Between Two Oceans: Ric by opti-male

On a nude beach in the northern part of Germany, right between two 'oceans', the North Sea and the Baltic Sea is where these incredible shots of Ric were created.

Many photographers use the beach as a location to shoot the human form. The setting lends itself beautifully as a natural backdrop with it's sand, sunlight and of course water. Photographer Eckhard from opti-male does more than just use the beach as a location or a background. In these extraordinary images of Ric, Eckhard captures more than just Ric, he captures the feel of the beach, the sand against your skin, the feel of the water, the smell of the salt and the intense heat as the sun hits Ric's naked body.

Eckhard says the beach shots were really quite easy to do, once they actually arrived there. It was long trip by mountain bike to get there so he and Ric camped at the beach and combined a weekend vacation on the nude beach with several sessions with the camera.

'Ric was and still is my favorite model, I have known him for more than 15 years. He is fun, very open minded, very good looking, well equipped and sort of a "happy-go-lucky" guy. Shootings with him are very easy going and it is a great advantage that we know each other very well. It´s the trust and almost same level of thinking that makes the collaboration with him an easy task.'
opti-male

Eckhard's experience with photographing the nude male form began during his time in art school, in particular his drawing class which focused on the human body. During this time, Eckhard was both a student and a model and his time at school provided the inspiration, and the experience, to begin photography when he finished school.

In 1985 Eckhard began shooting more seriously and opened a small studio, 'opti-male' located just north of Hamburg in Germany. Since then, he has participated in about 13 exhibitions and shows in Germany. For awhile Eckhard worked in both Germany and in Canada focusing on outdoor nude photography while living and shooting in Vancouver.

The first image of Eckhard's that I saw was the image of Ric I used at the top of the blog as pic of the day. The framing, the angle, the mix of sun, body and sand have made it one of my all time favorite images. When visiting Eckhard's site it was just the beginning of an incredible body of work. Because he does not make his living from his photography, Eckhard does not consider himself a professional, but if you spend any time at all with his images, you will agree his imagery is that and more.

Spend some time with Eckhard's images on his site HERE: & on ModelMayhem HERE: