One of my favorite shots of Claudiu by Chris Teel
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Happy Birthday today December 29th
Happy Birthday to actor Jude Law (below in Wilde) who turns 40 today!
Also celebrating today David Fumero, Diego Luna, Kevin Weisman, & Jon Voight.
Seasoned Seasonals
I am not sure anyone present for a certain Bethlehem birth would recognize Christmas in 2012. We have inflicted so many negatives on what should be a peaceful day, pressure and stress, both emotional and financial, many of us both look forward to and dread it's arrival at the same time. For some, family, friends and food are the key to a successful celebration, for others the three f's are at the core of the stress.
Many of us, in order to enjoy our time with friends and family, or to simply help us get through it, spend time during the holidays escaping into watching movies, and lots of them.
If you have read FH over the years, you know that 2011 and 2012 were transformative years for me with regard to film. I admittedly had an aversion to anything old, anything vintage, anything in black and white. Thanks however to some incredible reccomendation of films to watch, I am now firmly planted, at least as far as film goes, in the past.
George Bailey and Ralphie let us clearly know that Christmas always was surrounded by stress, but they also let us know they were equally filled with meaningful moments. Jim Carrey's Grinch doesn't hold a candle to the 1957 Chuck Jones adaptation and John Hughes should have left Susan Walker alone in the capable hands of a young Natalie Wood.
I thought I enjoyed You've Got Mail, that is until I saw the film it was based on, 1940's The Shop Around The Corner. I can't believe I saw this amazing film for this first time this year!
It is sad to me that in the future, people might think Christmas classics are all of the Lifetime version starring the thespian challenged likes of Melissa Joan Hart, Mario Lopez (shirtlessness aside) and Daphne Zuniga who seems only able to make second rate Christmas movies these days. Yes, the stories may seem the same, but the big difference is the actors.
Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan in Christmas in Connecticut, Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in Shop Around The Corner, Boris Karloff as Grinch, Edmund Gwenn, John Payne and Maureen O'Hara in Miracle on 34th all do something most of today's actors don't seem to be able to, actually take on a character and act. Zuniga, Lopez, even Meg Ryan, don't they just play themselves in movie after movie? Cheers to a time when characters, not actors filled the screen!
Claudiu's World
'There is nothing more powerful than the moment when one has their dendrites connecting to solve a question that challenged and looomed. This is where in life I am excited to experience it and seek clarity in it's entirety.'
Claudiu
I think the image above from photographer Lindsay Lozon may best represent 22 year old Toronto model Claudiu. Reflection is a core part of who Claudiu is, a philosopher and theorist who is serious about getting the best out of his life, his body and career in the modeling industry in 2013.
Images Below by Allan Selorio
Recently on Claudiu's facebook page he wrote about one of those songs that he didn't mind getting stuck in his head. For some reason this quote stuck with me. For most of us, those songs, the ones that get suck in our heads are usually the annoying ones. Usually they are the meaningless pop songs written more with simple, repetitive music and lyrics rather than more complex pieces of music. It fit for me that it would be the complexities, of both music and life that Claudiu would be drawn to.
The quote also fit for me as Claudiu is a model that also will get stuck in your head, and you won't mind. I first saw his images on DNA magazine on-line a couple of years ago when he was in the running for Mate Of the Month. It is hard to forget his amazing body, especially his incredible stomach that he passionately works hard to maintain. Claudiu also has a beautifully distinctive face, highlighted by his Eastern European features (Claudiu is Romanian born) and his intensely soulful brown eyes.
You can check out more of Claudiu's work on his ModelMayhem Page HERE: and his blog Claudiu's world HERE: which he updates almost daily with new images!
Claudiu by Chris Teel
FH readers know that Toronto's Chris Teel is one of my favorite photographers to work with. Chris and I have worked many times on features about his photography and worked together on Model Search 2011 which resulted with model Matt Eldracher taking the crown! (Look for details of another search coming soon!)
These images were taken a couple of years ago when Claudiu was 20 and are some of my favorites. I think Chris does an amazing job within the shoot of highlighting Claudiu's strong look with a focus not just on physique, but fashion, portraiture as well as personality.
Although Claudiu reports it was freezing and windy during the shoot, the images turned out hot both outside and inside the studio!
Claudiu's World
Claudiu on ModelMayhem
Chris Teel On ModelMayhem
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