Derek is standing at the end of a long channel just above the point where the water falls into a small pool before cascading into a swimming pool below that.

The photo is a 35mm color transparency shot with available light augmented by a reflector in the shadows of his chest.

Hesitation

Another in my series of double exposures created by sandwiching negatives together in the enlarger.

Double Negative

The print at the left is a double exposure created in the darkroom by sandwiching two negatives together and creating a single print.

Although the images are similar, they are actually from different rolls of film, even if they are from the same shoot.

I was struck by the amplification of feeling in the final product and almost unexpected psychological meaning. In this photograph the model seems to be stepping outside his own body and looking back at himself.

This is the first in a new series I plan to add to the galleries on my web site in the near future.

Fountain

I spoke too soon last week about the photographs of Derek Russo. Turns out I mis-read my calendar. My shoot with Derek is NEXT weekend. So rest assured I'll post something new of Derek next Sunday.

In the meantime, I have posted a photograph from my second shoot with Derek about five years ago.

The whole shoot was at a friends large home in the Hollywood Hills. This photograph is taken outdoors in a large fountains that flows into the swimming pool.

Martial Artist

This week's photo is one from the archives. The model is Chris Lewis. The photo was shot several years ago before I owned my own studio lighting equipment. The session was photographed at a rented studio in Santa Monica. The lighting was "hot" lights instead of the strobes I use today.

Chris was a martial artist and many of the shots from this session were taken of him working through his exercises. This is my favorite from that series.

Next week I am shooting fan favorite Derek Russo. This will be my third photo session with Derek, but my first in the studio. I hope to have some early digital shots to post next Sunday.

More in the Door

More from the shoot with Craig. This one is another in the series of men shot in the open French Doors.

Satin Surfer

This week another photo of model Craig Davidson from last week's shoot. This is one of the black and white film shots.
When I look at the black and white's there is something about Craig that reminds me of Marvel Comics' Silver Surfer. It's not just his build, I think it's also his smooth skin and the slight sheen the baby oil gives it under studio lights. Even his head is smooth.

Davidson

This is an early digital shoot from a photo session this afternoon with Craig Davidson, a realtively new model that I worked with for the first time today.

Although Craig's physique is obviously amazing, the most amazing thing about it is the tranformation he undergoes as he flexes.
It's standard practice for a physique shoot to give the model a three second count down. Three - here it comes - two - model flexes - one - photographer shoots.
When Craig flexes he practically becomes a different person. The light etching of his natural muscle definition becomes razor sharp, and his muscles look rock hard. It's an amazing sight to behold, and since I don't have video of the shoot, it's just something you'll have to take my word for, unless you someday get the pleasure of working with him yourself.

The Boxer

Kevin contacted me by e-mail out of the blue. He was already an accomplished fitness model, just interested in working with new photographers.

A few months later during a trip to Los Angeles, we did a photo shoot.

Kevin is not really a boxer, but he had the trunks and the gloves, they were colorful, and he looks great in them.

The color work is digital. The black and white photo below is shot on film.

The black and white is my favorite shot of the session.

Brick and Barbed Wire

This photo is one of my earlier works which was recently published in the book Male Nude Index. Seven of my photographs were included in the book which includes a wide selection of works by the top photographers of male nudes in the world today. I was honored to be selected to submit and still more honored to have my works published. Unfortunately if you live in the United States, as I do, you will find it hard to purchase, since it is not currently being distributed here.

This photograph has always been one of my favorites. I like the flat, symetrical composition as well as the juxtaposition of the smooth naked skin near rough brick. The barbed wire tattoo on the model's back ties the two textures together nicely.

Doorman

This digital photograph from the same shoot as the last three weeks.

Jode Black and White

This week more photos from my recent shoot of Jode. These are the first scans of the black and white studio work. This was also the first studio work I have done with fabric back drops instead of paper rolls. The back drop here is black muslin. I decided to try fabric because the black paper usually photographed as dark gray.

The fabric appears to absorb more of the light and read as a true black, although I am finding I need to be careful of the direction the lights are pointed and also of the wrinkles in the fabric. These two photos are some of the more successful from the studio shots.

Jode

These two photographs are early digital proofs from I shoot I just finished today with a model from Austin named Jode. I continued two series I have been working on for the last several months with several different models.

Door Men is a free form series of different men interacting with french doors leading from my living room into my back yard. The model receives minimal instruction other than to stay within the door frame and maintain as much contact as possible with either the doors or the door frame.

Studio is a series of physique shots against a black or white background with strong side light. In this work the model is usually given a beginning body position and then works through minor variations of the starting position.

Jode came to me from an agency called Tencasting that provides many of the models you see on my website. He is on a tour through California this weekend working with several photographers.

Michael B&W

A few weeks ago I featured one of the color digital shots of Michael from a recent photo shoot. This is one of the b&w film photos from the same shoot.

Greek God

This photograph of Alain was taken at a friend's house in the Hollywood Hills off Mulholland near the top of Nichol's Canyon. Although the house itself is thoroughly modern in architecture, this spot of the grounds, with the limestone paving stones reminds me of a Greek garden and Andrei's body calls to mind a God.
And yes, he is holding a terry cloth towel, but doesn't it look a little like a toga - if you squint just a bit?

Volleyball

Bryan came to me by way of an agent who was taking him around to various photographers to build his portfolio. I worked with this same agent on several other portfolio building assignments. Bryan was by far the most talented model she presented. He and I hit it off creatively and did one more shoot later that year.
This style of photography is not what I normally do and is probably a lot more commercial than my other work, but it was fun working with Bryan and stretching myself a little.

Red Brick

This is another "catalog" image from an earlier shoot several years ago. The summer I shot this I had shoulder surgery and for several months was not allowed to lift even a camera. In early September, when this shot was taken, I scheduled a shoot with Dave, a model from San Diego.

I also rented a medium format camera to experiment with, the same model I eventually bought -- a Mamiya 645AF. I still love working with this camera, even though last year I purchased a digital SLR. The negatives -- or in this case positive, since this was slide film -- are so large and the images are so sharp and vivid.

Gift

This picture is another one from the archives. When Paul came to the shoot I mentioned I wanted to take his picture in bed with roses scattered all around him. We spent a few minutes "staging" the room. We put the furniture askew, scattered some loose clothes around and mussed up the bed. Then Paul undressed and completed the scene.

The series we shot is one of the best of my career as a photographer, because Paul really put himself into the scene emotionally and creatively. This shot is one of the best of the best.

The second photo is from a series we shot in color.

Grotto

Bryan was one of the first models I ever photographed. The photos on this page are from my second photo session with him. The location is a deserted and dilapidated grotto on the Pacific coast near San Pedro, California.
Bryan had one of the most perfectly amazing physiques of any model I ever shot. He was not only large, but his proportions were balanced and his muscle definition was superb.
Not only that but he had a shy, sweet personality and was easy to work with as a model.
Some might say that his face could have been better lit in these shots, and I guess if I had an assistant along on the shoot, I probably would have used a reflector on it, but I like the way these turned out any way. Keeping his face in the shadows suggests a little of the shyness of his personality and brings out a little of his boyishness too.

I have lost track of Bryan over the years. I don't know where he lives or what he is doing now, but I hope he is well and I like to think he is still working out and in even better condition than he was seven years ago.

Leather Pants

Yvan is a very popular model who has worked with many, many photographers. I have worked with him twice myself over the years. He is also an actor and a personal trainer.
When you work with Yvan you only need to give him the germ of an idea and he will give you rolls and rolls of great shots.
This photo is from a series using a pair of leather pants as a prop.
Yvan has a website that follows his activities in text, photos and video. Click on the "Leather Pants" title to see it.

Alan

The spectacular body to the left is Alan Demond, a competitive bodybuilder who found his way into my studio last weekend.
I don't need to tell you that Alan has an amazing body, beefy, well-defined and perfectly proportioned.
What may not be apparent is the ease with which Alan carries himself, his great sense of his own body and balance, and his creativity.
I shot many rolls of film during the shoot, and although I haven't seen the results yet (this shot was one of a few digital proofs) I am sure I will be very pleased. You can be sure there will be a gallery featuring Alan in the new future!

Michael

Michael Crowley
This is the second photo session I have had with Michael Crowley. A series of his photos from the first session can be seen in the Door Men gallery on this web site, and my studio work from that first session will soon be published in a future gallery later this year.
As well as physique modeling, Michael is a personal trainer who lives in on the central coast of California. He has a very pleasing natural physique and an easy going attitude.
This shoot also began an experiment with a different backdrop. I've been using black backgrounds for several years now, but recently decided to try a white background. Black backgrounds tend to accentuate highlights on the model's skin. I am hoping the white background will, in contrast to the model's skin tones, become the brightest spots in the composition and allow me to keep even the highlights on the model's body no brighter than a medium gray. You'll start to see my results on this Photo blog in the coming months.
Although I have experimented with color from time to time, I think my true calling is black and white, which I shoot almost exclusively on film. This photo was taken at the beginning of the studio session with Michael with a digital camera to test the studio lighting arrangement and to verify the light metering. I've only recently started working with digital cameras, mostly for landscapes, but occasionally in my physique shoots.
What I enjoy most about digital is the immediacy of the results. While my film is being developed I can copy the digital photos from a shoot from the memory card and start working on some of the pictures right away.

Sean

This photograph of Sean was taken March 5, 2005 in the studio. This and others from that same shoot are posted in the gallery entitled "Iron Man" on my main website, however this is one of my favorites from the shoot.

Sean was a real pleasure to work with, an unassuming man and an athlete with natural ability as a physique model.

Sometimes a model has very little sense of their own grace and the photographer needs to exert total control over their positioning. Unfortunately that can easily lead to a downward spiral of creativity. The model wrongly assumes the photographer wants something he cannot understand and ceases to participate in the shoot so the total responsibility for creativity falls on the photographer, who is already occupied with lighting, composition and the technical details. When you find a model like Sean who can comfortably contribute to the art from the moment he walks in the door as well as amiably take direction, it's a rare treasure.