'I live in a lovely little village in the heart of the Cheshire country side England.'
If you looked closely above at the list of posts featuring bengie's (
Male Beauty by bengie) imagery, you may have noticed a pattern. In addition to the many model focused stories, there were also many pieces featuring aspects, rooms and areas around bengie's Cheshire home. In addition to the incredibly hot men that bengie captures , I've always been equally drawn to the location, and the captivating visuals surrounding the many men in focus.
My favorite shooting location in bengie's house has to be the shower. So many men wet men, and so many incredible shots. The location is perfect for shooting nudes, with a large window providing glorious natural light to cascade over wet, naked skin. Although the shower has produced hundreds of great shots, I've also focused on images on begnie's patio, and the patio's French doors. The barn, the woodpile, the gardens and fields. I even did a piece featuring the wallpaper border in one of the rooms in the house.
Since I have to travel to the UK, the home has fascinated me as much as the many men that bengie's shot there. I dream of spending time in the English countryside, and bengie's Cheshire home is exactly what I'd envision a English country home to look like. For this piece, featuring bengie's work with
Jeze, I thought it a great time to find out a little bit more about bengie, and that home that's been so key in so many of his shoots.
The house isn't just the place where bengie currently lives, it was actually the family home and the house that he was born in. It's the house that he grew up in, with his two brothers and one sister, and the house he celebrated every holiday and life milestone in. There are wonderful memories, and painful ones as well.
Just before he was born, bengie's father was killed in a road accident, so he and his siblings were raised in the house by their mother. Growing up, the house was the setting for many crucial milestones, both positive and painful. One of the those difficult moments occurred on bengie's fifth birthday. It was on that day bengie learned he had contacted polio, and it was in the house where he struggled with the virus and learned to deal with the long term effects.
It was also the house where bengie mourned the loss of several family members. In addition to his father, bengie also lost his mother, as well as his sister and one of his brothers over his time in the house. Because of the history, and because of those memories, bengie decided to keep the house, and continue to live in his home after his mother had passed on.
Although both the house and the property are visually inspiring, it was after bengie had left school, that his passion for photography was firmly established. During his three years attending art college, bengie was immersed in many aspects of the visual arts including photography. It was during this time, specifically while attending some life life drawing classes, that fell in love with the nude male form as his focus.
'When I 22 years ago a friend asked me to do some photos for him. It was after that, when showed them around, that other guys also asked if I would do photos for them. The more I did, the more guys asked, and I have been photographing the naked male ever since. '
As I stated in the post above, I was initially drawn to bengie's work due to his beautifully direct stye of capturing the male form, strong, erotic and incredibly sexy. I was also drawn to the choice of models that bengie captures and works with. While the beauty of the male form remains at the core of his work, three is also a focus on diversity, strength, and masculinity.
In addition to their physical beauty, bengie also captures magnificent moments when their personalities shine through. In order to do so, bengie works hard to ensure the models he works with are feeling comfortable and relaxed, In addition to capturing great visuals, bengie also hopes the model will enjoy the shooting process as much as he does.
From his ear to ear grin,
Jeze certainly looked as if he was enjoying himself in front of bengie's lens. It was after seeing Jeze on a modeling site, that bengie got in contact and a shoot was arranged. Jeze lives about an hour and half away from bengie's home and studio, but was up for driving south for the shoot.
When I recently saw the shots of Jeze in bengie's portfolio, I knew I wanted to share their work together on the site. In addition to his great face and body, it was his smile, and those beautiful blue eyes that drew me to bengie's images. I really loved the sense of play and fun that Jeze brought to so many his poses, especially some of shots in the shower.