' Jesus was great but he didn’t; have the internet…'
I've always felt the nexus between faith, with nudity and sexual expression has always been a warped one. We live in a world where a flash of Janet Jackson's nipple is more controversial than people, (usually women) being raped, beaten, murdered and tortured nightly on TV. Humans are so many things, our sexuality, being one of the most powerful. My faith has always been apart of how I express myself, but it's more about how I treat others, and the world around me. I've never felt faith in any ways as limiting healthy sexual expression. Is there really anything more natural, not to mention spiritual, than tearing off all of your clothes, and skinny dipping on a beautiful day. If there are limits, they're usually self imposed and probably about things other than faith.
One of my goals goals or missions with FH is to play a small part in helping to normalize the naked male form. It is one of the reason I strive to feature so many diverse men focusing on both their beautiful bodies, and their stories. Even today, there are remain stereotypes, and notions about people who choose to pose, or live any part of their public life, without clothes. One of the ways to destigmatize the male body is to understand what motivated the them to strip down and step in front of the camera.
When Gary Larson (Noplacia Photography) first sent me on his work with model Casey Shimata I loved the selection of images he sent on. Casey and Gary did their first shoot back in 2012 and have tried to get together each year since to shoot. You can see from the progression of the shots, the changes in Casey's body, face and look. I think it's especially fascinating, and incredibly beautiful, to all see the impact of Casey's life experiences over the years, expressed through his eyes. Our eyes hide nothing, and hold the memories of everything they've witnessed in the past.
'I love following up with models and doing shoots over a span of years, especially with a model like Casey. You get to see different stages of age in the person; meanwhile, the personality and way they move remains the same. Casey has such a lively personality it is amazing that he will sit still for a shoot. He is one of the few models I have worked with that have all four of the characteristics I look for in models. He's patient with the process, he's capable of doing highly athletic poses, is fun to be around, and is super attractive.'
If you read the quote I used from Casey at the top of the piece, and my introduction, you'll know there is more to the story than Gary and Casey's yearly shoots and Casey's changing looks. The story actually begins just before he first connected with Gary. It was also before he first posed nude. The way in which Casey has harmonised his faith, along with his passion for modeling, isn't just about himself, Casey became a man on a mission, a mission to change some of the unhealthy thoughts and judgements, ingrained in so many about sexuality and the naked male form. I enjoyed reading Casey's story, and learning about his journey, I think many of you will as well.
'In 2012 I finished serving a religious mission for the Mormon church. I was attending college for a psychology degree and working as a mentor for kids with disabilities. I love helping people and understanding them hence I was a missionary and Graduated in psychology. However, I always felt that influencing the world to be a more loving and productive place was a short sold pursuit as a single therapist. It is like teaching one man to fish at a time.. Jesus was great but he didn’t; have the internet…'
I became a media artist because I saw how much media can influence a global culture to quickly evolve into something else. Typically it influences damaging mentalities but occasionally you get someone noble in a position of such power and frankly responsibility. I wanted and want to show people that talent and aesthetic should be coupled with egalitarian love and a work ethic to turn around and lift the world up with you.'
'I am so grateful to Gary for being my first photographer back when I had no idea how to pose and work with the angles and lighting to accent the body shadowing and keep the chin at the right level. From shooting with Gary I began to get offers all over Southern California which allowed me to make the move to where I needed to be. Eventually I broke into film and stunt work as well and have had a few minor roles there.'
'My decision to to artistic nude modeling was not difficult for me. I would really like the entire world to have a more logical perspective about nudity, sexuality, etc to actually fix the sickness we have around all of it that hurts us and contributes to emotional and interpersonal hardships. My bishop however disagreed and told me that it was considered pornographic to do nude modeling and that I would lose my temple card. I felt that it was not an issue and having studied the religion and many other religions to try to prove it all correct I had already amassed a great deal of reasons why it was all incorrect, full of fail safes and confounding paradoxes.'
'Over the years Gary and I have worked out this goal to do an annual shoot together where we can see the progress over the years. When I started I was quite baby faced and some of my poses seem to be a bit stiff. As the years have gone by I have loosened up a bit, acquired a tattoo inspired by Hedwig’s origin of love story, I’ve gained a bit and lost a bit of muscle mass, changed up the jewelry, and have a seemingly permanent beard :p. Working with Gary over the years has always been so much fun. We went rock climbing where I repelled myself down a cliff to get some cool shots. We shot out on an island in the salt lake, out by a river on some mossy slimy patches, and he even did my wedding photo shoot!! The elements are never a big deal for me. I love the outdoors and have spent time doing semi-survivalist camping. It is also pretty funny shooting nude and having people walk by and gawk as I act all nonchalant hahaha.'
'Currently, I am a full stack web developer doing mobile app development. I recently returned from a year in Thailand where I trained in martial arts for 5 hours per day, practiced my parkour and tricking, and took guitar and voice lessons. I hope to keep working in the media world preferably something with stunts and to keep on developing and seeking funding to build a mobile app to help bring the world more self love, personal development, and admiration for one another.'
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