Favorite Pic of the Day for February 5th

Above:

Diego by Paul Morris

-See More of Paul's work below-

Check out birthday's for February 4th HERE: & February 5th HERE:

Past Time

I loved everything about yesterday's game. From the emotional opening with Jennifer Hudson and the Sandy Hook school choir through the nail biting close finish to the game. Alicia Keys was good, but she always seems to let everyone know that before it can actually be said. Beyonce was amazing, but maybe a little bit unoriginal, some of her show I have seen her do on award shows before. The only tension was whether Michelle would make it through her few lines. My one complaint was people on social media. I was not at home for the first part of the game, but was home by the time the black out was over. I turned my laptop to find everyone on twitter seems to think they are a comedian. This certainly is not new, but seemed more annoying last night. As funny as some of the comments were, the 'Football Game being Beyonce's opening act' joke, was flung in one form or another about every six seconds. It wasn't that funny when used last year about Madonna, and years before with other performers.

My favorite commercial was the Budweiser Clydesdale ad (see HERE:) which as manipulative as it was still had me wanting to blubber.

Surprise Nudity of the Day: Adam Goldberg in 2 Days in Paris

I have always been a fan, and had a crush on actor Adam Goldberg. Going back to Dazed & Confused through his many television and movie appearances. On his site, Goldberg describes himself as an actor, filmmaker, photographer, musician, Lamaze coach, and purveyor of fine meats. Check out the photography section on Adam's site (Adam's photos, not photos of Adam). Adam says, 'Alas, no beefcake photos here. We’re quite sure there is no dearth of such on many a fan site. (UPDATE: It appears that no such site exists). Well, maybe this post will do!

I was not aware until recently visiting one of my favorite sites, RESTITUDA1'S World of Male Nudity that Adam had a nude scene in 2007's 2 Days in Paris. I follow up with other caps when my copy arrives, but until then, these will give you the general idea.

Paul Morris: Seen, Known, Appreciated and Remembered

'The pictures I take are snapshots of things around me---mostly men. I've been obsessed with men, their bodies and sex, all my life.'
Paul Morris

Above: Milton

When I contacted San Francisco photographer Paul Morris he responded with support for a post but commented that he did not feel he was of the caliber of the other photographers that I have featured. I am not sure there is anyone who can really accurately access their own work. In my experience, most people I talk to about their own work either undervalue it, and in some cases overvalue, the impact and skill involved. What I can say is that for me, my love of an image or an artist is based more on the emotional reaction it elicits from me. With Paul's images, there the reaction was strong, I think due to the intensely beautiful connection I felt between artist and subject.

Dylan

'I had Dylan turn the chair around and sit down. Even though he was obviously angry, I immediately liked him. Maybe it was because he was making his feelings clear.'

Paul obviously loves the male body and captures it with unique poses, angles and most importantly, his own perspective. Paul captures the man in final poses, but most interesting to me is his ability to also capture the emotion involved in the process. I always ask artists and models what the experience was like, and with Paul's work, the answers came not only with his words, but within the images themselves.

Karl

'Karl was nervous and very formal, eager to please but wary. I love shooting men who've never done this before. He's a strikingly handsome waiter at a fine restaurant in San Francisco. Very soft-spoken and polite, he seemed to me to be above all a gentle man'

'Men need to be considered and questioned, to be asked about their life, their work, their dreams. Men are generous because they long to be seen, known, appreciated and remembered. And their stories are like a second skin, as much a part of their bodies as their muscles and bones.'
Paul Morris

Little Joe

Edward

'I asked him to give me something that showed off his profile. He did this. I almost laughed at the formality of it, but then he reached down and adjusted his cock so it was hanging just off the edge of the chair. I love men.'

Say A Little Prayer

'When I was 11 I had a friend who could draw well. His fame in the neighborhood came from his ability to draw dinosaurs, but I happened to know that he liked to draw all kinds of things. He invited me to watch him draw once. It was on a Sunday afternoon at his father's machine shop. I knocked on the locked door of the shop and he let me in. He took me to the back of the shop where a young man--15 or 16 years old--was standing naked and still. He was "posing," a concept that was shocking and wonderful to me. They take their clothes off and they stand still while you study them. I asked my friend how he did this, how he got this to happen. He said "You ask them."
Paul Morris

Alexander

'Alexander's ass is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. You may have noticed that a lot of the men I shoot have their hands in this position: this is something straight men nearly always do automatically. I think it must have something to do with balancing their vulnerability as I kneel and worship their ass.'

Powerlifter

Isaac

'Isaac is 21 years old, a full-scholarship athlete in college. He loves watching daytime tv. We did the shoot in a Soma motel. He asked if he could watch his favorite show when it came on. It was one of those courtroom "reality" shows, like Judge Judy. He was absolutely fascinated by it.'

Second Shoot

'I told him to relax. He's a champion athlete. In person his physicality is incredible. When he walked through the office fully dressed everyone stopped what they were doing.'

Pornboy

'I have to admit that I was put off by how trimmed and groomed he was. But there were moments when the beauty that had propelled him into porn broke through. I gave him no direction at all. Finally he became bored and relaxed a bit.'

Check out more of Paul's work on his site HERE:

The Sadist by Paul Morris

It was this series that first led me to the work of photographer Paul Morris. The images remains some of my favorites. I is not just because of the lighting and incredible poses and ways Paul captures the body, but also because of the the story Paul shared with them.

'I left the room---we'd been shooting for several hours and I was exhausted. When I came back he was squatting and pressing his face against the pole. He has immense power, yet he's 19. I looked at him and felt a complex reaction. Compassion for him, fear of him, anger at his power and his knowledge of it. The root of sadism is the ability to draw the masochist into a powerless state of adoration, of compassion. I realized that I would likely be able to worship this young vulnerable sadist. And I would be grateful for the opportunity.'

'He's 19. He was raised in the Bay Area, the oldest son of an upper-middle class family. I was immediately struck not only by how beautiful he is but also by how complex a presence he carries. You might think that after all these years, and these men, I'd be inured to male beauty. But in this man there was something deep underneath the surface. For a long while I had him move in simple, rote poses. I was keeping my distance. He's straight, but in his case this means something finessed, complex. His interests, he told me, are art, business and power. "Not necessarily in that order."

'In high school he was a star athlete. His favorite sport was pole vaulting. I had Trevor fetch a long pole. He laughed at it when he saw it.'

'Long into the shoot I finally said "You're very beautiful, you know." Almost impassively he responded, "I know. It makes me powerful. I use it to control men." I knew what he meant, but I asked anyway. "I allow men to worship me. I hurt them. I use them. They're insects."