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.