Thursday, September 10, 2020

Out of the Woodwork: Timo by Bodytorium


'Sometimes I kind of roll the dice on picking a spot to do the photoshoot.'


As isolating as our world often seems to becoming,  escalated more so by the pandemic, sometimes it's almost impossible to find true privacy.  If you've ever tried to do something in public you really shouldn't be doing, you realize it's nearly impossible to be truly invisible.  I remember a few years ago, I went on the hut for pine branches to make a Christmas wreath.  No matter where I went, someone was jogging, driving by or walking their dog.  I only needed a few minutes to cut a few branches, not the hour or two required to shoot a hot naked male model.


'It’s not that easy finding spots that are not too far out from the city but are also devoid of humans. One disadvantage of shooting nudes is that it rules out a lot of good locations. There are so many places I’d love to photograph --- and in most cases I’d be able to --- just nudes are out of the question. And I’m not Spencer Tunick. Not too long ago, a police lady gave me some friendly advice: “Be really careful where you do your photographs. You could get in trouble.”


In the end, Phil went back to a previous location, an area in the woods some FH might recognize from Phil's work with Andrey, who I featured in June.  (At the End of a Walk)  This time, it was Timo who joined Phil for a walk into the woods.  It's somewhat apropos that Timo spends so much of the shoot in, on and playing with wood, especially given the Central Slovakian studies carpentry at vocational school.  In addition to pursing his education, Timo also works as a bouncer and has a brown belt in karate.


Timo was referred to Phil through a friend, and although he'd never modeled before, let alone completely nude,  agreed to give it a go after just one phone call with Phil.  Although Phil usually tries to meet the models he's working with in person before the actual shoot, with Timo, their first meeting was the day of the shoot.  As they headed into the woods to begin, Timo admitted to Phil that he didn't really know what to imagine, or what to expect, but Phil said this didn't hold him back in the least.  Phil describes him as eager, pleasant and confident from the get go.


'Timo is one of those guys I wish I had spent more time with and got to know better. He’s smart, hardworking and full of optimism and positive energy. He comes across as very mature for his age. He is a deep thinker and he has a big heart. Conversations with him are like with a wise grownup, although he’s also friendly and playful.'


When Phil asked which model from Boytorium I wanted to feature next, Timo was my choice. I was immediately drawn to his look and his beautiful brown eyes.  Despite being his first nude shoot, Phil says that he didn't hesitate in the slightest when Phil eventually asked him to get eventually naked.  Phil shares that Timo was very confident about his body, with one exception....


'Timo shared that he was feeling a bit insecure about his body hair. I reassured him that it looks good and very manly, and that I’ve seen much hairier. His reply.... “You should see my father”.


Timo is one of several models with new shoots that Phil has shared on his site over the last few months.  Timo's sections feature three separate parts with hundreds of images both on location and in studio.  Check them all out on Bodytorim HERE:

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