Sunday, June 5, 2022

Straight Lines & Round Urns Matt by Cooks Photography


'The next day, they went inside to shoot in the studio.'


Sometimes when you're looking for inspiration, it helps to go back to the beginning.  When I recently reached out to photographer Hal Cooks (Cooks Photography) about featuring another of his shoots, I wanted to revisit his work with Matt.   The quote I used to begin this piece comes from the first time I featured Hal's work with Matt. (Top of the Cove)  It was also the first time I spotlighted Hal's work on the site.


I remember when Hal and I were deciding on which model and shoot to first feature.  Hal sent on a selection of shots and models for me to choose from. In the batch, was a shot of Matt, sitting outside naked on a rock. The only thing he was wearing was a ushanka on his head, and a pair hiking boots on his feet.  I knew this was the model and shoot that I wanted to utilize to introduce Hal's work to FH readers.


This shoot, in studio, took place the day after the location shoot featuring in that first piece.   Matt has a unique look.  At first glance, he appears full on GQ, tall and handsome with classical features.  Look a little harder though, and you see and feel there's more of an edge beyond the clean-cut surface.  This is beautifully evident in the images Hal captured.  In addition to Matt's beautiful lines and curves, I also couldn't help but take notice of the large vase that is used in so many of the images.


'As far as the large vase, the lady at the shop called it an urn. I purchased it from an antique shop as decoration for our backyard. I believe I've had it for around 4 years. '


Hal describes Matt as a great model to work with, very nice, pleasant and very interesting to talk with during the shoot.  Fairly new to modeling, especially modeling fully naked, Matt did have one thing that he really wanted to ensure that Hal knew...


'Matt was adamant about making sure I knew that he was straight. He was up for pretty much all of my suggestions, but did tell me right away that he didn't want his asshole showing.  There were however, several times he had erections during the shoot. lol '



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