Retro Beefcake

'One should never be the oldest thing in one's house.'

Patsy Stone

Every year, early in October, I begin the search.  Naked witches, nude devils, homoerotic Halloween and sexy ghosts are just a few of the terms my Google search engine has become far too familiar with. My goal is to find both sexy and unique Halloween themed imager, but most of all, I'm looking for images I've not seen before.

The first few years I worked on FH, the only holiday images that I could find were the same two or three that came up ever year.  That edited image of Billy Herrington (HERE:) with a pumpkin face drawn on his back seemed to be everywhere on Halloween.  It's one of the reasons I work with several artists to create new holiday imagery for the site.  I love both the creative process, and showcasing images seen before.

My favorite holiday images however, incorporate both the old and new.  New visuals, with vintage symbols and decorations from holidays gone by weaved in.  I wrote recently when featuring the work of PhotoRSH , (HERE:)how I look for images that capture a spirit, the feel I remember from holidays when I was a kid.   

My mother hated to waste money, especially on decorations.  Our Christmas decorations consisted of hand-me-downs from relatives and whatever my  mother could find in the bargain bin during Boxing Day sales.  This meant our house always felt about 10, or 20 years behind everyone else's.  A mix-match of ornaments, huge glass balls, small glass balls with the color mostly faded off and those God-awful thread balls we had long after everyone else had moved on.

I hated those decorations, yet now that I'm older, really wish tucked a few away and kept them.  Whenever I see an image with vintage decorations, they take me right back to being a kid.  The visuals and colors evoke the feel, the smell of past holidays and the excitement that surrounded them. I still get excited about holidays, but once you hit your late teens or twenties, it takes a bit more work to evoke the magic that was so effortless when you were a kid.

This year, my early October search took me to artist Flickr, and the page of photographer James Laws and his collection of Retro Beefcake. I quickly sent James off a message asking if I could feature some of his imagery on the site. James was on board, welcoming me to pick my favorites from his vast portfolio of new, but vintage themed holiday images.

James mostly shoots his friends, and the model featured in most of these shots is Billy, one of James friends from school.  Billy loves cosplay and morphing into various different characters.  Some of his favorites are the beefcake and pin-up themed shots from the 50's and 60's.  These were also some of my favorites!  Thanks to James, and to Billy, for sharing their work together.

James Laws on Flickr