'Clinton has a body he's worked hard to build, and it's as if the clothing was sewn for his shape.'
Over the past few months, I done a couple of pieces featuring the work of PhotoRSH. Both of those pieces however, were theme pieces. The first, focused on Temptation Island's Tyler Berta, (Checking In) the second, a July 4th piece featuring several models in front of the red, white and blue. (Bold Stripes/Bright Stars/Brave Hearts) Today, the visual focus is Clinton, but the spotlight, is aimed at the artist behind the lens.
I first noticed Ross' (PhotoRSH) work awhile ago, and especially loved his use of lighting, bold color and pose and the dynamic and striking way that he was he captures the male form. I often say that the focus of FH is the male form, but not every shoot that I feature, keeps form, the entire form in focus. Many photographers focus more on body, and specific body parts, but Ross beautifully covers, and uncovers, the entirety of the incredible male form.
Although Ross shoots a variety of different themes, nude, erotic, fine art, editorial and fashion, fitness models are definitely one of his specialities. With a focus on fitness, it's even more important to not only admire, but respect the bodies incredible strength and power. It's also equally important to document how all those hours in the gym create a body that looks incredible both in and out of clothes. That's why I thought Physique Builder Clinton was a great choice to illustrate Ross' work. Naked is of course always great, but as you can clearly see from Ross' shots of Clinton, muscles, lines and curves are often highlighted even more beautifully, with the addition of a great pair of underwear, a jockstrap, or a sheer pair of work out pants.
Although his road to photography officially began in college, Ross shares that it was the summer after his high school graduation that he first used a digital point and shoot camera. With no formal training, Ross experimented with his new toy, trying different settings learning how far he could go and what was possible. Although he shares most of those images were not worth a second look, a passion was aroused.
Ross had initially chosen Athletic Training as his field of study, but after experiencing some problems early on with the department, he got scared of his choice and got out. Ross went on to choose photography, hoping it would be both a fun, as well as an 'easy' art degree to pursue. It turned out, Ross' assumption wasn't exactly on point, and he struggled, actually failing his first portfolio review. Ross pushed through however, and graduated with his BFA in Photography with a minor degree in Photojournalism.
'My focus on the male form as a theme in my photography was born out of my religious small town upbringing, and being in the closet up through parts of college. I started experimenting with photographing nude men from the "Life Drawing" classes I took, offering the models almost as much as the class itself. '
'I started photographing the nude male form partially in voyeurism but mostly in learning how light formed shapes with the body, and the different shapes on different bodies. Since I actually started after starting the Life Drawing class, the model themselves were pretty comfy and more often than not taught me how they should be posed for the best angles with lighting.'
'Working with some confident models while I was not confident at all with a camera was a great teaching tool. I learned about the technical challenges and how to pose models to be flattering without having awkward angles. While none of my actual photo classes used the male form in an assignment, it was something I loved to try and learn from with portraiture. My appreciation for the form, and slight obsession with learning the technical side of lighting drove me to continue focusing on underwear and the nude form after college. I was very fortunate to connect with some underwear companies early on, and still have a couple very strong ties with companies to showcase their garments.'
Ross connected with Clinton through his modeling with another photographer-friend in Chicago. The other photographer had worked with Clinton first and Ross admired the images and set about to contact him about working together. Do his connections, Ross had the perfect underwear garments for Clinton to show off, colorful N2N's from UnderwearNewsBriefs and a jockstrap from SuperGayUndies.
'Setting up and working with Clinton was a great experience. He was planning to be in Chicago on a certain weekend and I had a free day at the same time. In chatting with him he explained he was very open to showing off in just about anything, and even without! The underwear fit him perfectly of course, he has a body he's worked hard to build, and it's as if the clothing was sewn for his shape.'
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