'What a great day this was; from the first shot to the last it was over 10 hours of exploring, collaborating and getting creative! Matt remained enthusiastic through it all with an awesome attitude matched perfectly with that awe-inspiring physique!'
I'm always excited when I see an e-mail with images from Mark from StudioMGphotography. Sure, I know I'm going to see images of a hot naked male model, but that's just the starting point. Mark's images and stories always take me on a journey. An erotic escape full of risks and adventure. All my favorite artists share visual experiences, but Mark's visuals have viewers edging toward jeopardy and exposure. It can be an exciting ride.
All location shoots come with a degree of risk. The risk is usually contained however, to being uncovered by uninvited sets of eyes. In Mark's work, there' something more, an added erotic intensity through the taking of physical risks, especially when completely nude. Whether it's leaping through the air in abandoned buildings, balancing on rusty poles, scaling walls, hanging from the rafters or posing on the side of a cliff. As a viewer, I love the hit of adrenaline Mark's images so frequently provide.
This particular adventure started on Instagram. Matt, (Mattidude) hit Mark up about a shoot. Some FH viewers might remember from his previous appearances on the site with his holiday work with PhotoRSH. (HERE: & HERE:) Mark replied back with interest, but given they lived 3,000 miles apart, didn't expect it would really go anywhere, especially during a pandemic. To Mark's surprise, Matt promptly booked a flight to visit friends in San Francisco, and to provide an opportunity for them to shoot.
'This would be anything but my regular shoot (if there even is such a thing). To begin with it’s still the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic and I’ve pretty much been on hiatus. Covid precautions impact everything, from transportation to accommodations, meals and shoot locations. While planning every step of the way Matt agreed with, and embraced, my precautions.'
'When we were first planning I asked a couple of times what his goals were and he would just say “art.” I can do that! '
Matt planned on staying in San Francisco for a week to visit his friend and work on his latest musical album. The plan was to rent a car and rive up to Santa Cruz to collaborate with Mark. Matt also shared that he always wanted some surf board images. Mark was worried that given it would take Matt over 90 minutes to drive to his location, the beaches would be full of people by the time they started to shoot. This didn't phase Matt in the least who said he'd be there and ready to shoot at sunrise.
'We met before sunrise (he was nearly 45 minutes early to our meeting point!) and drove north to a deserted beach. We had already been shooting for 15 minutes before the first golden rays of sunlight hit the beach! He loved that the borrowed surfboard was blue – his favorite color. After the surf shots we returned to the cars parked above the beach on the road shoulder. There was a lagoon between the road and the beach and we decided to work with the reflections there a bit. Next thing I know he’s buck naked on the side of the road changing out of the wetsuit and into pants… a couple of passing cars were treated to a lovely view of the quintessential changing surfer, who wasn’t even trying to do a towel dance!'
The surf shots and passing cars all occurred before 9am and were just the start of the day's adventures. After leaving the lagoon, Mark and Matt headed back out towards the shoreline for some clothed shots with some driftwood. From there, it was an hour drive to their next stop at an old military base that Mark loves to shoot at. It had been seven months since Mark had last been there and entire neighborhoods of barracks had been demolished and removed. They did find a great old building with a front door hanging open. Some of my favorite shots from this shoot are from this location. One of my favorite stories from the shoot, involved an adventure that sadly didn't result in any images. I loved the story though and still wanted to share.
'We came across a horse stable and boarding facility. Matt was eager to pose on a horse. I said I’d be happy to shoot it, but how would we make it happen? Matt walked up to the closest person and asked her if he could pose on her horse. She said yes, but was about to start a lesson so it would be 90ish minutes until her and her horse were free. Another car arrived and before I knew it Matt and the driver were talking about dogs and horses, and she too said sure to letting him pose on a horse, after a lesson.
By now everyone seemed to know what was up and a disembodied male voice boomed out of the office saying “If he’s going to sit on a horse he has to sign a release!" Ultimately we gave up on the horses because of the time delay, but it almost happened. Matt’s attitude is “What’s the worst that can happen other than they say no” – I can’t argue with that logic. '
After a quick, and socially distanced, patio lunch, Mark drove Matt to his house where a multitude of shooting location awaited. They began shooting around the pool, then in the apple orchard. They then checked out the surrounding redwood forest, shooting in a “fairy ring” amid the trees. They wrapped their over 10 hours of shooting close to sunset, taking some shots at a Jacuzzi high on the hills above the house. Although they were both tired, Matt had one more adventure on his mind, one last shoot to culminate the day.
'My shoots are always collaborations and during the course of the day Matt had tossed out suggestions or made requests. A couple of times he wanted something more erotic for his OnlyFans page. By the time we were shooting at the Jacuzzi, it was the golden hour. The light was wonderful, and temperatures haven’t yet begun to drop.
Matt asked me to video a series of short exercise sequences; push ups, pull ups, crunches, jumps, lunges… all of course while he’s nude. After seeing the intensity of his work out I can understand how he came by that incredibly sculpted physique! After the workout videos, he moved back to the Jacuzzi for a hot jerk off session… All the video work, and what came after, is saved for Matt’s OnlyFans page, and I assure you it’s worth checking out!! '
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