Above:
Bartek by Mark Leighton
-See More Below-
~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Yard Work
Today was that day. The first really nice day when people were out doing yard work, I could also smell my neighbours barbecue for the first time this year. I didn't do any yard work, nor did I spark up the bbq, I puttered around outside, mostly looking at the mess that winter left behind, til today, mostly buried under the snow. It might have been more motivating if I had a hot neighbour hanging out next door.
A guy who works hard in the yard, raking and mowing shirtless and needing the sweet guy next door (me) to bring him a cold drink of water as he began to sweat under the springtime sun. My neighbour is a very nice retiree, not exactly Elijah James, (pictured) but.... he does use his snowblower to do my driveway when it snows. He'll do.
Elijah James
You May Now Kiss The Grooms
Animals don’t judge you.
Joe Exotic
Joe, Travis (in back) and John
And it's a good thing for Joe Exotic that they don't....
One of the results of social distancing and stay at home orders is the increase in television watching. Many are discovering new shows, finally binge-watching The Wire, or re-watching repeats of Schitt's Creek to deal with the anxiety and stress. (that would be moi!) Many have also dived into the weird and wacky world of Tigers, Lions and Bears with Tiger King on Netflix.
Although like Joe's zoo, there are so many sights to see, one of the weirdest, and most fascinating, is the story of Joe's many men. I always assumed gay men interested in seducing straight guys usually used money and career advancement. Nope, lo and behold, for Joe, it was Tigers and meth. An especially lethal combination of the straight guys you're seducing are homeless and struggling to find a purpose in their lives.
John
Although Joe was married twice before, the show spotlights Joe's 2014 dual wedding to third and forth husbands John Finlay and Travis Maldonado. Both voice being straight, and when John eventually left the trio of wacky he then married, and had a baby with, a female member of the zoo's staff. Travis didn't have the opportunity to move on from his relationship with Joe and sadly ended up taking his own life in an accidental shooting in 2017.
Dillon
Joe didn't didn't let grief hold him back, and just a couple of months after Maldonado's death, he met and then married Justin Passage. Passage was sleeping on his cousin's couch, and he too was looking for some stability... in his life. Although if you've finished the series you know they're not currently physically together, they are still married, for now, from a distance.
Window Seat: Bartek by Mark Leighton
'Don't want nobody next to me
I just want a ticket outta town
A look around
And a safe touch down'
Erykah Badu
With everything going on in the world, my motivation to work for FH often wanes. Some days it's hard to feel motivated about a something, that in the scheme of things, is rather trivial. Other days however, it's a wonderful escape. No matter what's going on in our lives, we all need daily escapes, now more than ever.
Some FH readers may remember my writing that FH actually began as an escape. I'd moved to a new job, left my friends, family and a long term relationship in the city, to move to a small rural town surrounded by fields filled with crops and cows. Feeling isolated, and without many outlets for a creative, and newly out twenty something, the seeds of FH were planted. It began first, with a yahoo group, a place to store images of the male form that I loved and wanted to save. A couple of years later, it morphed into the blog that you're reading today.
I always wanted FH to be a bit of a virtual vacation. Although I had traveled quite a bit when I was younger, since moving and committing to a full time career, the opportunities to take off and leave on a jet plane didn't come around as often I wanted and dreamed they would. So much of my enjoyment of working on FH surprisingly began to move beyond just the male form. My interest expanded beyond the man and body in focus to their surrounding locations.
I was soon loving and enjoying visiting the unique visions many artists had of the locations and environments in which they were shooting. It was fascinating to see how individual artists captured their own unique visions of locations, some I was familiar with, some I only knew from books and media, and some I'd never heard of before.
One of my favorite places to virtually visit has been the The Algarve in Portugal. I was introduced to the island and seaside southern region by photographers Mark Leighton and Mark Montovio back in 2009, and have headed visually back to the area, and the visuals, multiple times since.
Like so many parts of the world, Algarve is currently under a partial lock down, but Mark Leighton reports that on the whole, the people in his community seem to be sensible and are complying with the restrictions. They've certainly being paid attention to what's been going on around them, especially with their close neighbours in Spain.
Given it's magnificent beauty and beaches, tourism is an important industry for The Algarve, and presently, there aren't many people flying back and forth. Fortunately, the beautiful Bartek made the journey to Portugal late last summer for his work with Mark Leighton. New to modeling, Bartek's first visit and shoot was focused on new experiences, and with Mark's vast experience and skills, the results are seen in this incredible set of images.
This past winter, one of Mark's many projects was to change and update his website. Mark says he is pleased with the results, and with Zenfolio now hosting his site, it's now much easier for viewers to enjoy his many model galleries and to order prints. If you want to enjoy more of Mark's work with Bartek, check out his gallery on Mark's site HERE:, and even more of Bartek on Mark's OnlyFans HERE:
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Happy Birthday today March 29th
Happy 44th to actor Todd Grinnell!
Check out more of today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:
Clearly I'm not the only one crushing over ODAT's new Schneider
Favorite Face of the Day: Chris Smith
While watching a repeat of Mom the other night, I came upon the beautiful face of actor Christopher Nicholas Smith. I wasn't sure exactly where I'd seen him before, but a quick check on IMDB told me where. The only credit on Smith's resume that I remember watching an episode of the short lived 2013 series We Are Men.
I think I only watched one episode, and I don't mind admitting, it was mostly due to the shirtless previews of the cast, which sadly didn't keep myself, or other viewers, sticking around. I haven't checked out the young actors most recent television work but given their titles, (Young and Hungry and Lonely and Horny) maybe I should..
We Are Men
Friday, March 27, 2020
Day 9
Although he was only kidding, (sort of....) artist Roy Johnson (Badsign769) is dealing with his isolation in his own uniquely creative way. Not that you need a prolonged isolation to send, or to receive nudes, but for an artist with time to fill, it's a good a time as any! With Roy, you're nudes will not only be enjoyed, the could be turned into works of art ;)
Favorite Click of the Week: Coveting Cuomo
'Trapped in my apartment, nowhere else to focus my hormones, the governor is the only man speaking directly TO ME for miles around.'
The Cuomo'a
Back Issues: Viva
December 1973
Penthouse’s success, along with the women’s movement, the sexual revolution — gave editor Gay Bryant an idea. Maybe women — whose carnal desires had been ignored at best and shamed at worst — would also want erotic pictures and smart stories within the same pages.
January 1974
She kicked the idea to Guccione (though some, Guccione included, said it was originally his), and in 1973, a new magazine was born under the Penthouse publishing umbrella: Viva, "the international magazine for women." Regardless of his readership, Guccione intended on making the magazine he wanted to make — a Penthouse for women.
Penthouse’s success, along with the women’s movement, the sexual revolution — gave editor Gay Bryant an idea. Maybe women — whose carnal desires had been ignored at best and shamed at worst — would also want erotic pictures and smart stories within the same pages.
January 1974
She kicked the idea to Guccione (though some, Guccione included, said it was originally his), and in 1973, a new magazine was born under the Penthouse publishing umbrella: Viva, "the international magazine for women." Regardless of his readership, Guccione intended on making the magazine he wanted to make — a Penthouse for women.
Shondaland
Check out Highlights of the first two issues of VIVA on PAGE 2 HERE:
His Exhibitionist Instincts: Renn by New Manhattan Studios
'Renn was a popular model in Northern California's Bay Area in the mid-teens. Lacking serious modeling ambitions, he was encouraged to give male modeling a try by a girlfriend who apparently understood the monetary value of his exhibitionist instincts.'
Not all models who drop every stitch of clothing for a nude photo shoot have exhibitionist instincts, but for some, it's a strong motivator in their decision to do so. Exhibitionism is more than just enjoying the freedom of being naked, many people love losing losing their clothing when alone or with a partner. For exhibitionists, however, it's a bit more than about just being naked, it's also about being seen.
I'm not instinctual an exhibitionist, but I understand the appeal. I've skinny dipped many times, and although it's always enjoyable, there's an added level of excitement when skinny dipping with a group, or in a place where there's a risk of being seen. Exhibitionist instincts however, aren't always organized or planned, most time in fact, they're spontaneous or situational and New Manhattan Studio's discovered, can be difficult to plan for and schedule...
FH readers were first introduced to Renn's exhibitionism last year in a series of pieces from StudioMGphotography. (HERE: & HERE:) As soon as I saw Mark's work with Renn, I was eager to feature his imagery. There was just something about Renn, an almost vintage aura, a dash of old Hollywood mixed with Renn's modern Californian free spirit. It's felt through Renn's look, maybe most notably in his facial structure, eyes and hair.
That free spirit made it difficult for New Manhattan Studios' Wes to nail Renn down for a shoot. Although he was a favorite with the photographers he worked with, his easy going nature meant he could be magic when in front of the camera, but was often not especially motivated to plan and commit to shoots. Given Renn is based in California, Wes had originally tried to schedule a session as he was planning his trip to the West Coast.
Renn's agent at the time was his girlfriend and although Renn expressed that he was eager to work with Wes and the NMS team, no commitment with a time or date could be reached. As his trip was approaching, Wes sought some assistance from his good friends Mike Tossy and Mark from StudioMGphotography.
It was through their intervention that Wes was able to land a date and time for a session. They also provided the spectacular shooting venue you see in this series of images. FH readers may recognize the swimming pool and it's surrounding architecture from my previous pieces featuring Mike's work with many models in, and under the water. (HERE:)
'Renn had been dropped off by a friend, another athletic California dude, who politely turned down our offer to model and couldn't turn his car around fast enough in leaving. Renn, thankfully, was all-business and an amiable and conscientious model. His goal was to please.'
'Lanky and projecting a very contemporary California teen-ager's look and vibe, he was a natural model. From the apple orchard, to the pool, to the couch, he hugged trees, towels and took things in hand with a cool, confident gaze and occasional smoldering smile. It was understandable why he was so popular and in-demand.'
Wes, NMS
After every successful shoot, Wes usually ends with trying to plan for a follow-up. Renn quickly agreed but unfortunately it never took place. Renn ended up dropping his 'agent' and lost his interest in continuing to model. This shoot with NMS may in fact have been Renn's last before retiring at the age of 19. Although he may have lost his interest in modeling, my guess is Renn didn't lose his exhibitionist instincts. Although you may not be able to see new images or Renn, if you happened to hit the right California beach, at just the right time... well... who knows!
Although his career was short, Reen worked with enough photographers to have a fairly fast portfolio and body of work. Wes has chronicled his time with Renn, taken on a late summer day, just a few months before the 19 year old turned 20 in a new publication. The studio's newest photo essay featuring Renn is available in both a hard copy in magazine form, or an instantly downloadable PDF. Check it out HERE:
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