Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Scared Stiff

Fright Night by Prairie Visions Photography

Although FH had a few different incarnations in the beginning, it was in October of 2007, that the current version officially began.  Given it was October, within a week or two, my first Halloween posts began to appear, including my first Horror Hunk, featuring actor Eric Thal from The Puppet Masters.   Regular readers quickly saw how much I loved holiday imagery, especially Halloween.

Flyfoto does Halloween!

In those first few years, I scoured the net looking for Halloween images.  They weren't always easy to find.  Social media sites were still fairly new, and most the images came from old Yahoo groups.  With a few years however, mostly thanks to Model Mayhem, I began to find photographers who loved Halloween as much as I did.  I was thrilled to discover holiday themed shots from Flyfoto,  Prairie Visions and Chris Teel, all who had holiday themed shots on their Model Mayhem pages and websites.

Joshua Gagnon: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Over the next few Halloweens, I searched for new and unique holiday and horror themed images and discovered a wealth of artistic visuals by models and photographers who loved to explore the wild and the wicked.

Differently Demented by Birds Eye Studios

It was in 2012 however, while searching for naked ghosts on Flickr, that things officially changed.  I came upon the image below on Frisky Frolic's page and fell in love with the artist's holiday imagery.  Frisky Frolic's work not only became a regular part of the site, especially on holiday's, it also inspired me to want to seek out original holiday imagery for the site.

The Phantom Phallus by Frisky Frolic 

From then on, I was looking for original interpretations of Halloween's most popular characters for the site.  Many photographers graciously shared worked they had shot with a Halloween or haunted flavor.  Some photographers took pumpkins along to shoots, in the hopes a model might take a shot or two at the end of their shoot.  Some photographers took up the challenge, shooting original content exclusively for FH.

Full Moon by Richard Rothstein

Over the last couple of Halloween season's I was on a witch hunt!  Frisky Frolic shot my first original witch in 2017, and Studio1x completed the coven of three with two more hot witches in 2018.  This witch hunt (unlike that other one we hear about...) was real.  Studio1x's Jim didn't have an easy time finding models to put on the hat and take off his cape, but part of the fun was the process of finding just the right model to whip out his broom..

Witchful Thinking by Studio 1x

Studo1x, Light on Studio, New Manhattan Studios, MW Photo MD and others have shot many holiday day themed for the site, including multiple shoots for Halloween.  FH now boasts it's own original witches, mummy's, ghosts, goblins and ghouls.

Hansel by Lights on Studio | Mason by New Manhattan Studios

I know holiday themed images aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I look forward to finding fun and festive visuals whenever a holiday is coming up.   Halloween on FH usually starts in the summer, as finding models and coming up with themes can take months to arrange.  Coming up with not just idea's, but costumes and props can be a chore.

Zach & Cody by Frisky Frolic

I know a few photographers have rolled their eyes with my idea's and desires.  (A certain photographer has spent time looking for a turkey, a live one, for a Thanksgiving shoot,,,)  The results for me however, have always been worth it.  Not content just to copy, paste and post images seen elsewhere, I love and appreciate being able to share images not seen before. Thanks to all the artists and models who have shared holiday images, either from their archives, or with FH in mind.

Photo Credits:
Top Row Brett Kiellerop | byKent | Mount Photography | Chris Teel
Bottom: Erocktography:   MW Photo MD | Naked Ambition | Cooks Photography

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