Above:
Gage by D L Scott Photography
-See More Below-
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Brett Gleason: The Dream Is ALIVE
If you're a regular reader of FH you have no doubt seen some of my features, and listened to songs from musician Brett Gleason. We're used to seeing Brett behind the keyboard, but The Dream is Alive is one of two guitar based songs on his new collection Manifest. A ten song cycle about being Human on Earth. Is that you? MANIFEST = Sex + Death + Love + Time + Consciousness. The Dream is Alive is a wee bit addictive, and I have been listening on Brett's kickstarter again and again as I worked on today's posts. Give it a listen for yourself HERE:
Below: Brett by Stanley Stellar
The Morning After: Blake by D L Scott Photography
'When I woke up the next morning I went and bought a sewing machine, fabric, and waistbands. I had a logo created for me and thus began EZIO.'
Now before we get to that morning after, we have to find out what happened the night before. Lets just say it included male strippers and in particular, the underwear they were wearing. Over the years, underwear has become more and more important in male fashion. Once something worn but rarely seen, underwear has become something that is not only seen, but a piece of fashion that makes a statement and plays a role in how men feel about themselves and their bodies. So... that night before...
'I was at a male strip club and was talking to dancers. They were getting ready to go on stage and they kept pulling their underwear down. When I asked them what they were doing, they told me that they were pulling down the underwear so they can show the V shape. These guys are in great shape. Of course at the time I was drinking, so I told them that I would go home and put a little underwear design together where the waist band is shaped into a V band and we would go from there. We all laughed a bit and they went on stage.'
That V shape not only inspired Dion Scott with his underwear design, but in creating EZIO bodywear, a new clothing design company with a focus on fashionable, comfortable and affordable body wear for men. I think the Dion's V shape design is not only genius, but both practical, and incredibly sexy. Full disclosure.... although I love Dion's bodywear, it wasn't EZIO underwear that first had me contacting him. It was in fact, an incredible model out of his underwear. That model, Gage, is featured below and he ended up modeling many of the early versions and prototypes for Dion's designs.
It was actually Dion's photography that came first. Dion recalls shooting with an old film camera and learning through a lot of trial and error. Although he knew Portland artist knew there were better ways to capture an image, Dion wanted to learn the original way. It was after moving to Portland that he picked up his first digital camera, a Canon Rebel and began shooting landscapes, buildings, sunsets and things Dion was passionate about and caught his eye. Dion feels the addition of the design piece has really propelled his photography to another level.
Once Dion had his design and prototypes created, he needed bodies to model them so he could see the finish product. Dion says that he got wrapped up in the design and fit of the underwear and making sure that it was perfect. He began looking for more people to try them on, including using his photography page on Model Mayhem. It wasn't MM but Dion's business partner that introduced to him Blake, the newest model he shot for the line.
'We started the shoot in my house, lights, backdrops, and all that good stuff. Blake is super easy to work for and takes direction very well. Always smiling and very lighthearted. We decided to take the shoot outside so we drove down to the tracks. This is about 18 miles from my house. It is not an isolated spot but we walked down a little ways. People saw me with the camera and asked what we were doing. I am always reluctant to say that I am shooting a man in his underwear because we get some lurkers coming around. This day it was busier in the park than I had imagined because it was the 4th of July. We did as many photos as we could before people started asking me to take pictures of them in their underwear. LOL. I had to explain that this was for a business so I gave them a business card. :-)'
'After the tracks we went to Rooster Rock, a clothing optional area. We were lucky to have the weather on our side that day. It was a little cool when we started but the sun peeked out a few times making it a little more tolerable for Blake. We did a lot of great pictures close to the water and in the brush. He loves the attention so we gave it all to him. Plus I love a good model who is really open to do the work. We finished our shoot, taking a total of 1900 pictures between the two of us. We don't always take that many but as you can tell he is a really good subject to work with!'
The Night Before: Gage by D L Scott Photography
So.. that model I mentioned above. The model out of his underwear who inspired me to contact photographer and designer Dion Scott. Gage was not one of the strippers who inspired Dion's designs, but I think that you'll agree, that some of Dion's images of Gage are most certainly inspirational.
Gage came to Dion's attention via word of mouth. Dion was doing nude shots of a mutual friend who kept talking about Gage and how much he thought Dion would like him. Dion didn't realise that the mutual friend had invited Gage over during their photoshoot.
'There was a knock at the door and I was like who is that? I opened the door and there he was. Gage walked in and introduced himself. I was pleased. I walked away for a minute and came back to the living room to see Gage nude as well. My mind was swirling. I mean these straight boys walk into the house and just take off their clothes! Fine by me. '
Dion took a few shots of Gage and after his friend left, they really started getting creatively into the shoot. Gage ate up the camera and loved the attention! It was getting late so they wrapped up and Dion drove Gage home. It was during the drive he asked Gage about modeling some of the new prototypes of his underwear designs. Gage was excited about the idea and they made plans to meet up and shoot again. After he dropped him off, Gage texted through the night how much he was looking forward to getting in front of the camera again.
'Unfortunately it was a couple of months before I saw him again and could schedule a shoot. By that time, Gage had put on more muscle and was looking really good. I picked him up and we ate lunch and went back to my place for the shoot. I took a lot of pictures of him that day and we both looked at them before he left the house. We were both amazed at how well they turned out and how great he looked.'
'Gage is a kind soul with a big heart. We did more shoots for his own personal stash and he modeled the underwear more. Every time he was with me he always wanted to be in front of the camera. We did do a few shots outside here and there but mostly on the side of my house or the backyard, with the exception of the railroad tracks. We were leaving his house that day and I asked him if there was any place we could go that was isolated. He had already told me that he didn't mind taking nudes so I wanted to get him on the tracks.'
'I love the railroad tracks! We were driving down a side road and I found a clearing and stopped the car. We got our and walked on the tracks for a little bit. I wanted him to be shielded from any cars that may drive down the side of the road. We were blocked by bushes and I asked him to take off all of his clothes and stand in between the tracks and he did. I took some from the front, side, back and of course with him balancing on the tracks.'
'My favorites are the front and the image below. Gage is balanced, looking directly at the camera. Gage commands a presence with the picture of him facing the camera. The way he stands, the facial expression, everything about that pictures speaks to me. At one point that picture ended up on Tumblr I did not post it, but someone saw it and obviously liked it enough to take and post. With 10k likes, it was encouraging to see the image, and my work appreciated and enjoyed.'
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