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Sunday, January 12, 2025
Snow Day! ❄️
When I was in school, both as a kid in grade school, and an adult in University, there was nothing like a snow day. Like so many, I started looking forward to it as soon as I heard there was significant snow predicted. Of course, sometimes there was disappointment, but where I lived, you could count on at least five or six snow days a winter. The magic of a snow day was the unpredictability. They were like surprise holidays that you did know were coming.
They were magic! Sometimes, I'd go out, play in the snow, build a fort or go sledding on the hill. When I got older, I went skiing or earned money shoveling my neighbour's drive-way. Other days, like these days, they're free days. Even if I'm working from home, a snow day is special. It means most people aren't making it to the office, so any virtual meeting or deadlines I had, are put off, for a least a day. Whether you live someone where's there snow or not, I hope you find a little magic, and enjoy today's FH snow day! ❄️
SkyMed: Snow Volleyball
'Love is Hard Work'
Despite all of the special effect and high flying acrobatics, one of the most memorable scenes from the original Top Gun, was the volleyball scene. It wasn't just women and gays focusing in on the bevy of shirtless beefcake. It makes sense then, that my introduction to the series SkyMed came from a scene featuring a shirtless scene from the series. The players weren't just shirtless, they were all also stripped down to their undies.
The scene is from the third season, and after seeing caps on DreamCap, I had to give the show a try. The Canadian based show airs on both CBC in Canada, and on Paramount Plus in the US. The medical based drama focuses on the nurses and pilots working for air ambulance service in remote northern Manitoba.
I can't vouch for the quality of the series overall, currently, I'm about half-way through the first season. So far though, I'm really enjoying it. It's a bit like a mash-up between Grey's Anatomy and 9.1.1, but so far, the stories are little more grounded and less sensational than those on US procedurals. This could change as the series goes on.
The views are also spectacular. Not only the incredibly hot cast, but the majestic views of Northern Canada. The show's first season was filmed from late Summer through January, so the scenes in the snow are in actual snow, and not green screened as in so many L.A based procedurals.
The show was developed by Julie Puckrin, who drew inspiration from her nurse sister and pilot brother-in-law who worked aboard air ambulances. To help with the stories the writing staff included both Indigenous and queer writers. The three main male hotties in this volleyball scene are actors Thomas Elms, Kheon Clarke and Ryan Ali.
I believe all three, as well as the female characters in this scene are part of the LBGTQ community. If you watch the entire scene, you know the snow fun, ends with a wee bit of jealousy. There are several cast members I want to spotlight individually, but on this snow themed day, I wanted to introduce this scene, and the show, to those who might not have heard of it, or have heard of it, but needed a little visual stimulation to give it a shot.
Winter Boy
When adolescence is shattered....
I love when a movie can instantly set a tone, a mood and an atmosphere. That exactly what writer and director Christophe Honoré does in 2022's Winter Boy. It's through his writing and directing, it's set by the actors, and their superb performances, and it's set through the coldness of a long and barren winter. The tone is one of grief, and it's impact on 17 year old Lucas played so beautifully by actor Paul Kircher.
It's also intimately set by the personal experiences of the Honoré. In addition to writing and directing the film, Honoré also plays Claude, Lucas' father, who dies near the beginning of the film. The death, and the question of whether it was an accident, or a possible suicide, are based on Honoré's own experiences after losing his own father when he, like Lucas, was just 17.
Lucas is just finishing is final year of boarding school when his father's sudden death shatters everything he took for granted. Lucas struggles in the aftermath, dealing along with his mother Isabelle (Juliette Binoche), and older brother, Quentin. (Vincent Lacoste) Filled with rage and despair, he visits his older brother in Paris to seek solace in this new city.
Even without having to deal with the death of a parent, there are already struggles with being 17. Lucas is in the process of finding out who he is, now, without his father around as a guide. When it Paris, it's
Quentin’s gay roommate, Lilio, (Erwan Kepoa Falé) that Lucas initially connects with. Lucas sees the much older Lilo as both both something of a father figure, and a potential lover.
Lucas' journey, was for me, incredibly engrossing, especially in the hands of the talented and engaging Kircher. Although Lucas is 17, Kircher would have been about 20 or 21 when the film was made. Grief rarely arrives on the tail of just one emotion. Sadness is just the upper layer, with anger, reflection, and even moments of discovery and joy. Kircher hits every note of them all, even when these emotions are sometimes in conflict with one another.
It's Lucas's journey that we follow, and for many, there's a fascinating sensuality to grief. Loss for some, especially when you lose a parent when you're young, or when you lose a partner or spouse, also often involves discovery. This comes through new experiences, new sexual partners, and often, eventually new love.
A Baker's Dozen: Luke G
'It's like I'm forced to by some unknown force, I see fresh now, and have to strip down and hop into it.'
I think it was a known force, my love of the male form, that struck me after seeing my first images of Luke. It was back in 2017, and I quickly got in touch about featuring his work. The images were Autumn themed, incredible visuals with Luke's long lean body creating such elegantly sensual poses. The images I quickly learned, were taken by Luke himself, a model and an artist who for me, has perfected the art of the self-full body portrait.
I started doing A Baker's Dozen posts back in 2020. It began for two reasons. I had being doing Quaternate posts for awhile, brining together all of the stories from individual photographers. Given how many models have contributed and been featured multiple times over the years, I wanted a way of bringing all of the stories together in one place.
I also wanted to pay tribute to model Austin Wild, a model I was fortunate to have featured numerous times prior to tragic death. I titled the theme, A Baker's Dozen not due to the number of posts, but because I originally focused on 13 models. Over time, that number has increased. I've had the privilege to have featured Luke's work close to two dozen times, many of the images included, Luke took exclusively for FH.
So many of Luke's images are seasonally set, my favorites being Autumn and Winter. Not many models head out into the snow, strip down, and create such beautiful images. As cold as some of those day were, Luke always captured incredible visuals, ever risking frost bite by sitting completely naked in snow drifts. Luke has also captured some exclusive holiday shots, helping us celebrate Valentine's, St. Patrick's Day and Christmas. One of my favorites was the most recent, Luke's Halloween themed, The Witch in the Wood.
Luke on FH:
2017-2020
2021
2022
2023-2024
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