Favorite Pic of the Day for April 8th

Above:
Michael Hargis by LightWeaver.
-See more below-

Check out my previous birthday post for April 8th featuring John Schneider, Ben Freeman, Adrian Bellani & Taylor Kitsch HERE:

Just Because: Bill Cosby

When I was a kid, everyone was watching The Cosby Show but I never got it. I mean I saw it's good points but I just never found it funny. Even at 10 I preferred Cheers. But... years later when I was 18 or 19 I saw Bill Cosby live. I had not laughed that hard ever before in my life. 'the dentist' sketch still brings a laugh. So did this clip! Go Bill!

Thanks to OneAngryQueer for the tip!

Kudos to the PR Department for Crazy, Stupid, Love

The PR department behind Crazy Stupid Love know what they are doing. The shot above of Ryan Gosling has the trailer popping up on every blog (like mine) on the net. This movie had me at hello, mostly because I never miss anything starring the brilliant Julianne Moore (I should have skipped Jurassic Park 2 though...). Gosling is just icing on the cake!

Old Hollywood: Michael Hargis by LightWeaver

'The things a man has to have are hope and confidence in himself against odds, and sometimes he needs somebody, his pal or his mother or his wife or God, to give him that confidence. He's got to have some inner standards worth fighting for or there won't be any way to bring him into conflict. And he must be ready to choose death before dishonor without making too much song and dance about it. That's all there is to it.'
Clark Gable



This post should actually have come after the post below. I say after, because these studio shots of model Michael Hargis by Jay A. Rickard (LightWeaver) came at the end of a very long day of shooting. For some reason though it fit better to begin with them. When I first profiled Jay's work last fall
(Gage Houser by LightWeaver) I was impressed by how much he gave to his models. His joy came from working with new talent and helping inexperienced models with building their portfolio's and creating dramatic, memorable images.

With Jay's latest collaboration with Michael Hargis it is clear his goal is of making his models look the best they can is still firmly grounded. But...there is a difference in Jay's latest work, , it is subtle, but it is clearly there. A strength, a confidence in his vision. When viewing Jay's shots of Michael I see not only the vision created by photographer and model but also Jay's years of experience, his skill and power as an artist shine loudly through.



As I said, these shots came together at the end of a long day. Jay says he was pretty tired out after the location shoot and admits to feeling rather lackluster and unmotivated. Once a few shots were taken however, Michael's energy took over and became contagious and Jay was fully amped again.

Jay says that Old Hollywood was the inspiration, he and Michael share a love of old movies and the style and look of the time.

'We both are big fans of the old Hollywood style of photography so that’s where we started. Anything Hitchcock, Clark Gable. Bogart. What fascinates me most about that era in addition to the filming of the movies were the publicity stills of the stars that were taken at the time. George Hurrell is one of my top photography heroes. He was brilliant. He took the most amazing stars and turned them into flawless Gods and Goddess in still photos. Unlike today when similar affects can be done digitally George Hurrell had the talent to do it right without the help of a digital production team. Him, his lights, camera and the subject. Actually he did do some touch ups but it was done on the negative! Can you imagine? He was the true master and any time I get a shot that even remotely captures that same vibe, I’m a truly happy photographer'
-Jay A. Rickard-



33 year old Michael says Katharine Hepburn is one of his favorite actress's from the time. 'She worked with all the great male actors. The Philadelphia story is a classic!' It is interesting to note that 1940's The Philadelphia Story was written especially for Hepburn for the stage by writer Philip Barry. With the help of her ex-lover Howard Hughes, Hepburn acquired the film rights and sold them to MGM. The Film , co-starring Cary Grant and James Stewart became one of the biggest hits of 1940. Interestingly though they were not who Hepburn wanted. Although she got to choose the director, George Cukor, she was not able to get the two costars she really wanted, Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable.



'No man has ever made a vest, tie and hat look finer. Not even Clark Gable'
Jay A. Rickard

I think George Hurrell would be honored, but I don't think even he could have used, or Gable could have worn, a jacket and scarf in quite the same incredibly hot way.

Rejuvenated: Michael Hargis by LightWeaver

Location, Location, Location:

Over the past few months location has played an important role in many of my posts. Marlen Boro's window, Colgan's abandoned buildings, Russ Osterweil's bedrooms. It is again location the plays a huge role in Jay A. Rickard's most recent shoot. These shots of Michael are not only some of my favorite shots from Lightweaver they are also some of his best work.




Jay reports he had used the location previously with another model and Michael had expressed an interest in the location as well after he saw on his website.

'I had been wanting to use that location again for awhile since it had been about 4 years since I’d used it last. I was extremely happy to find that the owners had opened up the third floor which was closed off the last time. Holy crap it was awesome. The creative energy was flowing that day and we both gave 100%, as the images show. It was pretty cold out and as you can tell then building is old so it has no heat. Open doors and windows were the only way to get light in since there was no electricity so we even had the wind blowing in. Poor Michael was shivering the whole time and was flat out numb by the time we were done. Luckily he was able to thaw out with a hot shower before we started working in the studio.'
Jay A. Rickard





'As for working with Jay, he is such a laid back guy. He has a vision in his head and goes for it. We shot in an old abandoned building and although it was freezing cold, we went for it because the space was too good to be true and we knew the shots would be worth it. I can't wait to work with him again and come up with more great ideas.'
Michael Hargis



'The shoot was exactly as I envisioned and for an artist. Those moments are few and far between. Even in post production there was very little to do, if anything. Working with Michael Hargis was a breath of fresh air. I had started to feel a little complacent with photography and honestly was beginning to feel stagnant. This shoot has rejuvenated me.!'
Jay A. Rickard




Check out more of LightWeaver on

ModelMayhem
LightWeaver Official Site:
LightWeaver's blog:

Jay also encourages you to join his Facebook page which he hopes to be a resource for male models and those who enjoy the male modeling industry.
LightWeaver on Facebook:

You can also join Michael Hargis on Facebook HERE:









Below:

'I envisioned this set of him wearing nothing but an outfit made out of jewelry. I created specifically for the shoot. Most models, especially when looking at working with a new photographer, would balk at such an odd suggestion, but he loved it immediately. Took me a few weeks to put it all together and it was worth it. You can see for yourself, the look is unique. When it was time for the jewelry set I added some make up to perfect the look and strapped on the jewels'
Jay A. Rickard