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Friday, October 28, 2022
Red Noses & Cobwebbed Crotches
It's time for the annual FH Costume Parade! The 'barely there' costumes featured in these two images won this year's special judges prize for most creative head and crotch coverings. Thanks to photographer George Duncan who snapped the award winners! Check out the other finalists from this year's All Hallows' Eve Party on the NEXT PAGE HERE
Knock Knock: Cole by RMark Photography
'Happy Halloween! Yummy snack for my sack?'
At Christmastime, you certainly don't want a lump of coal. But...at Halloween, I'm sure you'd be satisfied with a hunk of Cole! Over the last few Halloween seasons, I've enjoyed featuring the work of Roger from RMark Photography. Roger usually puts his focus on costumes, last year, featuring a homage to the Village People. (HERE:)
This year, along with the cowboy and athlete costumes, Roger decided it was time to go door to door. I love this series with the captivatingly curvaceous Cole. I know they say not to take candy from strangers, but at Halloween, we break that rule, enjoying tasty treats from handsome door knockers! Cole obviously enjoyed what I was giving out as he kept leaving, changing his shirt, and then coming back for more.
Freddy My Love: Gentlemen’s Man by Roc Shots
'How sweet. Fresh meat.'
Freddy Krueger
I first discovered the work of photographer Roc Shots earlier this year. I saw, loved, and voted for a shot he had in the Model Mayhem pic of the day contest. The image was a window shot, an especially favorite theme of mine to explore. I headed to Roc's portfolio to check out more of his work. I loved the way in which the Georgia artist photographed the male form, the poses and angles he captured and the feel of erotic isolation that I'm so often so drawn to in art.
Roc and I immeateatly began discussing a piece for FH, and what shoot and model to feature. A retired engineer and teacher, photography for Roc is a passionate hobby, but one he is loving being able to spend more time on. Roc shares that he didn't really begin to get series about his art until well into the digital age. He grew up in Kodak country, and always carried a little instamatic on trips, but up until that point, that was the extent of his photography experience until much later on.
'I got my first digital camera around 2000 but quickly realized it wasn’t going to work well for most of the things I wanted to photograph (e.g., weather phenomena like lightning, gymnastics events, nature, and a few other things) so eventually I upgraded to a DSLR and took an intro to photography class to learn how to use it. After a while I got some decent lenses to use for various purposes and learned mostly through trial and error. '
As far a male portraits are concerned, this began with Roc taking images of himself in order to share with guys on AOL. He then posed nude twice for others, just to see what it was like, and to have some images, other than just selfies, to share with others on-line.
Roc however, was felt extremely nervous and self-conscious while modeling, and decided he rather be behind the camera. Roc began asking guys if they'd like to be photographed and was surprised at the number who were open and willing. Slowing over time, Roc's work evolved as he invested in lighting, backdrops and other equipment to professionalise his work and the look of his imagery.
'Most of the guys I’ve worked with have had little or no modeling experience and I really enjoy helping them become comfortable with being photographed in a relaxed and no-pressure situation. It’s fun to meet new men and get creative together. My goal is to get to know a model a little before the shoot and to try to incorporate his interests and personality into the photos. Sometimes I have a specific idea but most times it’s a total collaboration. I do a lot of black and white photos and am inspired by genres like film noir, retro looks, and athletic gear, but I’m always open to try something new and different.'
As soon as I saw Roc's shots of Freddy Krueger, I knew I wanted to feature them over Halloween. A long lover of horror films, I've featured the Freddy series, and the work of Wes Craven, previously over the spooky season. Roc was up for sharing his work, but wanted to ensure the model, Gentlemen's Man was on board with the piece.
'Gentlemen’s Man and I established a great rapport after our first shoot earlier this year. We had some similar ideas and have done several shoots together since. The idea for a Halloween shoot came up over the summer and the he chose Freddy Kruger as the character he wanted to portray. He got the outfit and I put together a couple of scenes that I thought might work. I’ve always been a fan of 80’s horror, especially if it’s a classic and a little campy, so I was all in. I was really happy with the results! '
'I’ve always been a fan of horror. It’s been a source of comfort throughout my life. It’s like accepting the darkest parts of you. I knew I wanted to do a horror themed shoot the moment I started my Twitter and Only Fans. I binged all The Nightmare on Elm Street movies and got the costume. I was very anxious at the time of these photos so I tried to channel all of that into the shoot and I’m very happy with how they turned out. It’s fun to turn darkness into art, it’s just extra fuel.'
Freddy's Revenge: Playing the Field
'There's something inside of me.'
Jesse Walsh
I've written about A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge several times before. Back in 2015, most of my Halloween themed posts were focused on Wes Craven films. Although the film is certainly not the series best, it is one of the most fascinating to watch, research and read about.
In part of course it's the homoerotic elements. Although not widely discussed at the time of release, (or even acknowledged...) the films gay themes have been written about and discussed in great detail since. In part, it's also because it's really the only Nightmare film with male nudity. Those aren't the only reasons however, that keeps me interested.
I watched actor Mark Patton's Scream Queen documentary twice now. Once when it first came out, and once again last month. I loved hearing about his life during the filming, his fear of being outed, the impact of the harsh reception and the fall out of being blamed for how the film landed, and that was he who was responsible for the gay vibe the film ended up with.
'David would just blame me any time it came up alluding to something along the lines of, ‘Well, he’s a big old fag and he chose to play the part in a big old fag way.'
The 'David' that Patton refers to in the above quote is Freddy's Revenge screenwriter David Chaskin. When after the films release, writers and movie viewers began to discuss and write about the gay subtext, Chaskin claimed ignorance. Instead of admitting his role, which he did much later, he blamed Patton, and the way in which he played the role.
In re-watching the documentary, I was slightly less annoyed with Chastin and more angry at the film's director Jack Sholder. Sholder came off as smug, and like Chastin early on, played ignorant, even mocking the feelings of Patton and viewers of the film. Anyone who knows anything about film making knows that nothing ends up on screen that the director doesn't approve.
Mark's dancing, his voice level and, scream pitch would have all been directed, filmed and ok'd by Sholder. How much of Mark in his tighty whities, how many crotch shots, how much of Mark's ass was shown, again, all in the hands of the director. There are s many scenes in the film that prove this point, one of my favorites, the pantsing of Patton on the ball field.
To be clear, I'm not necessarily critical of the choices Sholder made, I enjoyed the film, my issue is how the films writer and director ran from their obvious choices, leaving the one 'out' gay actor to take the blame for any criticism the film received. Thankfully Patton seems to have come out the other side, making piece with the film, and embracing his fame, at least over the holiday season.
Salute to Wes Craven
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