Eliminating distractions isn't just a goal for Tom from Peek Physique, it's a must. Tom lost his hearing slowly while growing up and distractions only took away from the focus. You will see evidence of this Tom's work, with many images containing what says is 'only what is needed to convey a message.'
With firsts, being focus for FH for this year, I have been looking for ways to incorporate the theme. Tom's images of Jado were the first images that saw from Rochester based photographer, and the shots that had me first reaching out to feature his work. (HERE:) Whether or no intentional, human responses to each of an artists senses, ultimately find their way into their art. I loved how vivid Tom's images were, and loved exploring how how visually focused his imagery is given his hearing loss.
That first piece was six years ago this week, and I have been fortunate to have continued to feature Tom's work since. Jado returned to shoot with Tom again back in 2015, and given it's the sixth anniversary since our first piece, I thought it was time for an update. Jado looks as hot as ever, and continues to display a strong sense of self through his facial expressions and pose in front of Tom's lens.
'I no longer had a studio at that point, so we did the shoot at my home. It was a warm day in April and we started outside with the grass very green and the dandelions in full bloom. I took advantage of the sound-proofing wall between my backyard and the highway, and also made good use of the beat-up shed. Then we went in the garage and came up with a number of different looks. Afterwards we went in the house and came up with still more ideas for poses.'
'Jado brought several changes of clothing with him so that we would end up with a variety of photos. I don't understand photographers who stick a model in front of a plain background with one outfit and that's that. We were all over the place doing all sorts of things, and it was all with natural light. Eventually we had worked through all the clothing choices he had brought with him.'
'At that point he was left with nothing to wear, the poor guy. He did not seem to mind, though. Alas, he did not bring the big gun out, being more of a non-full-frontal sort of model, as some are. Everyone has their own comfort level about introducing Willy to the public. But it did not matter, we still got a good number of new pics for both of our portfolios.'
It is always interesting to see how a model interacts with different locations and props, and what they inspire and bring forth. I remember my favorite shots of Jado from the first shoots were Tom's images of the New York model in a bathroom. I loved how Jado posed by the sink and bathroom stall. With this second shoot, some of my favorite shots were Jado in bed, especially when you see his big beautiful brown eyes as in the great shot below.
'At one point when Jado was lying naked in bad with his underwear on the floor, I asked him if I could put a condom wrapper on the floor as well. I thought it would create an image that tells a story and unleashes the viewers' imagination. He was fine with that, and it turned out to be a nice picture.'
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