Cheerio!

This past weekend, I celebrated the Labor (Labour) Day weekend by spotlighting the work of Male Beauty by bengie.  In part two of the feature, I wrote about being a bit worried about Bengie..  The UK  based photographer had not replied to my last couple of messages, and was not 'seen' on his portfolio sites in close to a year.

I knew from Bengie of his health struggles, in particular, he noted his eye sight was failing.  I worried he may have died, which sadly was confirmed.  Although I had searched for an obituary using his real name, several readers, wrote and messaged that they had found the news and tribute on-line. (HERE:) I don't know why I didn't search for Bengie, other than assuming that a obituary wouldn't be found using his professional pseudonym.  Thanks to those who shared the news.

I should maybe have guessed something was up.  When I first contacted Bengie about featuring his work over a decade ago, he was instantly on board.  He didn't however, like to share much commentary.  He usually kept it to a few words, and nothing really personal or about himself.  He chose to have the work speak for itself.   

Then, about two years ago, Bengie asked me to share some of his story, especially about his home. Given Bengie shot primarily in his Chester based home, I loved hearing more about it, especially it's history,  Bengie sent on pages of info about his childhood, his family and the highs, lows and losses he experienced within the walls of the home he'd lived in his entire life.  I began incorporating his stories into my posts, beginning with Homebodies back in 2023. (HERE:)  Cheerio Bengie!  I hope his beloved home will end up with someone who will love it as much as you did.

Zak by Male Beauty by bengie

Favorite Pic of the Day for September 6th

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Labored by Male Beauty by bengie

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~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~

Male Beauty by bengie: Jobs To Be Done

' It's A Working Man I am.'

Those who've followed FH for awhile know the work of Chester based photographer Male Beauty by bengie.  I've been featuring bengie's work for over a decade and you can check out all of my posts featuring his work HERE:

For bengie, his home is his studio, and he shoots both inside the house, and around the property, barn and farmland.  Some of you may remember that bengie previously shared the history of his home which is situated in little village in the heart of the Cheshire country side England.  bengie was born and raised in the house, and experienced loss, health issues and the highs and lows we all go through in life.

I know from experience that owning an older home can be challenging.  I bought an old home, a real fixer upper to renovate and resell.  I ended up living there longer than I planned, and spent most of my spare time working on some project or another.  There was always a staircase needing repair, something to paint, fix, upgrade or replace.  I got about half of it done before selling to someone else looking for a fixer upper.

Now I didn't have hot male models dropping by to strip down for photo shoots, not that I didn't think about it.   Given bengie worked from home, models traveled, often for hours, to get to his house to shoot.  As you can see, given all the jobs to be done, bengie often put his subjects to work.

Not literally of course, well not that he shared, but given the location and property, it made sense visually for models to channel the 'working man' theme.  When I was thinking of a shoot to celebrate Labor, (Labour) Day, I remembered how many images bengie captured of models 'working' in his home and around the property. 

For those familiar with bengie's work, and his property, you'll remember that one of his favorite places on the property to shoot is the patio out back.  Soo.. after a hard day of work, it's time to relax lounging, naked of course on some comfy patio furniture.  Check out that series on the NEXT PAGE HERE:

Male Beauty by bengie on FH

Male Beauty by bengie on PurplePort

Male Beauty by bengie on ModelMayhem

Favorite Pic of the Day for September 5th

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Chris by Male Beauty by bengie

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~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~

Male Beauty by bengie: A Pause on the Patio

The hardest part of my job is pretending I'm paying attention for the last 60 minutes

Oh those last 60 seconds.  Before starting my career in a field I'm passionate about, I worked many many jobs where I watched the clock.  Especially that last hour, counting down every minute, even every second until my shift was over.  I didn't hate the job as much as much as how repetitive the work was.

There was nothing better than getting home, jumping in the shower, than putting on some comfy clothes for few hours before bed.  For the models working with Male Beauty for bengie, there is no clothing required to relax.  In fact, even when they're relaxing, they're still as work, posing as bengie captures every moment of chilling and unwinding.

If you're a fan of bengie's work and home studio, besides the grounds and the shower, you know the Chester based photographer also shoots most of his models on his back patio.  Some of my favorite of bengie's visuals occur on the patio.  For this post, I tried to use images of three models I've featured before, with visuals I didn't use in the initial posts.  I'm guessing may of you recognize Chris, Zak and Archie.

Chris

On a side note, I hope bengie now has time to relax.  I'm a little worried about him as I didn't get a response to last few messages.  That's not that uncommon, I've had more than a few photographers ghost me over the years.  With bengie however, I also noted that he hasn't added any new images to on-line portfolios, and seems not have logged in close to a year.  Hope all is well bengie!

Zak

Male Beauty by bengie on FH:

Archie

Male Beauty by bengie on PurplePort
Male Beauty by bengie on ModelMayhem

Male Beauty by bengie: Wild Gardens 🌳

Find me where the wild things grow, among the greenery, letting nature guide my thoughts.

All art is a reflection of the artist, even when the focus is the nude male form.  Certainly, some photographers share more others, but many lay personal aspects of their lives within their visuals.  This is especially true for photographers who shoot in their own homes, and on their own properties.

If you've followed my  previous pieces featuring Male Beauty by bengie, (HERE:) you know that all of his shoots take place on his property in Chester in the UK.  In previous posts, bengie shared his personal relationship with the property and how it came to be his primary shooting space.  We've seen models shot in his shower, in his bedroom, his back patio and all over the gardens, fields and forests which surround his hom.

Some of my favorite shots from bengie are those where the model is posing with the wild flowers which line the property.  There is something about a wild garden that visually hits harder than any cultivated by humans.  The colors, the way the plants and flowers go wherever they want, guided by the landscape and the sun, not by a plan in someone's head.

I've featured so many gardens, and naked models shot in gardens over the years, I thought today was a good day to highlight some of my favorites.  Of course one of my favorite spotlights the original garden, the Garden of Eden.  Adam was indeed the first naked gardener and I spotlighted him in a three page themed post in the summer of 2024. (HERE:)

Down the Garden Path

Gnomed

Welcome Summer

Simon King: The Secluded Garden

Lenny by Suntown Photo

 Reece Scott by TR Pics

Alex Stoddard: The Messiest Season

Nakedartisan: All Worked Up!

The Autumn Garden: Artyom by Igor Kuryukin

Male Beauty by bengie on FH:

Londinium

'In London, everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in.'

Paddington Bear

When I began FH, I didn't expect one of the bonus parts, would be virtually visiting so many places around the globe.  It's been fascinating to me, to learn about different countries and cultures and how location can impact the work.  There are still places where visuals of the nude male form remains taboo.  The Internet has certainly opened things up, but I've still had models voice being cautious about sharing their location given the laws and social norms of the area, and possible ramifications.

One place where it's not a problem is London.  The city is known as being progressive, especially when it comes to social and cultural attitudes.  I think the first London based artist I featured on FH was Dylan Rosser.  When Dylan was running his website, The Male Form, he would send on preview images of upcoming models on his site.  FH was one of the sites he sent images on to promote his work.

Dylan and I quickly connected, and given the 'story' element to FH, Dylan asked if I'd like to write for his new tMf magazine.   Before long, I took on the role of features editor, and interviewed many of the male form's most well known and dynamic photographers.  I was also introduced to many of the models Dylan was shooting.  Although he shoots in various locations, his home base and studio was in London.  Many of those models, and the photographers who shot them, became contributors to the site, many of whom I still feature today.

I can't even begin to name all of the photographers from the UK and London area that I've featured.  I started a list, but it became overwhelming given how many there were.  In just the last few years, I've been lucky to featured numerous shoots from some favorite photographers including; Andrew Bowman, Male Form Photography and Male Beauty by bengie.  

Over the last decade, I believe the London based artists I've featured the most has been photographer Jack Saul. I think one of the reasons that I love Jack's work so much, is how beautifully his visuals parallel with the quote from Paddington Bear that I used at the top of this post.  Jack values diversity and difference, and in front of Jack's lens, everyone not only fits in, but reflects his wonderfully vast interpretation of beauty.

When I started putting together today's London themed posts, it just made sense to ask Jack about spotlighting one of his recent shoots.  Like his work, Jack's portfolio is vast, but I finally narrowed it down to a few models.  I'll featured them all in the near future, but today, the focus is on Jack's work with Joey.   To see more of Joey, head on over to the NEXT PAGE HERE:

Favorite Pic of the Day for April 24th

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Jesse by Male Beauty by bengie

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One Of His Favorites: Jesse by Male Beauty by bengie

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