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Saddle Up by Andrew Bowman
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Thursday, July 17, 2025
London Baby!
'A newspaper man I know who was stationed in London during the war says that tourists go to England with preconceived notions, so they always find exactly what they are looking for. I told him I'd go looking for the England of English literature. And he said that it's there.'
On my fridge, there's a sticky note with 'London Baby' written in all caps by a orange highlighter. I stuck the initial note on my old fridge, in my old home about eight years ago. When I moved, I took it along with all my other belongings, and used a magnet to put it on my new fridge in my new home.
The square piece of yellow paper is important to me as it symbolizes my long held dream trip to Europe and especially to London. My love the the UK began early. As I a kid, I grew up with a mother who closely followed the Royal family. I also had the opportunity through music to play and sing for both the Queen and Prince Philip, and Prince Charles and Diana. No solos, just a part of large groups and choirs.
My father and two older brothers were also big fans of John Cleese. That meant old reruns of Monty Python movies and Faulty Towers were often on, from one of my brothers vast VHS collection. I wasn't a huge Monty Python fan as a kid, but enjoyed watching many of the British sit-coms that played, and continue to play on PBS. Most of the shows were long off the air, but those repeats of shows including: Are You Being Served, The Vicar of Dibley and Keeping Up Appearances were favorites.
In my twenties, I really started reading about European history, got into British Cinema, and loved to get high and watch repeats of Absolutely Fabulous. I think one of my favorite movies about Americans passion for London came from watching 1987's 84 Charing Cross Road. I'd never heard of the movie, but after learning about my dream trip, photographer Robert J. Guttke insisted I watch. I'm so glad he did.
The film, starring Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench, is the story of Helene, an American writer, (Bancroft) with a dream trip to London of her own. Before even stepping onto a plane, she begins her journey through books, and the help of London Book store manager Frank Doel. (Hopkins) What I loved most about the film was how similar Helene and I felt about London, and our shared passion to visit.
Although I've been all over the States, and most of Canada, I have yet to make the journey to Europe and London. Work and finances have created obstacles, but I've had a separate London bank account for years, and am hoping my dream trip will be happening within the next few years. I've often celebrated countries on FH, especially around July when Canada Day and the 4th of July take place. I've yet however, to specifically celebrate London.
Today, is London Day baby! Although United Kingdom doesn't have a single, designated national anniversary holiday, they do have celebratory events, including in 2022 when the Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee and the 80th anniversary of VE Day which was celebrated this past May. Thanks to London based photographer Andrew Bowman, I've learned a lot about UK holidays and celebrations. Andrew makes the perfect visual tour guide, with his images from London's WNBR, to help get us in the a London state of mind!
All images above by Andrew Bowman Photography
Londinium
'In London, everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in.'
Paddington Bear
When I began FH, I didn't expect one of the bonus parts, would be virtually visiting so many places around the globe. It's been fascinating to me, to learn about different countries and cultures and how location can impact the work. There are still places where visuals of the nude male form remains taboo. The Internet has certainly opened things up, but I've still had models voice being cautious about sharing their location given the laws and social norms of the area, and possible ramifications.
One place where it's not a problem is London. The city is known as being progressive, especially when it comes to social and cultural attitudes. I think the first London based artist I featured on FH was Dylan Rosser. When Dylan was running his website, The Male Form, he would send on preview images of upcoming models on his site. FH was one of the sites he sent images on to promote his work.
Dylan and I quickly connected, and given the 'story' element to FH, Dylan asked if I'd like to write for his new tMf magazine. Before long, I took on the role of features editor, and interviewed many of the male form's most well known and dynamic photographers. I was also introduced to many of the models Dylan was shooting. Although he shoots in various locations, his home base and studio was in London. Many of those models, and the photographers who shot them, became contributors to the site, many of whom I still feature today.
I can't even begin to name all of the photographers from the UK and London area that I've featured. I started a list, but it became overwhelming given how many there were. In just the last few years, I've been lucky to featured numerous shoots from some favorite photographers including; Andrew Bowman, Male Form Photography and Male Beauty by bengie.
Over the last decade, I believe the London based artists I've featured the most has been photographer Jack Saul. I think one of the reasons that I love Jack's work so much, is how beautifully his visuals parallel with the quote from Paddington Bear that I used at the top of this post. Jack values diversity and difference, and in front of Jack's lens, everyone not only fits in, but reflects his wonderfully vast interpretation of beauty.
When I started putting together today's London themed posts, it just made sense to ask Jack about spotlighting one of his recent shoots. Like his work, Jack's portfolio is vast, but I finally narrowed it down to a few models. I'll featured them all in the near future, but today, the focus is on Jack's work with Joey. To see more of Joey, head on over to the NEXT PAGE HERE:
Andrew Bowman: WNBR 2012
With a focus on the the male form, FH has been spotlighting World Naked Bike Rides, (WNBR) for many years. Usually I focus a s sexy cyclist that's caught my eye, and haven't done many pieces on location specific events. That was until this year. This past May, FH virtually visited this year's WNBR in Melbourne Australia, and in San Francisco in the US. I did so, after seeing images that two site collaborators, had posted on their social media site.
We joined model Axie has he headed out to ride in Melbourne, (HERE:) and with photographer Joe Mazza, when he headed to chronicle this years San Francisco ride. (HERE:) Of course I was drawn to the visuals, and the naked men and women taking it all off for a cause, and for the fleshy fun associated with the day. I was also curious about the behind the scenes details, and the personal experiences of attending, and being a part of such an iconic public nudity event.
When I saw that photographer Andrew Bowman had also recently posted some images from WNBR, I knew it was time to virtually visit the London event. I've loved featuring Andrews images of the male form, (HERE) and was excited to see what he captured while at WNBR. The images Andrew posted however, were not from the June 2025 event, but were shots that he had taken during the many times he attended the events over the last ten plus year.
Andrew sent on several sets from various years, so I decided to start back with the first two years that he sent, 2011 and 2012. These visuals are from the 2012 event, and Andrew's images from the 2011 event can be found on PAGE THREE HERE: As always, I threw some questions to Andrew about his time at WNBR over the years. The rest of the rest of the story are Andrew's images, with his own words and experiences while attending the WNBR events.
WNBR: London
I first came across the London naked bike ride in June 2008 when I came out of a pub on the Charing Cross Road to see 100s of cyclists, almost all of them nude, and most of them men, waiting patiently for the traffic lights to change colour. At the time I didn't realise it was an organised event which had actually been going since 2004.
Of course i just happened to have my camera on me and I took a few snaps. I had expected to see something about it on the news but there was nothing. I googled and found out it was an annual event which takes place around the world aiming to draw attention to the vulnerability of cyclists on the road versus car culture and oil.
I pretty much intended going on the next event and attended every ride as a participant every year between 2009 and 2015 wearing nothing but trainers, a shiny helmet and a smile 🙂. Every event is in the middle of June and except for one year which was a bit wet most years are hot and sunny.
Almost all of the London events start somewhere in Hyde Park, sometimes Marble Arch or Hyde Park Corner, although for diehards there are meeting places in London suburbs which start earlier and join the main event later on. The main route is roughly 6 miles and takes around 2 and half to 3 hours to complete with random stops and starts at traffic lights.
The stop and start of the ride is always a lot of fun although it can feel a bit intimidating getting your kit off surrounded by fully clothed photographers most of whom are unofficial and basically just perving. Lots of participants come prepared to daub themselves with body paint either to disguise themselves (typically as animals) or with slogans against oil and traffic pollution.
Inevitably this process attracts attention, especially for the relatively few women that attend and can be really annoying. I hate photographers sometimes! Generally speaking I only take pix when I am fully naked and and therefore one of the willing participants. But if anyone puts their hand up to indicate privacy I would always respect that. Over the years more and more participants come with their own smartphones - at the last event I attended in 2015 I think I was one of only a few that was still using a 'proper' camera although even I was taking pix and video on my iPhone - just much easier for taking grab shots.
Check out more of Andrew's story, and more of his WNBR images, on the FH HERE:
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