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Saturday, April 22, 2023
Favorite Click of the Week: Gymnos Stage
As in a theatre, the eyes of men, after a well-graced actor leaves the stage, are idly bent on him that enters next.
William Shakespeare
Equus
Over the years working on FH, some of my favorite posts have featured live performance. From Musicals and plays to dance and opera. I've covered each art form as well as uncovered the on-stage male nudity.
Méduse
One of my favorite places to see and discover new male nude performances is Gymnos Stage on Twitter. In addition to actors and dancers, the page also covers strippers and nudity on the runway. Recently, they even featured images and videos from Porn Idol, a UK based competition I'd never heard of before.
Afterglow
The Day of the Dead
Check out my coverage of the 'Stage' and the many actors who grace it HERE:
La Pudeur des Icebergs
Hamlet
Anatomia do Fauno
MÁQUINA
Sensorial Subversivism: Greg & DJ by Elwood Photos
'I was looking for an opportunity to work with DJ again when he posted a picture of his super cool old-timey living room on Instagram,'
Jason, Elwood Photos
I love coming across new models and artists, especially when their visuals are so eye-catching and unique. Recently I noticed that an Elwoodphotos had liked an image I had posted on Instagram. I was struck by the name. I'm not sure why, perhaps in part, I thought there might be a connection with Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. As you can cleearly see from the images, except for some fancy fashion, Elwood and Elle Woods are definitely not connected.
That didn't stop me from diving into photographer Jason Potter's eclectic array of images, especially his series of images of DJ and Greg. I loved the mood Jason set, utilizing so many different elements. From his choice of models, though the vintage, slightly creepy living room, the fashion, poses and the inclusion of CMNM themes, Jason created a series of erotic, original and captivating visuals.
I love that there is so much to see in each images. The beautiful faces and bodies are certainly the focus, but the surroundings are equally absorbing. Each time I looked at the shots, I saw something new and interesting to visually draw me back in. The story of the two men depicted, is seducingly introduced, but ultimately the full story is left untold. Jason ensures however, all the elements are in place, tempting the viewer to imagine and fill in the details.
For Jason, telling stories is an intrinsic part of his DNA. He began his professional career in film and television, starting with shooting travel videos on a cruise ship. He went on to work as a segment producer on 'documentary' shows on MTV and VH-1. These jobs often required Jason to wear many hats, including being the 'camera guy'. Taking on so many jobs, and so many roles helped Jason develop the skill for quickly finding unique camera compositions on the fly.
'I also like to produce and host live storytelling and variety shows. I was helping produce a queer cabaret show in 2020 when the pandemic hit and we had to switch to doing video versions of the show. We shot the first show on camera phones but after it became clear that the pandemic was going to last a while, I used my stimulus money to buy a mirrorless camera and a few lenses to be able to shoot the show with better video quality.
I had been a fan of Favorite Hunks for a while and started following the Instagram accounts of some really talented photographers that FH has featured over the years. They, and by extension FH, really inspired me to try my hand at still photography and now that I had a decent camera and lenses, I figured it was time to give it a go! '
Although Jason still does video projects occasionally, he's found that he really fell in love with portrait photography. With video shoots, there are often a lot of people involved, which means spending a lot more time and energy on logistics, and ensuring everyone is in the same place. With portrait photography, it's usually just the artist and model. For Jason, this means being able to spend more time on the creative process and collaborating with the model.
For this shoot with DJ and Greg, the inspiration was the living room location. Jason had worked with DJ previously, and really enjoyed the experience. Jason shares that they both share the philosophy of telling a story through their work. Jason was looking for an opportunity to collaborate again when he saw that DJ had posted an image on his Instagram featuring an images of his 'super cool old-timey living room.'
'I messaged DJ and said I would love to use his living room as a location and he agreed. For a theme, we wanted to use portrait photos of couples from the late 1800s and early 1900s as inspiration but add a CMNM (clothed male nude male) twist.'
For the second model, Jason wanted to find someone who had a completely different look from DJ. He found the perfect model in Greg on Model Mayhem. When Jason reached out to Greg, Greg instantly got the concept and theme and was excited to participate and contribute.
After Jason sent on the original series of images, I asked if he had any outtakes from the shoot. he sent on the two shots above. One of the many things in DJ's living room was a creepy doll that sort of freaked Greg out. You can tell from the two images Greg was not fond of the disturbing doll...
'Because I had models who look like they fit typical and sometimes outdated roles in terms of queer power dynamics, I wanted to make sure we subverted those roles and dynamics for our photoset. So I had both models take turns being the nude one, and made sure to present them both as equals.
I don't have an issue with the dad/son or powerful bear/blushing twink dynamic, it's just that there is plenty of that kind of material out there already. Both DJ and Greg were a pleasure to work with and the shoot went really smoothly except when I tried to turn on a fog machine I brought to add some extra atmosphere, and it triggered DJ's fire alarm.'
'Working with Jason was a wonderful experience. I'm very grateful to have gotten to create something I'm proud of with an inspired photographer.'
'This shoot with Jason and DJ was an excellent experience. Jason takes the time to think through a scene while letting the models' spontaneity come through. He was prepared, warm, charming, and easy to work with. I look forward to working with him again soon!'
Just Because: Richard Armitage
'(Coming Out) happened when I was 19–to anybody who mattered–and I was always waiting for that question to punch me in the face, and it never did.'
Actor Richard Armitage has been getting a lot of attention of late, and rightly so! Not only because of his nude scenes in the Netflix erotic thriller Obsession, but for what has been called his 'casual' coming out. I'm not a big fan of public coming outs, but I do see the importance of visibility. I just think some people, like Armitage, were never really in, so the need to come out is for others more than for themselves.
Although Armitage has been in a ton of mainstream films and box office hits, my crush on the UK based actor began after seeing him on television. It was in about 2012 I discovered the Dawn French sit-com Vicar of Dibley on PBS. It used to air on Saturday nights and I'd DVR it and watch it on Sunday mornings.
The first time I ever saw Armitage on screen was his three episode arc as the object of the Vicar's eye in three episodes from the 2006-2007 series of the British show. I was as smitten as Geraldine, and posted about the actor after seeing the episode. (HERE:) I went on to look for more of the actor's work, and it was another television appearance that caught my eye.
Between The Sheets (2003)
Although Armitage has quite an impressive nudity resume, one of my favorite scenes is his turn in the 2003 mini-series, Between The Sheets. I love that the director gave us plenty of close-ups of Armitage's amazing ass.
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