Roy Blakey: 70's Men .

'The dazzling use of light and shadow is a hallmark of Blakey's art as his camera explores the poetry and power of the masculine form.'

blueboy Magazine

I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to ensuring as many of the images, and as many of the models that I post, are assigned proper credit.  It's intersecting to me, that although I've gotten a e-mails about I've an image without credit, I've gotten more comments, especially from models, supporting my using their image, but would prefer their name not be attached.

I've noticed however, I've spent less time looking for credit when the image is from decades past.  They're often more difficult to credit, as many have been posted on Tumblrs and sites for years.  Each time their posted, it removes them further and further from the original source. 

It's also a sad fact that many of the photographers responsible for some of the most iconic images are no longer with us.  They shot on film, and didn't have websites or share their work on-line or on social media.  One of the plus sides however, is the excitement I feel when discovering the artist behind images I've loved and enjoyed for so many years.

That happened last month with photographer Roy Bakey.   The second image in this post feature Roy surrounded by a eight stunning male models.  I came upon the image when I was searching for shots for my CMNM nude and I knew I wanted to learn more.  Thankfully, an image Google search led me to find more of Roy's work.

When I was researching more about Roy and his work, I discovered I was already familiar with his work, I just didn't know it.  I'd posted several of Roy's images previously on the site, of celebrities including George Payne, and many of the shots he took that were published in vintage male and male physique magazines. 

In addition the male form, George is also known for his work shooting and chronicling the history of ice skaters. This makes perfect sense to me, as both focus on the human body, and both require a great deal of creativity to chronicle  each individual in a unique manner.  I remember being fixated with the images in the brochure the first time I went to the Ice Capades when I was a kid.  I used to cut out the full figure images of the skaters and skate them around my room

Roy Blakey is still with us and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Roy is still at work, working as a commercial photographer in a studio space he shares with his niece who is also a photographer. photographer.  Although I couldn't find Roy on social media, his niece keeps her family, and his fans up to date with how Roy is doing.

Roy's first book of photographs, HE, was a landmark collection of male nudes which he self-published in 1972.  Although HE is a bit harder to find, his book on 70's Male Nudes is more readily available and I've seen it on both Amazon and E-bay.  Given my love of imagery of the male form shot in the 70's, I might just have to buy a copy for myself.