Tuesday, October 20, 2020

The Desolate Soul: Colton North by takeapic4u


What exactly happened in that barn?  Was there anyone on that rural country road to hear the ear piercing scream?  Officially, according to the local police department, nothing happened.  Just one of the many unsolved and forgotten missing person cases in that small rural community.  Another case the town's sheriff cares little to nothing about. The cabin's owner, coincidentally, also the sheriff's younger brother, isn't talking, and the victim... they were never found nor heard from again.   After their afternoon of torture pain, my guess is that they ended up in a mass grave hidden somewhere on the property.


Thankfully, the day was chronicled by photographer takeapic4u with both he and the murdering model striking the perfect menacing tone.  Although 25 year old Colton North gets fully into character, this was actually his first professional shoot.  Prior to this, the Minnesota model's Model Mayhem portfolio consisted mainly of images taken by friends.  Photographer David Larson saw Colton's images on Model Mayhem and, got in contact about scheduling a shoot.

Despite taking on the role of an ax-wielding psychopath, Dave describes Colton as a sweet and friendly guy who was a pure joy to work with.  They collaborated creatively throughout the process and were basically in sync with most aspects of the shoot, except maybe. the bow tie, which  Dave thought was a subtle, but horrific nod to A Clockwork Orange  Give this was his first time doing a horror themed shoot, Dave wanted everything to visually work.  He practiced especially hard to get the blood just right in look, color and texture. 


'I saw his boyish, good looking kid next door face and contacted him to learn more. We discussed what kinds of shoots we were interested in doing and came up with this maniac/psychopath ax wielding lumberjack type' 

'David and I were kindred spirits in that sense, as he has done a lot of photography around the world.  We talked on the phone initially about a few logistics of the shoot, and we eventually got around to discussing theme options. I knew I wanted to have an outdoor/nature themed shoot, and David had a private farm land which would make it easy to shoot nudes. The bloody lumberjack theme developed over the next couple days of messaging back and forth. Having recently gotten back from an extended camping trip, I already had a bit of that scruffy outdoors look that brought us to our final decision.'


'David and I worked really well together, between his technical experience and my artistic influences, I never felt we were stepping on each other's toes and we were both open to each other's suggestions throughout the process. Though I don’t have any previous shoots to compare it to, I would say I had a great experience. I think the photos were better than I could have imagined them.

Although this was my first time shooting nudes, it didn’t feel too much different than shooting with clothes on. Other than being a little chilly in mid-October. I did try to get to the gym more often in the weeks preceding the shoot, but I wasn’t too concerned about my body image for this. I think facial expression and character in the photos were the more important part of what we were trying to capture.'


'As for the chicken house photos, I wanted to present a softer side that promoted the more innocent farm boy look with an incredible body to share. I distinctly noticed more than one of the chickens blush!! Colton was a natural from the start and I fully hope to take advantage of shooting with him again as soon as possible. I think we got some amazing shots to share with anyone that likes great looking young guys, hot farmers, or scary psycho killers covered in blood.'

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