Friday, June 1, 2012
Just Because: Cool
Suntown Photography: Cub Scout
Peter
'I think is it a real shame that guys who are naturally hairy, or have hairy legs, feel they have to cover up so as not to get disparaging remarks such as being told they look like a Gorilla or Wooky. I would rather see body hair to tattoos or body piercing any day.'
Born in 1959, Suntown Photography feels lucky enough to have seen some fantastic changes. The Landing on the moon, the building and dismantling of the Berlin Wall, mobile phones and the Internet. For a photographer, one of the biggest changes would the switch from print film to digital which occurred relatively quickly in less than a decade. .
'I remember the first digital camera I bought way back in 2002 was a Canon Powershot A20 with a 3x zoom lens and 2.1 mega pixels images. The owner of the camera shop I use to go to to get my work printed said at the time that digital was no threat because you'd never get the same quality from digital that you can from print. Unfortunate for her business she was soon proven wrong.'
Adam
Some changes can be difficult but Dave says he now prefers the flexibility that digital gives you over print. Suntow has always been one of those photographers that takes lots of pictures quickly, then later goes through and finds the ones that he feels show exactly what it was he was trying to capture.
'That could be a particular expression or capturing a model in a particular pose. Occasionally it is a fluke of lighting at a specific moment in time. I also find that the models relax more if they are not having to hold a particular pose or expression for a longish period of time whilst I am making sure the lighting etc is perfect. I am sure there are plenty of photographers out there that regard that a blasphemy and I am sure they pick up on technical errors but it is simply an approach I prefer.'
I am not sure about blasphemy...regardless of the methods, most artists strive to be satisfied with their finished work. The first finished image I saw from Suntown Photography was the pic of the day shot of Peter. Suntown's shot of Peter was sort of like a breath of fresh air, certainly a one of my most favorite nude images that I have seen lately. There is pureness to the image, untainted and natural with touch of retro weaved into the current.
'As can be seen from my photographs I prefer the guys I work with not to shave, wax or trim there body hair. I am sure there are some deep dark physiological reasons for this. First of all blame it on Action Man. All smooth, muscled, hard and no cock. Ever since I think I look at guys who shave and wax in a similar way. The second reason I like working with guys with body hair I a sure goes back to the first guy I had a major crush on at school. He was in my class and he was blond and had the hairiest legs imaginable. He was pure sex on legs.'
Daniel
'That is not to say I never work with smooth guys. On the contrary I have worked with and continue to work with guys who are smooth, but they are naturally smooth. To my mind there is a definite difference to skin texture and tone between a guy who is naturally smooth and one who shaves or waxes. I remember working with one model; 20 years ago now, who was attending Brookes University in Oxford at the time. He had light brown hair and when you first saw him undressed he looked smooth with the exception of his pubic area and armpits. However in certain light his body seemed to almost shimmer as he was covered in the finest downy hair I have ever seen. If he had shaved or waxed that would never have been seen.'
Sometimes it seems photographers whose goal is to shoot more natural looking men end up with images which may appear amateurish or unplanned. Dave's shots are both natural and professional with intent and a clear eye of what he is looking to capture. Suntown is shooting the hot guy before he goes through the 'agency/fashion' transformation, as he would appear naturally at home before heading to the studio, or like the guy Suntown crushed over in school. Suntown captures a time, not necessarily between youth and adulthood but more than that, a time, for some it's University, for others it can last into your thirties and forties. That time when the pressures from the world have not yet forced you to conform and you still have a degree of freedom and rebellion not yet squashed by the world around you.
Young Cubs Calendar
Rich
AJ
'I think is it a real shame that guys who are naturally hairy, or have hairy legs, feel they have to cover up so as not to get disparaging remarks such as being told they look like a Gorilla or Wooky. I would rather see body hair to tattoos or body piercing any day.'
Dave: Suntown Photography
Born in 1959, Suntown Photography feels lucky enough to have seen some fantastic changes. The Landing on the moon, the building and dismantling of the Berlin Wall, mobile phones and the Internet. For a photographer, one of the biggest changes would the switch from print film to digital which occurred relatively quickly in less than a decade. .
'I remember the first digital camera I bought way back in 2002 was a Canon Powershot A20 with a 3x zoom lens and 2.1 mega pixels images. The owner of the camera shop I use to go to to get my work printed said at the time that digital was no threat because you'd never get the same quality from digital that you can from print. Unfortunate for her business she was soon proven wrong.'
Adam
Some changes can be difficult but Dave says he now prefers the flexibility that digital gives you over print. Suntow has always been one of those photographers that takes lots of pictures quickly, then later goes through and finds the ones that he feels show exactly what it was he was trying to capture.
'That could be a particular expression or capturing a model in a particular pose. Occasionally it is a fluke of lighting at a specific moment in time. I also find that the models relax more if they are not having to hold a particular pose or expression for a longish period of time whilst I am making sure the lighting etc is perfect. I am sure there are plenty of photographers out there that regard that a blasphemy and I am sure they pick up on technical errors but it is simply an approach I prefer.'
I am not sure about blasphemy...regardless of the methods, most artists strive to be satisfied with their finished work. The first finished image I saw from Suntown Photography was the pic of the day shot of Peter. Suntown's shot of Peter was sort of like a breath of fresh air, certainly a one of my most favorite nude images that I have seen lately. There is pureness to the image, untainted and natural with touch of retro weaved into the current.
'As can be seen from my photographs I prefer the guys I work with not to shave, wax or trim there body hair. I am sure there are some deep dark physiological reasons for this. First of all blame it on Action Man. All smooth, muscled, hard and no cock. Ever since I think I look at guys who shave and wax in a similar way. The second reason I like working with guys with body hair I a sure goes back to the first guy I had a major crush on at school. He was in my class and he was blond and had the hairiest legs imaginable. He was pure sex on legs.'
Daniel
'That is not to say I never work with smooth guys. On the contrary I have worked with and continue to work with guys who are smooth, but they are naturally smooth. To my mind there is a definite difference to skin texture and tone between a guy who is naturally smooth and one who shaves or waxes. I remember working with one model; 20 years ago now, who was attending Brookes University in Oxford at the time. He had light brown hair and when you first saw him undressed he looked smooth with the exception of his pubic area and armpits. However in certain light his body seemed to almost shimmer as he was covered in the finest downy hair I have ever seen. If he had shaved or waxed that would never have been seen.'
Sometimes it seems photographers whose goal is to shoot more natural looking men end up with images which may appear amateurish or unplanned. Dave's shots are both natural and professional with intent and a clear eye of what he is looking to capture. Suntown is shooting the hot guy before he goes through the 'agency/fashion' transformation, as he would appear naturally at home before heading to the studio, or like the guy Suntown crushed over in school. Suntown captures a time, not necessarily between youth and adulthood but more than that, a time, for some it's University, for others it can last into your thirties and forties. That time when the pressures from the world have not yet forced you to conform and you still have a degree of freedom and rebellion not yet squashed by the world around you.
Young Cubs Calendar
You can see more of Suntown's work and check out his new 2013 calendar Young Cubs at his Blog HERE: & on his website HERE:
Also check out Suntown Photography on ModelMayhem HERE:
Rich
AJ
Hi Ho Silver: Justin in the City
Woof Woof!
Not sure how long the new summer series, 'Dogs In The City' is going to last, but the new CBS reality series certainly has one of the most appealing television personalities at it's center.
Dog trainer, behaviorist and a stand-up comedian Justin Silver, as expected, spends much of his time trying to change the behaviors of owners rather than the dogs themselves. In fact, with the exception of Silver, the pups come off as much more intelligent than the human forms walking them, as they are the ones acting more predictably to the situations which around them.
Silver comes off as intelligent, logical, sweet and super hot. Since he works with dogs, Silver is often on the floor, bending over and of course, walking. Silver has one of those sexy walks that I am sure leads many of the bitches around him contemplating a hump. It is clear the producers of Dogs In The City are pushing both the canine appeal (Beefy licking champagne was priceless) and Silver's sex appeal as his tight jeans and tight shirts make whomever he is dealing with (annoying modeling agency owner especially) inconsequential. This show is all about the man and his dog.
Revealed: AJ (Part II) by Marlen Boro
'AJ is one of those guys who never really seems aware of his own beauty. Funny, because he's worked as a go-go boy and I'm sure he didn't want for compliments. But there's something indisputable about seeing images in the camera... When my client sees himself sexier than he ever imagined - this wave of confidence is found - and the images are better as a result.'
In my last installment of The Gentlemen of Marlen Boro, (Mane Man)Marlen introduced FH readers to AJ, a model he has recently worked with on a couple of occasions.
If your a regular reader of the blog, you might have noticed that when I present a shoot or a model, my preference is to lay out the images to create a bit of a reveal. A reveal of body of course, but also the reveal of story, and what is beyond the surface of what you are looking at. Although I suspect it makes little difference, I choose to do this for a couple of reasons. One of my goals for FH is to relay story. It often seems if you start with a frontal, that is where story, for many, often ends. The men within the images and the artists behind them often seem to become irrelevant once you present the money shot.
My goal is to build viewers anticipation and create interest in the model and the photographer with a post that has a clear beginning, middle and end. Without these, there is no story, there is just the cover of the book. I question at times (especially with Marlen who shoots so many incredible money shots) how successful I am but that is my goal. I am sure it odd for many photographers when I e-mail requesting more portrait and clothed shots when I don't feel the piece has a balance of looks and images.
I e-mailed Marlen this week about AJ as pretty much all of the images I had for the second part of the piece were full frontal. Marlen was off to New York for work, and time was an issue, so I pulled a few images from the first post and dropped a couple of the frontal images. I often wonder how many people pop into FH each day for the story, and how many for the money shots to click and save for their tumblrs... I guess as long as there are a few looking for both there remains some worth within the reveal.
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