'I was immediately struck by his presence on camera.'
I always love when artists and models that I both love and have previously featured, come together to create. I was first introduced to San Francisco based Angelspins almost four years ago through his work with photographer NICKET. (Capturing Angels) I've since featured Angel's work with a number of my favorite photographers including Mike Tossy (HERE:) and StudioMGPhotograpy. (HERE:)
My collaborations with photographer Joe Mazza, (The Male Image) go back even further, starting in 2013 with his work with model Randall O'Reilly. (An Ordinary Day) One of the things that first struck me about Joe's work was how beautifully he utilized background and location. Whether it was that kitchen with Randall, the bathtub with Austin, or the river with Woody Fox, the locations Joe utilizes are more than just backgrounds, but incorporated into the story.
Models don't merge into the background in Joe's shoots, they feed off their energy, stimulating energy and inspiring movement and pose. Last month, I featured some of Joe's work with model Theo Greece. (HERE:) I think the location they used was one of my favorites. I loved the Penthouse where they shot, especially the huge windows which surrounded the space.
When I saw Theo splayed on the floor with the sun beating in over his bare skin, it reminded me of the unique my cat used to lie in front of a sun glistened window. Anyone who has had a cat knows they lie everywhere and anywhere they want. There is no place however they prefer more, than in front of a window with the heat from the sun beating in. Their movement and stretches confirm their love of the space, and are exclusive to that one area and their moments in the sun.
Those images of Theo inspired me to reach out to Joe about another feature. I was thrilled when he suggested featuring Angel, especially since he shot Angel in front of the same Penthouse windows. Like Theo, both Angel's body and soul responded to the sunlit windows. Angel's poses and stretches appeared to be erotically charged responses to the heat and light cascading over his skin.
Joe and Angel connected through social media and Joe shares that he was immediately struck by Angel's presence on camera. Once they established communication, both were eager to get together and create some art. Angel says that Joe had a good idea of what he wanted and the direction of the shoot which made it easy for him to relax and enjoy just being in the moment.
'I love working with models who have a dance background - they bring a grace and awareness of their body that is pure instinct and it showed in our shots. Angel was truly wonderful to work with - very open to direction but also not shy about bringing his own ideas into our shots.'
As you can, Joe and Angel made use of all of the penthouse not just the view in front of, and those living groom huge windows. One of the ideas that Angel suggested was including a custom made cowboy outfit that he had just recently received. You can check out some of the shots of Angel in his red leather chaps on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
'Joe was so wonderful to work with and I hope we get to do it again soon. '
'My friends Penthouse in San Francisco is a location I've come to love. It's also is FULL of natural light. Big windows that look out on a busy street. Most of the time I shoot here we end up with a few spectators. They weren’t disappointed with Angel! :)'
