Above:
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Tuesday, October 21, 2025
The Third Eye: The Cement Green Staircase
'Prior to his retirement, Rick was a social worker.. His years working with people in need, honed both his caring and his listening skills. So many of the men and women who ended up in front Rick's camera were looking for more than just quick cash, Many seemed in need of a purpose and a connection. Many just needed someone to listen to their stories.'
Earlier this week, I learned from Roger, (RMark Photography) of the death of Rick aka, the photographer The Third Eye. Rick and Roger shared a studio space when they both shot in Ohio and were both colleagues and friends. I had the honor of featuring Rick's work in close to 20 features between 2016 and 2019. I was saddened when Rick told me he was retiring, giving up his passion for visual storytelling to focus on his health.
To say I loved Rick's work would be an understatement. Not all photographers have an official credit that so beautifully reflects their imagery. For me, Rick's third eye was related to his experience as a social worker and his ability to both understand and visually shares the stories of the men he worked with. I'll never forget Rick's response when I first contacted him in 2015 about featuring his work.
'My situation is different as many models are just young men looking for a few bucks and don't always have an interest in modeling. Many I would not even know how to contact anymore. Some of the shots you liked are in that category. The guys had no real interest in modeling, but will do a thirty dollar shoot when short on cash. . I am willing though, if you think it could be worthwhile.'
Clearly Rick's past as a social worker led to a compassionate approach to his work and unique lens into some of the men in front of his lens. Although many of the men Rick worked with were not models, I'm guessing your recognize a few of the faces and bodies in this piece. Some, like Brendon, TJ, Kay, Brian and Max went on to shoot with other photographers and some were agency represented. I was fortunate enough to feature many of their shoots with Rick, as well as their later work as well.
In addition to loving his work, I was also in love with the studio space where Rick worked. I especially loved the green cement staircase, and the window that lit it. I loved the staircase so much, Rick sent on a series of 'stair shots' that I featured in a two part post featuring models on the stairs, both clothed, and unclothed.
'We dream what awaits us at the top of the stars. At the bottom however, is a terrifying blend of our most terrifying nightmares'.
You can check out all my features spotlighting Rick's work on FH HERE:
'Rick was always nice to me and helpful. He had a great sense of humor. And, I always complimented how his photographs were both beautiful and evocative. He was great at capturing the individual and at bringing a variety of emotion to his photographs.'
One Step Closer....
William Hughes Mearns, Antigonish
Image by Virgin Island Pictures
Weißblaue Wintergeschichten
In addition to the tropes mentioned in my previous post on the subject, (HERE:) almost every great haunted house or mansion has a prominent staircase. One of my favorites is The Spiral Staircase, which I featured last year. (HERE:) Some of them, are the entrances, stone stairs leading to the front door and the entrance to the impending terror. Most are inside, winding, spiral staircases which are both ominous and compellingly welcoming.
Ryan
Welcoming, may be too pleasant of a word, but for some reason, whenever someone enters a haunted house, there is a powerful pull to up them, or down them. The thing about these stairs isn't just that their prominent set pieces, and often architecturally stunning, they also hold a mystery. Where to they lead, and what the hell is at the top, or the bottom of the stairs.
If you walk up, you usually hit bedrooms and studies. Rooms which contain both the history and the mysteries of the house. Walk up further, and you're in the attic, a room where nothing good ever occurred. Far scarier than if those stairs go up, is those spiral staircases that go down. Down to the basement and the bowels of the building. It's those basements that hold the evidence, the bodies burned in the furnace, and buried forever behind the walls of brick.
Image from Sergei K
Like so many kids, I used to dread going to our basement. It wasn't such a scary place, but the wooden staircase presented challenges. Yes, the stairs were creaky, but that wasn't the issue. Going down wasn't so bad, but going up was a nightmare. I don't think I ever walked up those stairs, I always ran. No matter what time a day it was, dark or light, I was positive there was a monster chasing me. Cue the symbolism, and guess to what I may have been running from, but regardless of what it was, I sped up those stairs like my life depended on it.
Image from Nohea Dunn
Although it didn't occur in a horror film, one of my favorite staircase scenes featuring male nudity was in the German television show Weißblaue Wintergeschichten. The actor is Dirk Meier and the scene is from the 1997 episode Bruderherzen/Die Härte des Gesetzes.
Ryan Scott: At the Top of the Stairs...
By Ryan Scott
Originally posted April 2011
One of my all time favorite 'staircase' themed posts featured artist Ryan Scott and his self portraits at the top of the stairs. The sinister elements did seep in from dark lighting or photo editing. Ryan created an air of mystery by not showing his handsome face and with a simple pair of scissors. He also used a variety of incredibly creative poses and angles to shoot.
Original Text:
It was last December that I was first introduced to the work of artist and model Ryan Scott in a profile on his work with one of my favorite photographers Michael Puff (Private Moments Made Public). In that profile Ryan described himself as an eternal voyeur. I commented that voyeur is often used as a negative term, you think of someone spying on another. Although there are elements of discovering hidden moments, Ryan doesn't make his viewers feel they have interrupted something, instead he makes them apart of it. Although all about self, his work is not ego driven.
Ryan showcases his art on Direct Desire Project, a blog I love to check out at least a couple of times a week. One series that Ryan weaved throughout the blog are this series that I have titled 'At The Top Of The Stairs'. The series is a lot of fun, very sexy and maybe....just a little bit sinister.
The series I believe was shot during Ryan's move to a new apartment (which explains the why there is no pieces of furniture, pictures or nicknack's visible). The sparseness of the area creates a distinct feeling of isolation. Although Ryan says that he added the scissor shot for a bit color, I think it's addition, not to mention some of the shots near the end, also create a interesting story with a Hitchcockian feel. Check out more of Ryan's work on his incredible blog HERE:
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