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Tuesday, January 13, 2026
The Greybar Hotel
Sometimes when I see an image that intrigues me, I made quick assumptions about the source and the approximate time it was taken. Often I'm close, but sometimes I'm way off. Some FH readers might remember my ignorance of classic cinema. When I first started the stie, I avoided most films made before the 1980's, and especially anything shot in black and white. Thankfully I got over that.
Thanks to TCM and a few friends, and people I met via the site, I now love classic film, especially films from the 1960's and 70's. So many of my favorite movies are now older films, and would rather re-watch an older film I know I'll love, than wasting time on so much of the bland carbon copy studio produced films for the masses, they make today.
Given my deep dive into older films, and given this is FH, I've also noticed connections between the male form and time a film was made. Although there were a few exceptions, (Jimmy Stewart, Montgomery Clift) there was a thicker, broad chested physique on many actors from the 50's, 60's and early 70's. So, if you scan down to the last two images below, you may understand why I thought they might be stills from Steve McQueen prison film.
McQueen, (just below) had a similar body shape, and the blinding white butt with tan lines. He also made a number of Prison films. Almost every classic male star seemed to make at least one or two films set in prison, some, (like with Paul Newman, (HERE:) and Clint Eastwood, (HERE:) also gave us brief butt shots.
Turns out, the butt below didn't belong to McQueen, nor was it from a prison film. The shot above of McQueen was taken in 1963, but the shots below, taken in the 1970's, are of actual prisoners, in a real prison. I should have guessed it wasn't an actor by the tan lines. McQueen had a 'California' tan, just a white butt from his swimwear, (trunks). The rest of his body was pretty much fully tanned.
The men below have a farmer's tan, a prison farmer's tan to be more specific. As part of their sentence, they spent hours each day in the fields, usually cotton, sweating under the hot sun. They were fully dressed in a prison uniform, and depending on the mood of the guard, they might be allowed to take their shirts off, but that was rare. Check out more of deep dive into images of the male form from rural and state prisons on THE NEXT PAGE HERE:
Been There, Done That...
I definitely am feeling for the Heated Rivalry cast these days, especially Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. Yes, they quickly catapulted to stardom due to the Canadian drama, but they also looked a little tired of all the promotion and publicity they've been doing. I'm sure agents are encouraging them to jump on the moment, but it must be overwhelming.
Everyone seems to want to jump on the HR bandwagon, and some are incredibly annoying. One story I enjoyed though, that many of you might have read featured an Argentine Field hockey player and his Dutch politician finance. Olympic field hockey player Nicolás Keenan, is engaged to politician Rob Jetten, and recently posted about Heated Rivalry on his Instagram, revealing how he relates to the gay love story.
'Secret love behind four walls...been there, done that. Not letting Rob come to my games. Not letting him be a part of my socials. Passing him on the street and acting like he was a stranger. Watching it now on the show... .yeah, not proud of it.'
Nicolás Keenan
It wasn't Shane and Ilya however that Nicolás was referring to, his post came up after watching Scott Hunter and Kip's romance in episode 3. Episode 3 remains my favorite episode, followed closely by episode 4, then 5 and 6. I love the first two as well, but it was the relationships that really reeled me in and kept me tied to the hook.
Erotic Organicism: Ben by Jack Saul
'I enjoyed that Jack started out asking to take some silly photos where you make different facial expressions that feel exaggerated and unnatural. It really helps to make you feel freer and encourage your natural creative expression!'
One of the things that has always drawn me to the work of Jack Saul is the erotic organicism that he so uniquely captures. I've used many adjectives over the years to describe his imagery from raw to real, but there's something so fundamentally honest about it. Most of us when we're young, stick to the basics, especially when it comes to art and photography. With time and experience however, we often consciously or unconsciously, start incorporating add-ons.
Photographers learn and utilize the newest editing techniques, retouching tools, and use photoshop to elongate a penis, or change the natural beauty of the man in front of their lens. Now with AI, we question whether every images we see is real or computer generated. Sometimes, this can lead to incredible visuals. Other times however, it can act to distance the work from the artist's core skills, and the original magic
I tend to believe photographers fit into two categories, Some, want to capture the beauty they see in front of them., Others, want to use their skills, the model, and technology, to create a vision of beauty they imagine and design. Jack Saul, is definitely the former. Every set of images that Jack sends on are uncut, unedited and complete.
Jack doesn't pick favorites, nor does he remove imperfect captures, images with partial lighting or a model slightly out of frame. Jack wants me to create the story from what I see in the raw images, images with nothing removed, nothing missing, and nothing altered to fit a narrative. Jack likes me to see the model just as he did, and let the images lead the direction of the text and story. from there.
For this shoot, the beauty Jack sees through his lens is that of 22 year old model Ben Chidley. I've been following Ben online for awhile, and always enjoy seeing what he creates. I really loved Ben's comment about Jack's process, especially about making the silly facial expressions. I remember we did when I studied theatre. Even if we were doing MacBeth, or another serious drama, we always started by loosening up and being both emotionally and physically silly. It always helped us relax, and break down any obstacles blocking us to meet the moment.
Ben more than met the moment in his work with Jack. It was difficult to narrow down my favorite shots from the hundreds Jack sent on. Ben, who has only been modeling for about a year and a half, displays a variety of looks, emotions and multiple levels erotic intensity. He does this through pose, but also through his facial expressions and eye contact and gaze. Be sure to check out more of Jack's work with Ben, and Ben's thoughts on his career, and his work with Jack, on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
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