'My photography gives me the chance to create and explore on my own. It's my outlet.'
FH readers are aware how much I like a celebration. I look for any reason to celebrate, holidays, seasons and of course my regular birthday feature. I also love celebrating anniversary's, and featured many of my favorite artists and photographers when FH entered it's 10th. (Ten) Tom Rubeck (TR Pics) began shooting the male form back in 2009. A couple of years later, and a half a dozen or so shoots under his belt, Tom's imagery first appeared on the site. (Part passion, part obsession, complete expression...)
'Daniel was the very first model I ever shot with, and we shot a lot. I experimented with him, using our time to play with lighting and trying to mimic different styles. He is amazingly handsome, but never really felt comfortable in front of the camera. He has since dropped out of modeling.'
Since 2009, Tom has gone from shooting dozens of models to shooting hundreds, many of which I've had the privilege to feature. (HERE:) I've always been drawn to models Tom chooses to shoot, and the way in which Tom so uniquely see's, and captures them. When I first showcased Tom's work back in 2011, I asked him about what he looks for when choosing a model to work with.
Andy
'Coming from a Germanic/Swedish background, for some reason I have always found more "exotic" looks fascinating. Dark hair, strong features, angular structure... I am drawn in this direction, and I guess is reflects in the models I choose to approach for shooting. I like men to look like men. I much prefer models with hair. The whole notion that "shaving shows your muscles better" is pure bunk. Masculinity is something I enjoy highlighting.'
Given's Tom expansive body of work, I recently asked Tom about doing a piece featuring some of my favorite images. Tom was on board with the idea and I began the grilling task of choosing my favorite images of the many naked men Tom as shot. As we were piecing together the story, Tom mentioned that he had just hit ten years of shooting the male form. Given my love of celebrating, I asked Tom to take me a back to the beginning.
'Back in early 2009, when I started to pick up my old photography habits (I had been shooting video professionally for 14 years at that point) I set out to see if I could shoot headshots and "model shots" like you see in magazines and papers, catalogs and the like. I had never tried this sort of thing, and so after signing up on the Model Mayhem website I found a local wannbe "model" named Daniel.'
'The timing was perfect, as we were both setting out to try new things. I really didn't begin with the intention of focusing on "the male form" at first. But in all honesty, as a gay man, I was much more compelled to shoot men than women. As weeks and months went on, I would look at magazines and books to get ideas on examples of lighting styles, and poses, etc. It was then when I realized I could easily replicate the same sorts of shots if I found the right models. So as I began to search for a style or system to my shooting, I also began to branch out to the subject matter and seek out guys who wanted to shoot "artistically" and not just "fashion shots" (which I suck at taking). Fortunately I was lucky, and landed some very handsome and very expressive male models to shoot with.'
'Andy was my third model to shoot, and he had amazing ideas he wanted to try. He sort of became my muse and we would have marathon shoots. We lived about four hours apart, but for a few months we found time to shoot several times together, with each session being very different and unique. '
Sam
'Sam was the first man I ever shot nude. And it was set up that way. I knew I wanted to try my hand at capturing male nudes, but I also knew I wanted it to be with someone who had experience, knew what they were doing, and wouldn't mind being patient with me. Sam is an amazingly handsome man from Israel, and I had seen Sam's photos before as a Google Search showed him to be all over the internet, having shot with many photographers. So I approached Sam, and started a conversation. I was nervous when I wrote about the idea of someday shooting with him, and to my delight he said he was coming to Texas to visit some family in Austin. (He lived in Philadelphia; I lived in Dallas.) We arranged it so that on his way to Austin, he would get off the plane in Dallas, we would shoot for a few hours, and then he'd continue his trip. I arranged to pick him up from the airport, and had booked out a suite at the "W Hotel" in downtown Dallas.'
'As every first shoot is between photographer and new model, it started out a bit awkward. There is always that dance of, "this is how I shoot, this is how I pose", etc. The first few shots Sam wore jeans, and I think he could tell I was disappointed because I had specifically said I wanted nudes, and that this would be my first try at it. So he stripped down. Sam seemed like somewhat of a naturalist anyway so I don't think he was at all uncomfortable. I was more nervous because to me he was a somewhat famous model and I didn't want to appear as more of a silly nerd than I was.'
'Once the shoot really started going, it was a marathon. And I loved it. Sam was a pro at posing, taking his time, allowing me to be sure I had what I needed. He even stepped over to my camera and showed me a little trick about exposure. (Side note, Sam is now an amazing photographer and seldom models anymore.) That first shoot with him was a dream, and the photos we got are some of my favorites...for both the looks and the memories of the experience. Before I knew it the shoot was over, and Sam wanted to go out and try some Texas beef before his plane ride down to Austin. I shot with Sam two more times after that, and the work was amazing. Each session I seemed to learn more. And we became friends. That is why those early images hold such a dear place in my heart.'
Daniel, Andy and Sam are not only three of the early models that Tom shot, the images continue to resonate, and and remain favorites of many who love of the male form in art. Sam was actually the first model Tom shot fully nude, and I love the story Tom tells below. If you thought I'd forgotten about featuring some of my favorites images, have no fear. Given we're celebrating Tom's 10th anniversary, I narrowed down 10 favorites which you can check it out, on PAGE 2 HERE:
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