The Best Of Michael Puff

The Best Of Michael Puff on FH

Oliviero

January 22, 2011

At The Barre

January 22, 2011

Creative Alliance

October 16, 2010

Damon Mahoney

October 1, 2010

Ryan Scott

December 27, 2010

Ryan Scott by Michael Puff

-Private Moments Made Public-


It has been interesting over the years to hear the many different perspectives that artists have to explain their work. What I used to believe 'makes a great shot' I could have stated simply as the use of light, space and mood. After getting a glimpse into what inspires some of the photographers and artists I most admire, that once limited description would now take a couple of pages to fully describe.

When model and photographer Ryan Scott responded to my questions about his shoot with photographer Michael Puff he included a brief bio that said;

'I studied fine Art, Literature, and French. I'm obsessed with with white walls, little dogs, Paris, and private moments made public.'

From some reason his last four words 'Private Moments made Public' jumped out at me. (I also loved his inclusion of white walls). Now maybe to some making what is usually private, public might be a 'duh' when the photographing the male form, but I am not sure that I looked at it that way until spending time staring at Michael Puff's shots along with Ryan's quote floating around in my head.



All you have to do is scroll through a few pages of FH to see that not all photographers have this floating in their heads when snapping their lens. Many photographers have their models interact with the camera, making it clear they are posing for a picture, and have the viewer and model interacting, the photographer, almost acting as the liaison.

For most of us (well some of us...) being naked, especially indoors, is usually something private, shared generally with one other, or with oneself. What Michael does so well is to find these moments and then to capture them. In order to keep the illusion of privacy though, Michael's true skill is to capture the moment as if he was not even in the room. In again viewing the shots of Michael's I have profiled (Ryan and previously with Damon Mahoney) there were countless private moments his lens turned public yet...they remain amazingly private.

'I met Ryan when he sent an introductory email because we had both been invited to contribute images to Try State Magazine Issue 3 and we are both located in the SF Bay Area. I went to take a look at Ryan's Direct Desire blog and was intrigued by his accomplished nude self-portraits. His concepts and poses are a delightful artistic mix. After an exchange of several emails, I told Ryan that if he'd ever consider shooting with another photographer that I'd be delighted to work with him.

I loved the natural light images I saw on Ryan's blog and we agreed to shoot at his location. The day of our shoot arrived. It was foggy, overcast, and rainy. The natural light was soft, yet dramatic as it dropped off quickly inside his windows. I think it gave a very moody look to our shoot.

Ryan was a first for me on two counts. First, I'd never shot another photographer as model. Ryan easily understood the light and played to it so very well. Second, when I asked about what wardrobe Ryan wanted to use to start, he said none. He was only interested in nudes and ready to go to work.'
Michael Puff

Check out more of Michael's work at his website HERE:

Ryan says that Michael was fantastic to work with.

'It can be very difficult as a photographer to give up creative control to another person, but Michael was very inclusive. He took the time to explain his process and created an atmosphere that was very comfortable.'

As I stated Ryan is also a photographer and I love that he describes himself as an eternal voyeur. It is fascinating to me to that while most voyeurs seem look 'out', Ryan's focus is on 'in'. The thinking of 'self' is an ignored field of study. Thinking out oneself is often seen as vain or selfish but thinking 'self' is not about running through your mind how great you are. Thinking 'self' is simply knowing yourself and spending time figuring out why you feel and act the way you do. Ultimately self is one of the most unselfish things to focus on as those without a sense of self usually end up inflicting their pain and confusion on those around them.

Be sure to spend some time on Ryan's blog Direct Desire HERE: I love 'reversal of lens' and my favorite shots are his Window sequence in Paris, his shots by and on the stairs and the shot 'Eucalyptus' used as pic of the day. Ryan also has a blog about public nudity SFNude found HERE:

Thanks as always to the wonderful Michael Puff and to Ryan Scott for sharing their shoot with FH!

The Beauty Of Lines: Mark Grantham

'Photography is about capturing textures, patterns, shapes, tones, color, light and lines. The sum of all these attributes makes a photograph worth looking at.'
Omar Upegui R.



This past October photographer Bill McClaren introduced me to his work with CaSon MacBride and he Michael Puff's work with Damon Mahoney. Both CaSon and Damon are dancers and and in front of the lens were pure magic.
What a spectacular gift then to find that CaSon and Damon were photographed together by one of my favorite chronicler's of movement, photographer Mark Grantham.



I first posted about Mark's work over two years ago. I was immediately drawn to his work as he is a master at capturing moments of movement. When I think of Mark Grantham I think of space. Mark's work is not just about the body in motion it is equally about the space in which that motion occurs. If you have ever found yourself alone in a large empty space something magic often happens. I don't know about you but when I have been all alone, completely alone in a gym, a church an office building I begin to act, to move in away I would not do if the eyes of others were upon me. I run, I dance, I sing loudly. I am sure you have all had a similar experience. This feeling is powerfully freeing. Alone or with someone you trust in a large space, a warehouse, inhibitions disappear and the magic begins. It is precisely this feeling that Mark Grantham captures so exactly, so beautifully.



'I approach each shoot with an eye for creating art... for creating something unique... for making the model shine... for grabbing the attention of the viewer... for creating a bit of mystery or wonder... Each of us is unique, so why create the same image over and over? '
Mark Grantham

One gets the feeling from Mark's work that spending a day with his camera inside, in a studio would be a chore....but, if he took that same camera outside his creativity would kick in. Now this creativity would not generally lead to shots of lakes and bunnies. Mark captures his models not coming out of an ocean but instead in something more man made, or maybe more specific man made an abandoned. His models would be coming out of a abandoned structure or within a building, once seen as architectural perfection, now seen as outdated and old. I cannot say for sure, nor did I ask Mark, if the location he chose for shooting CaSon and Damon was actually a long abandoned warehouse or a well dressed studio. I actually don't want to know. I prefer the feeling that the artists skill, along with the beauty and movement of his subjects created a change. Somewhere abandoned, lonely and dead, even briefly, for a moment....was brought back to life.

'They did all the work and I just ran around trying to document it in some why that would do justice to the magic they were creating.'




This was Mark's forth shoot with CaSon. 'CaSon is a dream to collaborate with! Not merely handsome, and with a great body, he is graceful and imaginative. He is a dancer, an actor, a goof, and willing to do anything for a shot.' For this shoot CaSon suggested bringing Damon along.

"I'm not sure CaSon ever brought a stitch of clothing to any of our shoots, other than what is on his back, which works for me - I'm all about the model and not this year's fashions. I don't think I've ever met a model so relaxed and comfortable in his skin as CaSon. CaSon and Damon know each other from dancing in the same ballet troupe together. Actually they're both in several dance groups, but have this one in common. Damon compensated for CaSon's lack of wardrobe by bringing several bags of things we might use, from clothes to robes, ballet shoots to combat boots, swords to guns...

While we worked a number of the props into his solo images my work of the two of them together was about their lines and the movement and grace they brought to the day. Individually they are both amazing, and together they are out of this world. The day was about creating - creating dance and creating images. One of them might suggest an idea or a part of the building to explore and before you knew it they were improvising around the concept. The temptation on my part was to just watch the amazing show they put on, but I had to keep pulling myself back to the camera and creating something to try and do justice to their artistry."



'Out of this world' certainly fits this incredible shoot. The last two shots are my favorites and so perfectly capture the 'textures, patterns, shapes, tones, color, light and lines' Omar Upegui R described in the quote used at the beginning of the post.

Thanks so much Mark for sharing your shots of Damon and CaSon with FH!




Be sure to check out Mark's official site HERE:
Check out CaSon MacBride on MM HERE:

You can also preview and purchase Mark Grantham's book featuring his work with CaSon HERE:

Creative Alliance: Bill McClaren & Michael Puff

October has always been my favorite month of the year. Autumn, cooler weather and the beginning of the holidays always gets me energized.

This October FH marked it third anniversary. During the first year of the blog, FH grew slowly hitting close to 10,000 hits each day. The second year of the blog the hits did not grow to any great extent, but I feel that the creativity did. It was in year two I began direct collaborations with the photographers, models, actors and as many subjects I profiled as I could get in touch with. It was then the blog really became what it set out to be. Hearing the stories about how certain shots came about, what motivates and inspires artists has always been what I have been curious about and wanted to share. As FH enters it's forth year I am really happy with where it is. This past year the hits have grown to a place I could not have imagined.

October also began with a series of posts which ended up being some of my favorites to date. Photographers Bill McClaren & Michael Puff. each shared their work with dancer Damon Mahoney. I truly enjoyed exploring the way each artist chose to approach the shoot and how the same model, the same subject, was viewed through the lens of two different men.

Today Bill and Michael generously share their work with another model, another dancer, Dale. Dale has a look a world's away from Damon Mahoney yet, their is a quality, the beauty of movement, that both dancers share.

Thanks so much to again to Bill and Michael for sharing their work with FH!

Changing Directions with Bill McClaren

Gerrad Bohl

"That's what you do as a painter, you live on hope, that next painting..."
Wayne Thiebold

"You don't take a photograph, you make it."
Ansel Adams

Two quotes Bill says describe his method of working.


Richard R. Vargas

Early last summer I was introduced to the work of Bill McClaren. I first profiled in his work in a post HERE: last August. At the time I was struck by the passion I felt Bill put into the wide variety of subjects he shot. There was love and caring put into the details of all of his work whether it be with a model or an oak leave.

When I contacted Bill this past summer about featuring more of his work, he was in the middle of heading out on the road to Burning Man. Bill did however leave me with the name 'Damon', a model he had recently shot, to check out until he returned. When I headed to Bill's portfolio to see this 'Damon' I expected to find a hot hunk in leather or wearing an animal print showing some, but not a lot, of skin. Shots I was used to seeing, shots I had previously loved and connected with Bill's work.

Well Damon is without a doubt hot, but there was something completely different yet at the same time clearly familiar about Bill's shots of Damon. I say different, as much of the early work that I loved and had previously posted of Bill's was a a bit more, how shall I say, more traditional maybe, the type of shots you might find in a models portfolio. Shots meant to showcase and bring out the beauty of the model.

I say clearly familiar, because I remember in Bill's old portfolio a few shots, in particular a self portrait with the exact same feel that came over me when I saw the new shots of Damon. Although the feeling was familiar it is still one I cannot exactly describe except to say more personal. The personal expression Bill had previously channelled through parts of his work was now coming out in all of it.


Thaddaeus Paull

'I am moving away from people and especially model types in favor of Fine Art Photography, however you may define that broad term'
Bill McClaren

It might be difficult to imagine one could get bored from shooting beautiful models but Bill tells me his interest in shooting people, even hot male people, has diminished. 'Perhaps I have nothing new or interesting to say?'

Personally I think Bill has much more to say through his work, things more important to him, more personal, things that were not possible when working in a certain way with models. In the spectrum of relationships between photographer and subject generally one is working to aid the other in their vision. It seems to me that Bill is now concentrating on his own vision and like the Ansel Adams quote is no longer taking photographs but now, making them.

Official Site for Bill McClaren


Brody Harris

The one thing about Bill that was exactly the same was his generosity. Damon you should know, was not a model Bill was originally set up to shoot. One of Bill's photographer friends, Michael T Puff was shooting Damon in Bill's studio and Bill hung back taking a few shots. Bill quickly put me in touch in Michael suggesting I as well feature his work on FH.

The results, shown in a series of posts below, was not only fun to put together but fascinating. One shoot, one talented and creative model, and two photographers each picking up their camera's for different reasons and with different roles.

Thanks so much to Bill McClaren, Michael T. Puff and Damon Mahoney for sharing your work with FH!

The Model: Damon Mahoney

Some of my favorite models to feature on FH are dancers. Dancers have a fluidity of movement, sense of not only body, but space and lines and the ability to connect with the rhythm of photographer that create beautiful images.

Damon Mahoney was born in Santa Monica and describes himself as the love child of a glam-rocker and an opera singer. At 17 he decided to become a ballet dancer.

'I have since risen, and am still rising through the pit of hell that is physical artistry.'

Damon certainly has risen and is now the solo dancer for an opera company.

'I like weapons and I like pretty words strung together and I have a very wicked sense of humor'.

Stringing pretty words together is not just a 'like' with Damon it is a talent. Damon was gracious enough to share some of his poetry with me and I shared one of my favorites below. One day Damon hopes to have his poetry published in a collection.

I don't think Damon was crazy about my using the photo at the top of this post. The glasses, the hair, the look, along with the fit body of a dancer are almost a juxtaposition. A beautiful juxtaposition, and without a doubt one of my favorite shots.


Both shots of Damon by Michael T. Puff

Damon says he loved working with both Michael and Bill.

'Doing the shoot with Michael and Bill was fun. I loved working with the fabric. I have interest in doing aerial work with tissue in the future. In dance our entire body is an extension of our artistry. I used to do figure modeling for art and sculpture classes, and I approach the shoots in the same way. I take a lot of my inspiration from statues in museums, which were often done of athletes. I would love to do a Gladiator photo shoot.'

Damon Mahoney by Bill McClaren

'It was Michael Puff's shoot, and I took only a few shots, mostly with one of my Medium Format film cameras.'



Below: This shot reminds of the self portrait of Bill I mentioned above.

Damon Mahoney by Michael T. Puff

'Photography is my avocation. Having been involved with the visual arts all of my life, I turned to photography about 7 years ago as my primary creative outlet.'



'Photography is how I take time to "smell the roses" and remind myself of the beauty all around me.'



'Working with dancers is a favorite for me. I have been a San Francisco Ballet subscriber for over a decade. The extraordinary beauty, grace, and fluid lines created by talented dancers never ceases to take my breath away. Dance movements are so very transitory. A complex move might only be a couple of seconds from start to finish. It's always exciting to see what the camera has captured in the fraction of a second shutter click.'




'Working with Damon was a treat. He is tall and lean which creates long fluid lines and elegant angular shapes. He has a quiet demeanor with intensity as well as a gentle sense of humor. He has the ability for subtle communication through his body language producing emotive images.'



Thank you Michael for sharing not only your talent but your insights with FH
I truly love the connection and resulting shots with Damon!

Check out Michael's site HERE: