Sunday, May 30, 2021

Favorite Pic of the Day for May 31st

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~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~

Game 7


William Nylander
Toronto Maple Leafs
Right Wing -- shoots R 
Born May 1 1996 -- Calgary
Height 6.00 -- 
Weight 196


If anyone's watching the NHL playoffs, you know the last few games between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been nail biters.  The match-up was a long time coming and last night, the third period ended with a 2-2 tie.  The Canadiens scored quickly into over-time forcing a game 7 this Monday night in Toronto.   


With all that gear, it's sometimes difficult to get a good look at your favorite hockey players, so I thought I'd take a closer look at one of my favorite Toronto players, 25 year old William Nylander.  Although born in Canada, you can certainly detect the impact on his look from his Swedish father.  William's father Michael was also a hockey player who played for a number of US teams during his long career.  Michael's hockey career influenced not only William, but also his brother Alex who currently plays for the Chicago Blackhawks. 



William and his younger sister

With brother Alex and a few players

My My Mr. Phillips!

Stephen by Patrick Lacsina

'From the farm to the runway'


In addition to his images of Elvis (below) we credit StudioMGphotography for inspiring this piece.  Last year, Mark mentioned that he and husband Mike Tossy had watched Anne With An E on Netflix. Having visited Prince Edward Island, I knew it was scenic location with endless red sandy beaches.  Even though I'd been there, for some reason, I hadn't yet checked out the newest version of the tales of Green Gables. 

Stephen by Adam Washington 

The show certainly shows the breathtaking island at it's rugged and breathtaking best with the shows cinematography especially impressive.  In addition to Anne and her friends and family, the fist season also introduces us to Mr. Phillips, one of Anne's teachers at Avonlea school.  Now Mr. Phillips isn't exactly the teacher you want to bring a big red apple to.  In addition to having an secret affair with Prissy Andrews, one of his students, he's also not particularly kind to Anne. 

Stephen by Ed Dandy

Mr. Phillips is very strict and doesn't shy away from embarrassing his students and inflicting corporal punishment on the students he considers to be especially unruly, especially Anne.  Outside of the classroom, Mr. Phillips is revealed to be a man full of contradictions and Anne's friends Cole speculated his behavior in part might be due to his repressed homosexuality.  It's no wonder Prissy ended up leaving him at the alter.

Stephen by luvgenstudio

The actor playing the stern school teacher is also full of contradictions, and looks completely different without the log wig and moustache.  Stephen Tracey is not only a phenomenal actor, but also a writer, illustrator, photographer and as you can see from these images, an incredibly hot model. 

Remaining images by Barrington 

'Tracey was born and raised in the province of Alberta. Most of his childhood was spent on his family’s farm- where he formed a devoted love for animals. Still to this day, Stephen carries the grace, beauty and temperament of his kindred spirit- the horse.'
Toronto Guardian 



Guy Pearce in Flynn


Like so many of you, I've been captivated the last eight week with HBO's The Mare of Easttown.  Just when you think you have things all figured out, the show throws another twist your way.  Is the town priest, the victim's baby daddy or Mare's best friends creepy brother-in-law?  Most likely, it's none of them.


The entire cast is stellar and I especially enjoyed the performances from Kate Winslet, Jean Smart and Evan Peters.  It was also a nice surprise to see Winslet again paired with Guy Pearce.  Guy played Monty Beragon to Winslet's Mildred in HBO's 2011 adaptation of Mildred Pierce.  I loved the original movie, and had some issues with the mini-series, (especially Evan Rachel Wood)  but Pearce was great as Monty, likable, even when the character was not. 


Seeing Pearce in Mare of Easttown had me reflecting on some of his past roles, especially the ones with a little skin.  Many remembers Pearce's butt baring scene in Memento (2000) and the talented actor also bared his butt briefly in both Mildred Pierce and 1994's The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.


Pearce's first nude scene however, was in 1993, just a few years after his turn on the Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away. Although Pearce had a few supporting roles, Flynn (My Forgotten Man) was the actors first leading role in a film. The biographic film spotlighted  Errol Flynn's early life before his Hollywood fame.  Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a box office hit.

Mare of Easttown


Flynn (1993)

'A young Errol Flynn (Guy Pearce) foretells his wicked ways in Hollywood with exploits in New Guinea and Australia.'


'From a dazzling nude scene in the first few minutes FLYNN gets off to a fairly robust and interesting start. Sadly, FLYNN runs out of steam after about the first 35 minutes and with the entrance of hammy Steven Berkoff in a detour to New Guinea). The film starts to resemble a tele movie rather than a major cinema biography. Believe it or not, by about the 70 minute make, it is boring and you are glad to see it over.'
IMDB


Thankfully, we do have that nude scene, although I'm not sure I'd describe it as dazzling...  It's a bit dark, but director Frank Howson doesn't do a quit edit and cut away and keeps the camera on Guy's glutes for about 20 seconds.

An Opportunity to Soar: Elvis by StudioMGphotography


' I knew from his Instagram pages that he was incredibly physically active, and definitely a daredevil... '


I was first introduced to Elvis in 2019 in a shoot with JBDI Photography.  (HERE:)  Elvis soon became a popular subject for many photographers of the male form, some of whom I've had the pleasure to share.  In addition to his great look and expressiveness, Elvis's artistry and acrobatic skills make him a dynamic model to shoot and create with. 


Thus far however, Elvis' acrobatic skills have been somewhat constrained.  In his previous FH appearances,, (HERE:) Elvis has been mostly photographed in studio. Although Male Beauty by bengie shot Elvis on the patio and in the shower, there wasn't really the space or freedom to do a handstand or backflip. .His work with Baker and Adams showed both flexibility and balance, especially on the bar stool, there still wasn't the opportunity for Elvis to soar. 


The opportunity to soar, and to really go full daredevil, take risks, and show test the limits of his body and skills, came in his time creating with Mark from StudioMGphotography .Mark rarely shoots inside, and when he does, the rooms seldom have doors, roofs or glass in the windows.   Mark's studio is usually a rugged Santa Cruz beach, one in which the gymnastic equipment, is beautifully supplied by Mother Nature.  


The shoot, almost didn't happen.  Elvis was a or so into his multi-month trip through the U.S and Canada.  Elvis was visiting up with friends, but basically exploring and just living his best life along the way.  During many of his stops, Elvis had scheduled photo shoots to help fund his trip and continued adventures.   He'd already been in Southern California for a couple of weeks and done several studio shoots.  At that moment, he was wavering about how much nude modeling he really wanted to pursue.


'Elvis wrote me and cancelled about a week prior to the shoot. Someone who wanted to be his agent told him he should rethink all the nude modeling, especially the more hard-on work. He and I didn't have any firm plans, and Santa Cruz is somewhat out of the way on his trip up California, so he nicely cancelled on me. '


Elvis also decided to tell several other photographers of his decision to stop doing nude and erection work.  This led to some cancelling their previously scheduled shoots.  With the loss of planned income, and a gap in his schedule, Elvis got back in touch with Mark. Mark was fine with 'no erections', but given the focus of the shoot, was clear that he wasn't going to spend the shoot trying to keep Elvis's penis out of photos.  Elvis had no problem with that and was again on board for their shoot. 


'I proposed a shoot that would take him out of the studio, to explore some the California landscapes and make the most of his time here! He arrived a day early so we could get an early start on our shoot day, and that gave us a chance to get acquainted first as well. 

Originally from Latvia, he had essentially grown up in Scotland. He was just 20 at the time, but well grounded (as much as a high-rise climbing daredevil can be!) and easy to talk to.  He stayed with us for a couple of nights and both he and I were thrilled with our shoot results - he'd never had such a physical shoot where he just got to do what he wanted for the most part!'


'I backflipped off a cliff butt bare naked after making Mark climb up 🤣'


The shoot ended up bringing out the daredevil not only in Elvis, but Mark as well.  When you're shooting a model as active as Elvis, you have to try to match their energy, in order to keep up.  Capturing some of the incredible images here, required Mark to also channel his inner acrobat by crouching, crawling and climbing, not to mention balancing on the rocks himself, in order to capture the perfect moment of the model in motion. 

'Our shoot was nerve wracking, and also a dream for me! The cool deserted beach was the perfect environment for him - it was like a giant playground of rocks to climb and jump from. In a couple on instances he got me partway up cliff-faces to capture what would be the likely best angles and he practiced jumps. It was an exhilarating day and shoot - thanks Elvis! '


'The shot below is one of my absolutely favourite images to date. Framed perfectly in between the cave, the rock tells a story. A story of a lone adventurer experiencing the world.'

Friday, May 28, 2021

Favorite Pic of the Day for May 29th

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~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~

Bookmobile

PLAYGIRL March 1982


Researching actor Steven Ford for the piece below, led me to his 1982 cover and interview with PLAYGIRL magazine.  In addition to Steven, the magazine had some great pictorials, including centerfold and man of the month Demian Wolf.  Check out the highlights on the NEXT PAGE HERE:

Demian Wolf