'I am truly motivated to portray the beauty of the male "architecture". The male form is perfect and I strive to enhance it in all of my work.'
The quote from Greg Lindeblom above comes from 2011, from my first feature spotlighting the Florida photographer's work. (Freezing Movement) The use of architecture within the shooting the male for me is more than just a theme choice. It's also an indication of both an artist's style, but more importantly, their motivation and focus.
Architecture signals design, a systemic way of looking at not only the body, but their visual impact with their surroundings, or the location they're being shot. It's a focus has intent, with a focus on the overall visual impact of the image, the goal, the ensure a balance with color, with lines, curves and composition.
When an artist thinks systemically about their work, their images, the focus is often bigger, grander, packing a more powerful visual punch. Without architecture in mind, many photographers often focus too narrowly on pillars, windows and doors, seeing a model as only selection of body parts. When doing this, many sadly miss out on the overall structure that is the incredible male form.
The more time I spend with Greg Lindeblom's work, the more I appreciate not only his focus on the architectural elements of the human body, but also how those physical elements of the male form contrast and elevate those elements surrounding him. This is unmistakable and beautifully evident in Greg's work with Stephen.
'I recall the desert shoot having all the natural light in the world and moving my body to contour with and contrast against the very sculptural background. I also recall thinking that the solitude of shooting in all that expansiveness fueled our creativity. We really were in the middle of nowhere. It was a memorable photo shoot.'
Stephen
When Greg received Stephen's comments about the shoot, he noted he found it fascinating that that both focused on the relationship of Stephen's body to the contours of the topography. To me, this is at the core of why this shoot has such a visual impact. Stephen looks not only natural, but at home in his surrounds, something Greg shares, was part of the shooting process.
'These images were shot near Stephen's home in the desert just outside of Palm Springs. When you shoot in the model's home area, you hope that they know great places to shoot. Photographers know that that is often quite challenging, especially when you plan to do art nudes. This time, however, the experience was outstanding. Stephen knew the area well from his nude hiking group. So he knew that the location was not only secluded and safe, but spectacularly beautiful.'
Greg describes Stephen as one of the most limber models he's every worked with. Being a yoga instructor, Stephen has developed a close relationship between mind and body and between his body and his surroundings. Although Greg had never shot a yoga instructor before, he says it similar to working with a dancer as Stephen knew instinctively how to present himself with not only beautiful, but confident poses.
'One of the keys to the success of the shoot was Stephen's total commitment to the shoot. He was a dream to work with. He understood my goal and our shared aesthetic made it a fantastic collaboration. I loved working with Stephen and it was one of the most fun and successful shoots of my life.'
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