Candidly Cameraed: Julian by Naked Ambition

'Julian was a great model, totally comfortable in his own skin and excited about the shoot as you can see from some of the photos.'

George Krause

Whenever an artist sets up a shoot with a model there is a degree of planning. A location must be set, degree of nudity agreed to and the goals for the shoot discussed. After that, the process for reaching those goals can occur in many different ways. Most photo shoots, especially in studio, involved fixed poses and positions with more defined boundaries for movement. The main reason for this is light, and ensuring every area used is properly lit.

When shooting outside however, there more room for spontaneity, especially with movement. On a sunny day, models are able to walk, run and climb though out the shooting area. I love this way of shooting, especially for images of the male form. FH readers know I love process, and with the freedom of movement, artists can shoot throughout, capturing moments not possible if time had to be used for set up and lighting. Although the model knows they are being shot, there is a candid element with an erotic feel, different than a heavily staged image or pose.

In this series, Julian seems so free, wandering and exploring is location with George following all, more documenting than directing. This candid way of shooting also seems broaden focus, featuring the entire male form and more of his surroundings. In this case, Julian's surroundings match the visual beauty of the body enjoying them. George had previously shot at the Albany California location, known locally as The Bulb, with a female model and was very familiar with the location and the visual beauty it had to offer.

The Bulb is a former landfill, that over time became quickly heavily vegetated. The space became a haven for homeless Albany residents, hikers, dog walkers as well as teenagers looking to party and environmentalists looking to study the plant life. The area also drew various local artist who beautified the former landfill with murals, stenciling, graffiti, sculpture, and installation art. The area peaked in about 2006, but since then, although some art remains it has deteriorated and no where as vibrant as it was over a decade ago.

Still, there is a unique beauty in faded in art and color. Like a yearbook, it can hold both visual and emotional nods to the past. George didn't know much about Julian when they headed out to The Bulb. They had connected on Model Mayhem only a short while before Julian headed over from SF on the morning of the shoot.

George and Julian shot in two different location at the site, a wooded ridge and amongst the art graffiti covered slabs of broken concrete. I especially love the shots of Julian on the painted rocks, in on and within the uniquely curved tree branches. George reports the shoot went extremely well, except for the odd hiccup or two. George is always looking for models, so if you're interested in a shoot, you can get in touch with him by e-mail, clovisphotographer@gmail.com

'When we got to the location in Albany I realized that my Nikon was still back in my hotel room. I had been charging it and forgot to put it in my camera bag. So we backtracked to my hotel in Berkeley to retrieve it. It wasn’t that far thankfully but the round trip ended up costing us 30 minutes of shooting time. Our misadventures continued when Julian removed the sport watch he was wearing at some point during the shoot. It wasn’t until we had finished shooting that he realized he had failed to pick it up as we moved from one spot to another. A cursory search produced nothing so he gave it up for lost. Fortunately it wasn’t an expensive Rolex 😊.'

Naked Ambition on ModelMayhem