Favorite Pic of the Day for December 28th

Above:
Leo by Molasso UK
-See More Below-

Happy Birthday today December 28th

Happy Birthday to Joe Manganiello (below in a deleted scene from Magic Mike) turns 36 today.

Check out more of today's birthdays HERE:

Budget Cuts

It hasn't been a great few years for daytime dramas. Cancellations, budget and salary cuts have wreaked havoc on shows and their cast.

As you can see from these older cast images from Days Of Our Lives, budget cuts have been going on for a long while now. Obviously the shows could not afford shirts for quite all of the male cast members for these cast shots. Thankfully for us, it was Austin Peck and Jensen Ackles at the back of the line when the shirts were handed out.

Radial Balance: Leo by Molasso UK

We all see the world through a specific lens. What, or how, we see and interpret what we visualize is individual to each of us based on our life resume, our loves and passions. Despite my passion for photography and art, I see the world from the perspective of a writer, specially that of a screen writer. Throughout my day, whether at work, with friends or family or simply walking down a street, my mind relays what it sees in the form of words, searching for just the right word or phrase to best describe what I am seeing to another.

The hardest profiles to write are from artists who have nothing to say. The old adage, 'letting the art speak for itself' is one I never really wrapped my head around it. When I see, view or watch anything I love from a great photograph or painting to a television show or movie the one thing I annoying love to do is talk about it. I have often dropped or stopped working on pieces for FH, even when I truly loved the work, when the artist or model had nothing really to say about it. It is not the meaning or message of the work I am so much interested in learning but as I have been writing about lately, more the process that led to it's creation.

When first seeing an image I love, or an artist to profile for FH, my mind automatically begins to search for how best to compose, via words and language, what I want to say, and how I want to present the work. Almost every time it is the artist, in this case London's Will Wilcox (Molasso UK), who provides the foundation for me to start off from. I am really not sure it is a coincidence or not, but I find myself lately drawn to photography created through the eyes of painters.

Seeing life through a painters lens seemed destiny for Will as his father was a successful painter and a keen photographer and taught his son the basics when he was very young. Will says his coal-cellar doubled as a darkroom, and it was where he learned to use an enlarger and to develop and print his own images.

'I graduated in Fine Art at Kingston School of Art, London, where I also studied illustration, photography and print-making. For many years I have painted portraits, working largely from photos of my subjects. These days I guess my approach is always from the point of view of a painter, as well as a way to indulge and express my fantasies.'
Will Wilcox

Although many artists begin with a very specific idea of what they are creating, some, especially painters, often end up at a completely different destination than the one they started with. Space and balance therefore must be malleable as rigidity and creativity rarely go hand in hand. This makes maintaining a radial balance, a focal point which lures the eye, even more crucial.

Skillfully maintaining a radial balance, whether it be a prop, structure or even color element can lead to the creation of incredible images. In this case, the model Leo_Dominic and specifically his facial expressions, is what drew my eye and attention in. Even when his face is not visible, I could feel the attitude and confidence exuding from Leo in each of Will's images.

'I met Leo Dominic a modelling website. He is from Sweden, but lives in Brazil at present, so I guess I was lucky to catch him when he was briefly in London, and to get a chance for a fantastic photo shoot. Working with him was so easy; I hardly had to direct him, or suggest ideas, he just danced and played around in front of the camera, slowly getting into more and more erotic poses.'

'All I had to do was snap away, and occasionally change the lighting around. It was a struggle at times to maintain a professional attitude throughout, but I managed to do so somehow – one has to make these small sacrifices in the name of art!'
Will Wilcox

Molasso UK on ModelMayhem
Molasso UK on Flickr

Faking It!

Oh the weather inside is air conditioned
But the Faux fire is on slow emission
And since I nailed this audition
Let It Fake Snow! Let It Fake Snow! Let It Fake Snow!

Ugly Betty

I love winter. I love snow, blizzards and everything associated with the season. Since I was a kid I always really enjoyed movies and televisions shows set during the winter months. I remember episodes of Gilmore Girls and ER and so many other shows in which snow played a crucial role in story. Along with the precipitation and wind chill, I have always found a warmth, a deeper heat at times than the hottest of summer days.

One of the movies I pull out from time to time is Bridget Jones Diary. I am hit or miss on Renée Zellweger's but I think this movie is her best work. The movie begins with Bridget in the snow on New Years and ends with a kiss on a snowy street, with plenty of snow scenes in between.

Bridget Jones

As I sit here today, snow and wind is whipping all around my house. I am usually able to escape into a good movie and suspend reality to believe in dinosaurs, superheroes, vampires and even a singing Russell Crowe. I am yanked however, painfully, from even the best of movies and television shows when the characters are surrounded by fake snow.

Marley & Me

Those of us who experience a lot of snow know what it looks like, what it feels and even tastes like. Watching the fake flurries swirl around a Hollywood sound stage is becoming harder and harder to enjoy. Yes I know it would be unrealistic to expect shows and movies, especially California based ones, to travel North to film realistic snow scenes. I can handle fake snow on a sit-com or soap opera, but for drama's and big budget motion pictures the fake flakes aren't cutting it any more.

Gilmore Girls

The Real Thing:

And yes, your right, this post was an excuse to post the remaining 'naked guys in snow' images!