In my late teens and early 20's I toyed with pursing various careers. I studied acting for awhile, contemplated teaching or writing and just before declaring a major in my second year at university thought I would become a photographer. Now despite the theme of this blog, I was not looking for great looking men to photograph. I was mostly shooting autumn leaves, snowy fields, fishing boats, animals and every friend and family member who asked. I continued to take pictures for many more years, but ultimately declared psychology as my major and gave up the hope of making money on my various creative outlets. They turned instead to passionate hobbies. I still continue to act from time to time, I still continue to write but I rarely pick up a camera anymore (digital just does not excite me).
Another person who dreams of making a living following his passion is Christopher Francis. Christopher like many with a dream has to keep a day job to pay the bills and works on his passion in his spare time.
Christopher has been shooting for over 10 years now and gets his inspiration from the works of Herb Ritts and Rick Day. This series of shots if of Steve. Steve is a silk trainer. (silks are used for aerial work and in shows such as Cirque du Soleil). Steve is also a physical fitness coach for a Bally's in Michigan. As you can see, Christopher uses the silks as a theme for the shoot using the deep colors of the silks to create strong emotional images. It is also clear Christopher is taking more than just pictures, he is creating art. For some reason the first image spoke to me the most. Naked, faceless, blood red. Guess I will have to use my psychology degree to figure out why...
