Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Favorite Pic of the Day for April 15th

Above:
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~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~

Room With A (New) View

Colton Underwood

Kendrick Sampson: Fashionably Yours


'After years organizing fashion in the city, Lauren decides to move home. In exchange for her organizing services, mover Rob makes it his mission to help her see the beauty of Seattle.'


When it comes to any genre of entertainment, their are levels of entertainment and enjoyment.  I like a good Hallmark movie, especially at Christmas.  If you watch more than a few however, you know that although all are formulaic, some are better than others.  The spring themed Fashionably Yours was not one of their best....


I DVR'rd the 2020 film last weekend as it starred actor Kendrick Sampson as Ron the mover.  Sampson's not only easy on the eyes, he's also incredibly charming on screen, something I noticed when I first saw, and posted about him back in 2016. (HERE:) Although I would certainly hire Ron (Sampson) to move my furniture, I couldn't quite sit through more than about 15 minutes of this movie.

It did however, have me digging for new images since my original post.  I was pleasantly surprised that the busy actor had a brief butt baring scene while skinning dipping in an episode of the HBO comedy/drama Insecure.  Of course I had to hunt down a copy, (thanks SOMS) and do an update post!

Insecure (2018-2020)

Taking the Thigh Ground


Flashback:
Brad in a Cage
The Young & the Restless (1988)


I wasn't watching The Young and the Restless in the 80's, the only soap I think I knew existed at the time was Another WorldY & R was on when I was in school, and when I home, my mom was watching Another World.  When I got older however, and I read about the infamous 'cage' storyline on the show.  Whenever soap hunk is used or defines, an images of Don Diamont should be with it.


I was familiar with Diamont, mostly from seeing his shirtless images in magazines.  I was keenly aware he was the soap speedo king at that time.  Given his soap stud status, it's not a surprise the show attempted to get him out of his clothes as often as possible.  In addition to Diamont's frequent shirtless and speedo scenes, he also showed some side butt and thigh in two memorable episodes.  Given they're from the 80's, the quality isn't that great, but still.... worth a look back.


Prime (time) Beef:

Diamont showing a bit of side butt on The Young and the Restless prime time episode. 


While caged, of course ole Braad need to keep his body clean, so showers were important.   Lisa wisely chose a see through shower curtain for her caged shower, just to ensure Brad didn't miss any spots while showering.  The director of the shower scene pushed the boundaries, for daytime anyway, by shooting Lisa with the camera just behind Brad's naked thigh and butt.  You don't see much, but it's Don Diamont, and it's still very hot! 

Caged Heat (1988)

Lisa drugged Brad and took photos of them in bed, making him believe they’d made love. Brad demanded that Lisa stay away from him and Traci, who he had been with at the time. 


Lisa wouldn’t give up, and after buying a mountain lodge, equipped with a cage in the living room, she made Brad’s friends and family believe he’d left town and had Brad kidnapped. Once in the cage, Brad realized the only way he could get free would be to play along with Lisa. He managed to almost escape but was thrown back in the cage.

Soft & Prickly: Steve by Abigail Ekue


'The images from Bare Men share moments of joy, angst, self-care and self-love, playfulness, doubt and reflection through each man’s own filter of masculinity.'


Whenever I'm profiling an artist's work, I like when I can to focus on one model or shoot.  Some photographers, understandably, prefer using variety of subjects.  This can provide a more expansive overview of their work. Spotlighting one model however, helps when putting together a piece, especially when focusing on story.  All photographers and models have stories from their work. Setting up shoots, scheduling and travel and stories of creative collaborations.  Sometimes however, it's the smaller stories, the ones from individual shoots, and even the ones from  a specific moment or image that are the most interesting for me to explore. 


Some FH viewers might remember my previous piece spotlighting the work of Abigail Ekue and her Bare Men series. I especially love that Bare Men celebrates the inherent beauty, sensuality, sexuality and vulnerability of the everyday man.  I also love that in order to each man's own unique filter of masculinity, Abigail captures them in environments and locations they feel at home in.  The locations could be their actual living space, or somewhere they often frequent, are comfortable in and feel connected with.


When I first featured Abigail's work, I was drawn to an image of Isaac. (In A Personal Light) I especially loved how Abigail captured Isaac's connection to the space where the shoot took place.  I was drawn to how Isaac moved, touched and posed within the space. When I recently revisited Abigail's Bare Men portfolio, I was again drawn to a specific image and model.  This was a very different model and a very different space but the connections captured were just as powerful.


This time the model was Steve, and the location, the Red Rock/Calico Basin in Nevada, about a 20 minute drive from Las Vegas.  Abigail already had trip planned to the city of second chances when Steve contacted her about a shoot.  Steve is an experienced life model, and has modeled for art classes and groups for close to twenty years.  Initially, Steve was unsure if Abigail would want to work, thinking her objective might be to work with first time models for the series.  He loved the Bare Men concept, especially that the shoots occur in, and around the homes of the participants.  


Abigail was on board, as she tries not to impose rules or boundaries on the models for Bare Men, their level of experience, comfort with nudity or how they wish to pose.  Some of the best images come through just having a model interact naturally in a space they're comfortable in.  Given Steve's fondness for nude hiking, Red Rock was suggested as the perfect location for the shoot. 


'Abigail photographed me in a rocky area outside of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the weather was conducive to hiking and the area was popular enough to present problems with what we were trying to achieve. I don't have a problem with being nude around others as I've mentioned. I imagine Abigail wouldn't either. But not everybody responds well to it. It was a shame to have to behave in a certain way out of the fear of upsetting those - and how they might subsequently react - to seeing me nude. In my experience it's a bigger problem in the US than other countries and cultures. I think the shots turned out very well. I still use a couple as references to schools and workshops looking for models. I would do it again for sure. I might pick a different location though so I can just relax and run with it.'


Despite some pesky hikers lurking about, Steve looks incredibly at home at Red Rock and you can almost the feel the heat from the sun cascading over Steve's naked body.  I love how Abigail so beautifully captured Steve's  physical and emotional location with the location.   I was also in this case, struck by the contrasts.  As much physical contact that Steve has with the rocks and sand, I also noticed and loved the visual of the non-contact between Steve's soft flesh and the sharp desert prickly cactus inches from his bare skin.

If any readers are interested in participating in the Bare Men series, or a private shoot with Abigail, you can get in contact on the Bare Men sight HERE:  Due to it's nature and popularity, the series is ongoing, and Abigail is always looking for men interested in participating.