'Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.'
Viktor E. Frankl
Regular readers of FH know that my curiosity is often drives what drives not only how I construct a story together, but whose stories I choose to spotlight. Whenever I have the chance to interview or pick the brain of an artist or model, I try to asks questions specific to their work and what it was that impacted me about their visuals.
There are also a few questions, that I use again and again, questions at the heart of my passion for imagery of the male form, and questions with answers that are beautifully unique for each model and artist. One of those question is about why. What stimulated them to pick up a camera, or want to remove all of their clothing, to produce images of the naked male form.
Even more than stimuli, it's so much about that space referenced by Viktor Emil Frankl. As a neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor, the Austrian Frankl was referencing issues far more pressing than nude modeling, yet all decisions we make in our lives, and especially ones which lead to change, are often emotionally impact, and personally life changing.
So many of the models I've featured have stories of spaces in their lives overshadowed with painful experiences which played a role in their deciding to try nude modeling. For most, they're not only shedding their clothing, but shedding, and often facing, the experiences which dominated their lives for so long.
For Clyde, those painful experiences included a lengthy illness, one which gave him a lot of time to think about what he wanted to do when and if, he recovered. One of those things was a photo shoot, a way to create a permanent visual diary of his body and appearance, especially when healthy and at it's peak. It would also be a great celebration and symbol of his recovery, which as you can, it beautifully ended up to be.
Clyde enjoyed his celebration shoot so much, he went on to do more and more, one of which, included a two hour journey to Cheshire, to shoot with Male Beauty by bengie. I've always found bengie's work to be a celebration of the male form and this series of images is certainly a celebration of the physical, and internal determination and strength displayed by Clyde.
The Chester photographer's work always has an erotically positive feel, and his models are usually surrounded by natures beauty, gardens and fields of flowers or crops. He also often shoots models in the shower, something up
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