Rob
Joel
Will
'As the immediacy of the shoot begins to fade with time, there are still touchstones that one remembers as part of the experience. Things like tubes and tubes of sunscreen, carrying enough cold water to satisfy the thrust of all involved in ninety degree weather, getting a good night’s sleep, bopping to dance music in the car, taking the right lens with you on the short hike, can anyone ever have too many fully charged batteries at the ready?, and did I mention sleep?'
Our world's have all be altered this year thanks to a persistent and dangerous virus. The news has been wall to coverage on the numbers, the deaths and it's impact on society, the economy and our lives. There have been serious stories about it's impact on our mental health, and lighter stories about what we're reading, baking and binge watching.
As much attention has been given to all we're losing, I haven't seen as much of a focus on the things we're gaining. That makes sense really, with so much sadness and loss, it's a little insensitive, not to mention premature, to talk about some unpredicted benefits. For me, one of those benefits has been a memory modification.
Memory is really a complicated concept. We all remember things differently, and for most of us, our minds have a strong protective element which sometimes manages to filter out things we're not ready or able to deal with. Memories took on an entirely new meaning this year, one that although laced with sadness, also had an aspect of appreciation that I've really tried to lean into, both in my life,and with the site.
This year, so many things have been on hold. Everything from holidays with big family gatherings to going to a movie theatres. Gone were big festivals and fairs, crowed sporting events, the Olympics, concerts and plays. Non-essential workers, especially in arts, have still not fully come back, and that includes the photography of the male form.
Without as many new shoots to feature, I began asking photographer and models about featuring older shoots. So many photographers graciously went into their archives to find shoots to share, and although I've always welcomed art from the archives, it was especially satisfying to tap into older shoots, and models and memories that were often some of the artists favorites from their body of work.
Usually this time of year, I beginning to work on sharing images from the annual trip and shoot to Utah. For the last seven years, I've lucky to share images from the yearly visual expedition and join vicariously through the photos and stories. It's usually in September when Gordon Nebeker heads west, and Mike Tossy and Mark from StudioMGphotogray head two states east. After processing, editing and narrowing down images, I usually start putting together the presentation in November or December.
This year, Covid forced the trip to be cancelled. Although each of the photographers held out out, it was clear by early summer, it was not something they could safely plan for this year. Although the trip didn't occur, I wasn't ready to give up on the tradition of sharing work from the shoot. The shoot is not only a tradition, it's also a uniquely creative endeavor, with three photographers, two to four models with the addition of spectacular light, and the ultimate background and location.
I began by asking Gordon Nebeker if he was up for heading into his archives to see if he might some favorite images, some new images, or edits of shots I'd hadn't featured before. Gordon decided to focus on the 2015 shoot which just happened to be one of my favorites. I loved each of the three models who joined Gordon, Mark and Mike that year, and how they contrasted physically yet so beautifully fused together visually, and connected both watt expression and pose.
Two of the models, Will and Joel, I had previously featured on the site and Rob made the the perfect finish to the modeling trio. Although none of the models had met before, they just visually clicked, there was an erotic ease and magic, something that although the photographers had thought and hoped for, is not something you can actually know until they're all finally together.
If you want to seem ore from the 2015 shoot, check out the links below. Both Gordon and Mark have also created books. Gordon has a series of books, Muscles & Mountains, each focused on a specific shoot and year. Check them out on his Blurb page HERE: Mark put together BASK, a compilation of favorite shots and memories from the last seven years of shoot. Check it out on Blurb HERE:
'I also remember lots of laughter, some great meals, attending the Moab Gay Pride Parade that happened to take place the day after our shoot was over (the whole town gets involved) and people. Lots of people everywhere. It was a challenge to find quiet and private spaces to do our photography but we just watched the people; if they went left, we went right and we found our private spaces.'
Lake Powell 2015
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