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Sunday, December 10, 2017
12 Days: Aaron O'Connell in With Love, Christmas
I first featured model turned actor Aaron O'Connell back in 2009 as Model of the Day. As a model, Aaron was working with some of the industries most well known photographers. His images, especially his frontal from Bruce Weber (HERE:) which had the net (well a segment of the net...) in a tizzy when it was first scanned and uploaded.
No all models are able to make a smooth transition to acting, but O'Connell seems to be bucking that trend. First cast by Tyler Perry as Wyatt in TV series The Have and the Have Nots, O'Connell has also been making a name for himself on Hallmark including this seasons holiday flick, With Love, Christmas. I liked With Love, Christmas much more than I expected, mostly due to Aaron's performance.
O'Connell plays Donovan Goodwin, an uptight curmudgeon, with no Christmas spirit at all. His main focus is his job as an ad executive, and keeps as busy as he can so he doesn't have time for anything festive or fun. But... thanks to his works secret Santa, and the fully spirited and adorable Melanie, (Emilie Ullerup) Donovan shares why he isn't a bit Christmas fan. But... as with all Christmas movies, by the end Melanie, and the spirit, has won him over.
As successful as Aaron was as a model, he really belongs in front of a camera that catches him in movement, his sexy walk just the beginning. With his matinee idol looks, Aaron, I think his days on Hallmark may be numbered. Next up, Aaron hits the big screen along with Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme in the action film Black Water, due for release next year.
Aaron by Joseph Bleu
Aaron by Mariano Vivanco
The Cusp of Cool: Andrew by Unlimited Male
'Don't play the saxophone. Let it play you.'
Charlie Parker
Jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker knows, that unlike most other musical instruments, playing the sax means not just committing to the instrument and the music, but a way of life. Sax players are reputed by many, to be more physically attractive, sexually magnetic and personally charming than performers on all other instruments. Sax players are also thought to straddle a fine line between the edge of weird, and the cusp of cool.
I think Charlie Parker's quote helps delineate which side of the line one falls on. If you watch any sax performance you can tell simply by the way they hold their instrument, whether they are playing, or succumbing to to power of the music and the instrument. Think of any performance by Clarence Clemons or Tim Cappello (think of that scene in The Lost Boys) and you know the music takes over their entire body, rhythmically pulsing and driving every movement.
Now, I can be sure all of the traits I described fit every sax player, but they certainly seem to fit 20 year old model and sax player Andrew Hann. Andrew first picked up the sax at age 8, and as you can tell from his images, it is not just a prop in a photo shoot, but has become a part of who he is. You can almost feel the way the music and the brass instrument bring out a unique power and distinctive rhythm when in Andrew's hands.
Andrew has an incredible body, one kept in tip top shape, not just from playing his instrument, but from working out and running. Andrew's chiseled body comes from hours of hard work and sweat, credit for his great facial structure and beautiful brown eyes must in part be given to his Asian-American background. In addition to his great look, I equally love the personality and seemingly endless energy that Jay from Unlimited Male managed to so perfectly captured within this shoot.
Whenever I feature Jay's work, I continue to be impressed at the varied models he chooses to shoot and his ability to bring out unique pieces of their personality in his images. I first saw Jay's images of Andrew's naked sax playing a couple of months ago, and knew instantly I wanted to feature them on the site. Due to Jay's busy schedule, it took a little while to pull things together. In that time, it is clear many others have seen the special qualities in Andrew and beautifully he photographs in both fashion and fitness, as well as creatively inspired concept shoots like his work with Jay.
'Andrew was full of energy and never met a stranger. He made a new friend on the flight down and spoke to almost everyone we met. I don't think that I have ever met anyone as friendly and outgoing as he is before. All in all, I think it was one of the most fun, productive shoots that I have had. I think that Andrew has a very bright future ahead of him and I hope to have the opportunity to work with him again soon.'
That energy Jay describes was apparent from the first moment he and Andrew met. Andrew had flown down to shoot for the weekend, and after flying down on Friday afternoon, Jay thought he might need some time to rest and settle in after his flight. Instead, after a quick bite, they began shooting right away, and began again, bright and early the next morning.
Jay and Andrew spent most of day shooting in studio and locations in and around the hotel. Whenever they were shooting in pubic places,, Andrew was constantly meeting up with new people, making friends and adding followers to his Instagram and his Snapchat (drew_clarky88), which Andrew shares he loves to be on. You can see even more from this shoot in an updated post featuring even more images HERE:
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