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Alex L by Jack Saul Photography
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Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Blast from the Past: Steven Lyon
'What's a male super model? I know at least 5 guys claiming that. Lets just say in the greatest era of the 80s and 90s I did very well. Had a fucking great time .Great friends and great money. No complaints'
Although this blast from the past piece is a one of the busiest male models from the 80's and 90's, it started out as a piece focused on Steven Lyon's brief career as actor. Although I ended up featuring actor William Zabka in Back to School, (HERE:) my first choice was actually the 1987 comedy Campus Man.
The problem was, it wasn't that easy to put my hands on a decent copy of Campus Man. I also went down the rabbit hole, looking for more on it's star attraction, Steven Lyon. I decided to put the Campus Man piece on hold until I could find out more. Although the films are very different, they do have one thing in common. They both have scenes featuring hot blonds in speedos in college diving competitions.
I've been a gym rat since the late 70s . Always eating clean and the last 3 years I've adopted a vegan diet. I'm still and old school lifter and I've never really dieted . Maybe Id cut a few things two weeks out form a important body job.
Steven Lyon for Adon Magazine
After successfully modeling for over a decade, Lyons to a break to give Hollywood and acting a try. In addition to a guest appearance on TV show The New Gidget, Lyons did two movies, Campus Man and his film debut in Valet Girls in 1986. Although neither had what I would call an 'official' nude scene, both had scenes featuring plenty of Steven's skin, including brief butt flashes in each film. Check out caps from both on the next page. Campus Man HERE: and Valet Girls HERE:
Roy Blakey: 70's Men .
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'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.
Getting Down to Business: Alex L by Jack Saul Photography
' The bottomless images were an idea I think we both liked.'
I've always liked images of models posing bottomless. I hadn't heard however, that wearing a shirt or coat, without any pants, was inspired by a famous cartoon duck. It was photographer Andrew Bowman who in a post featuring models in winter sweaters, without pants, (HERE:) first introduced me to the 'Donald Duck' shot.
Photographer Jack Saul didn't intend to shoot Alex in a striped shirt, minus his pants, but the shots occurred organically in the moment. Alex was running late, and showed up to the shoot in a suit, dress shirt and tie. Alex had just left a business meeting and didn't have time to change before he was scheduled to meet up with Jack.
As Alex was undressing, Jack decided it would be a good idea to incorporate Alex's striped dress shirt into the shoot. Earlier this summer, I featured Jack's work with another Alex, Alex K. (HERE:) This Alex, is Alex L. Originally, I was going to put the two Alex's together, and compare different looks and poses. Ultimately, I liked both shoots, and wanted to give each of the Alex's their turn in the spotlight.
This was Alex L's second time shooting nudes, but Jack shares that was very comfortable in front of the camera and a breeze to work with. As beautiful as his body is, I was especially drawn to Alex's face, and his contrasting features. Despite having a baby face, the 22 year old Alex, has beautiful eyes, with an old vibe, expressing both both an innocence, and a confidence and maturity.
How did you first connect with Alex?
Alex contacted me as a follower on Instagram, we had briefly spoken via a modelling site some time beforehand but Alex wasn't living in London at that time.
Do you remember who contacted who first?
Alex contacted me, he had done one nude shoot previously and was keen to expand his portfolio
What were your first impressions of his look?
Intrigued by his very youthful facial appearance (he's 22) coupled with a very articulate and mature way of expressing himself
Did you see nude images prior to scheduling a shoot?
No. I never ask and only a handful of models volunteer them
Had Alex posed nude before?
Just once I believe
Did you talk about shot lists or concepts?
No, out of nearly 200 photoshoots I've only ever used a preconceived shot list or concept a very small number of times. Although I had used the space we were in before, so had a rough framework of suggestions that we could base things from.
Did Alex have anything he wanted to achieve with the shoot?
I think it was mostly about gaining confidence and building more experience with his modelling.
Did he have any boundaries as to what you could or could not shoot?
Not that I can recall, no. It wasn't intended as an erotic-style shoot, so that wasn't discussed and anything along those lines visible in the photoset just occurred naturally & unintentionally.
Was there much talk during the shoot, was it mostly work focused, or was he chatty?
I always try to keep the vibe as relaxed and chatty as possible. With some models nerves van make them freeze up a bit so I might resort to putting the radio or tv on to give them something to focus on but I don't recall that happening with Alex.
What was Alex like to work with, did he require much direction?
The shoot didn't really require specific direction I gave him suggestions at the start and I think that helped get him in a natural rhythm with it.
Curious of Alex brought the striped shirt?
I liked the look of the shirt and no pants in some of the shots. Alex had just come from a business meeting, so was much more formally dressed than usual. It seemed to work fairly well though and the bottomless images were an idea I think we both liked.
Any other thoughts, comments on the shoot?
I'm still in contact with Alex and there is a possibility of a follow-up shoot at some point in the future. He likes the idea of maybe doing a duo shoot.
Jack Saul on Instagram
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