A Baker's Dozen: Austin Wild

'When I saw my first image of 21 Miami model Austin Wild I was struck with how strong and striking he photographs. Austin has an incredible body, but his face is the face of fantasy, dreams and great art.'

I first spotted images (including the two shots above) of model Austin Wild on his Model Mayhem portfolio back in 2013.  I got in touch right away, but after a few week without a response, figured he wasn't interested on being on the site.  A few days later, I got a short message thanking me for writing and inviting me to use any of his images that I liked..  The quote above is from my first piece featuring Austin's work in January of 2014. (Wild About Austin)

Remaining Images by Gordon Nebeker

I wasn't the only one captivated and intrigued by Austin's look.  After seeing my piece on FH, photographer Gordon Nebeker also checked out Austin's port, and after noticing he lived fairly close to home in Florida, Gordon contacted Austin about working together.   Gordon and Austin clicked immediately, and over the next several years, they worked together multiple times.  Gordon also graciously shared images from each of their shoots together.

'No question that Austin won the Genes Jackpot Lottery! He says his father is Spanish and his mother is Cuban and that is a very attractive and powerful combination.'

Gordon Nebeker

With Austin's striking features, and his beautiful brown eyes, his face, as I stated, was the perfect inspiration for creating great art and imagery.  Austin was a natural in front of the camera, and his long, lean body created incredibly elegant lines and poses.  Gordon knew exactly how to utilize Austin's skill and assets within their work together.  Gordon shot Austin sensually splayed across his furniture, in his signature fabric, and underwater work, as well as new and unique spaces and locations.

'After hearing that a close friend had rented a house in Mexico to celebrate his birthday, Gordon couldn't possibly let him celebrate alone. Then... after he saw some photos of the house, he told his friend that it was far too great a photographic backdrop to let pass by. Cue Gordon getting in touch with Austin.'

In late 2016, Gordon and Austin's most amazing collaboration occurred south of the border.   The trip to Mexico, and the blend of location, architecture and Austin produced over 14,000 image that I was able to feature over three posts in early 2017.  With so many incredible images of Austin, Gordon couldn't let so many go unseen and published a book, Oh Mexico chronicling the shoot and trip. A copy of the book sits proudly on a bookshelf in my bedroom.

Austin had a bright future ahead of him.  He had interest from agencies about fashion work, and his lust for adventure had him leaving Florida and moving to seek out other creative opportunities.  Sadly, some of you may have read my brief tribute to Austin early last year after Gordon informed me of his sudden death.  While all deaths are sad, there is added poignancy when young lives, with so much ahead of them, come to an abrupt, and tragically premature ending.

Despite his meeting all the criteria, I paused briefly about including Austin in this series, but after running it by Gordon, I decided to go ahead.  Gordon felt Austin would want to be included, and reminded me how proud of Austin was of work, and the visual's he'd created.  Austin is also such an important piece of the site's  history, and his work never failed to inspire me, and motivate me as I pieced his stories together.

Austin Wild on FH:

Wild About Austin (2014)

Powerful Combination (2014)

Sheer (2014)

Turning Tables (2016)

True Paradise (2017)

Man About the House (2017)

Oh... Mexico! (2017)

Into The Wild (2019)

Gordon Nebeker on Blurb

Gordon Nebeker on Instagram

Powerful Combination: Austin Wild by Gordon Nebeker

'No question that Austin won the Genes Jackpot Lottery! He says his father is Spanish and his mother is Cuban and that is a very attractive and powerful combination.'

Gordon Nebeker

One of the joys of working on FH, and one of the things that motivates me to keep the blog going is the connections I have made over the past 7 years. I truly value the trust that artists and models have given me to respectfully, and hopefully skillfully, present not only their work and images, but the stories behind them. It is particularly rewarding for me to have artists contribute on a regular basis. I also am aware from feedback that blog readers look forward to seeing new work from photographers they admire.

I first began featuring the work of photographer Gordon Nebeker in 2010. Since then, Gordon has become a favorite to work and collaborate with, and I have been fortunate to feature his work on a regular basis. Gordon's work has a depth and richness which is matched by the professionalism of the artist himself. Gordon often includes me in the process of his shoots, sometimes from the first connections with a model we are going to feature, to the processing of the finished images. The great skill and respect he brings to his work is reflected within his photographs, and the elegance weaved within, both separates and elevates Gordon's work to distinct plateau of it's own.

One of the goals of FH has always been to promote. I want to do more than just share great images, I want to in some way draw attention to exceptional work. When I write reach out to an artist, I make sure to state I am contacting not just for permission to feature their work, but because there is something about the work that affected me to want to share it. Sometimes, the combination of an artist images with the visual presentation and texts have resulted in FH features that have led to models and photographers connecting for future work.

When I first saw the work of model Austin Wild early in January I knew that I had come across something special. A tall drink of water at 6' 3", Austin had a strong and unique presence and a stunning look the camera loved. I was really surprised that I had not heard of Austin before and that photographers were not beating down his door to collaborate. Austin gave me the go ahead for a feature and the quote below is from, Wild About Austin, posted on January 20th of this year.

'Austin's 6' 3" frame is perfect for both fashion and fitness and he moves beautifully in front of the camera. Austin gladly supported a visit to FH, but for now is going to remain a bit of mystery. Hopefully he will soon be spotted by a skilled capturer of the male form who will shoot more images. Then more of the story, and the fantasy, can be told and continued.'

A skilled photographer certainly did spot Austin, and the story from the 20th, and on the 31st of that same month, Austin met up with Gordon Nebeker at his studio in Florida for their first shoot. Gordon and Austin were on board for a feature from the get go, but both so busy, I was forced to sit on the images until now. Not an easy task I assure you. The special quality I first saw in Austin was not a fluke, he shines in front of Gordon's lens and the story, and the fantasy has magnificently continued.

'When I read the piece on FH January, I saw that Austin is very near where I live in the Winter time and I have never noticed his MM profile before so got in contact. During the shoot, we were talking and I complimented him on his maturity for a young man his age. He said, "I think I am an old soul" and I think he is right. I had occasion to see him later in a group of people of mixed ages and he seemed to fit in well with everyone. Austin has a natural talent for acting and I would describe an emotion I wanted him to show in the photograph and he nailed it just about every time. He can look quite different from photograph to photograph which, to me as a photographer, makes his work more interesting and varied. Austin is very comfortable in his own skin and takes direction well. It was a joy to work with him and I am pleased he has agreed to another shoot in about a week's time. This time we will be photographing him wet and underwater!'

Gordon Nebeker

Austin loved working with Gordon as well and describes his a great photographer and extremely professional. 'Gordon is one the most charismatic photographers out there and I had the great pleasure to work with him!' The combination of artist and model clearly blended beautifully in this case as you can see by the incredible shots captured.

Gordon is mounting a one week show, 'The Male Nude', with photographer Greg Lindeblom, from the 20th to the 26th of April in Fort Lauderdale. Gordon says he is pleased to be including some of Austin's photographs in the show and welcomes everyone to attend! Details to follow!

Austin Wild on ModelMayhem

Gordon Nebeker on ModelMayhem

Sheer: Austin Wild by Gordon Nebeker

Model Austin Wild is certain not Irish, his father is Spanish and his mother Cuban. And no, there isn't any green within this set of images, just beautiful skin, set against glorious black and sheer white. But given St. Patrick's day is sort of an enchanted time, a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic, it seemed the perfect time to follow-up last week's post featuring photographer Gordon Nebeker's work the enchanting Mr. Wild.

'I like to spend some time in my initial shoot with a model working with the long white cloth that I often use. It gives me a chance to see how creative they are and it gives them a prop to use while they are nude which seems to make them feel more comfortable. Austin took to the white cloth like a duck to water and moved it in very creative ways.'

Gordon Nebeker

Austin Wild on ModelMayhem

Gordon Nebeker on ModelMayhem

Powerful Combination: Austin Wild by Gordon Nebeker

Turning Tables: Austin by Gordon Nebeker

'I know it is not very PC to “objectify” women or men but when you spend your life photographing the male form, one has to applaud perfection when it appears.'

Gordon Nebeker

It was back near the end of 2013 that I stumbled upon the model mayhem page of then 22 year old Austin Wild.  I knew right away from his images that Austin had something special and was thrilled he gave me the go ahead to put together a feature on his work. (Wild About Austin) Photographer Gordon Nebeker noticed that same magic,  Gordon got together with Austin for a series of shoots that he generously shared with FH in 2014.  When Gordon sent on images from their most recent shoot, this past spring, I again in awe of how incredible Austin looked in front of Gordon's lens.

I began to put together thoughts about the shoot, and jotted down a few notes of points I wanted to cover.  I had to start with the changes in Austin's look, from his hair to the impressive changes in his body, especially his magnificently sculpted butt.  When Gordon followed up with his notes from the shoot, he pretty much covered, with my more finesse, most of the points I wanted to cover.

Before sharing his thoughts on the shoot, I did want to make a comment or two about Gordon's work. Over the past several years, I have been fortunate to have been able to feature a great variety of Gordon's shoots.  They are always visually impressive captured every change, and every inch of Austin's body by putting them beautifully on display.

I use the word 'display' with intention.  I am guessing when Gordon was a kid, his family didn't harp about him 'playing on the furniture'.  Or... maybe they did.  Regardless, some of my favorite images from this set are the ones in which Austin is posed, like a statue, an award or valued piece of art that you want everyone who enter's the room, to be sure not to miss.

'We were working in my townhouse and I decided to shake things up by doing an ‘on the furniture’ shoot so we moved him from table to table and sofas to chairs and countertops. Austin is a very capable model and he quickly found an interesting pose no matter where I placed him in the house. It was a fun shoot!'

Gordon Nebeker

This isn't the first time I have noted Gordon's pleasurable practice of having models pose on furniture. In several of my earlier pieces featuring Gordon's work, there are beautiful shots of models draped over Gordon's coffee table. I really think Gordon needs to put together a coffee table book dedicated to the many models he has shot on his tables, and the other pieces of furniture around his home.

Gordon's furniture provides more than just a base for Austin to pose on.  These shots blend in beautiful lines and curves and aspects of both design and architecture.   The image of Austin on the round table is one of my favorites.  Austin takes on the appearance of a sensuous sundial.  According to Austin, it must have been around eleven o'clock...

Austin 

by Gordon Nebeker, April 2016

One of the things I remember about arranging our 2014 shoots was how difficult it was to find a time to shoot that worked for both of us. Austin was far more busy than I was. He was working pretty much full time and also going to school which didn’t leave much time for modeling even though he enjoyed it. When I tried to set another photo shoot with him the following year, his schedule seemed to be more impossible than before and 2015 went by without a chance to shoot. But patience and persistence eventually won out and I was able to set a photo shoot with him for late April this year and the photos here are from that shoot. 

Austin arrived quite late as traffic in South Florida was worse than usual and he also arrived with a surprise, but more about that later.  Even though we hadn’t worked together for close to two years, we quickly fell into photographic synchronicity and it was as if we work together all the time. It is like those friendships where you don’t see someone for years but when you meet up, the conversation picks up right where you last left off.  Austin’s ’severe high fashion model’ look works well for him and more often than not, he defaults to that. But I was determined to get some ’smiling Austin’ photos as well and am happy to report we had some success.

I mentioned earlier that Austin arrived at the shoot with a surprise but I should say there were a couple of surprises. One was the result of some dedicated gym work over the past couple of years which added some muscle to his tall and lanky frame and filled him out in all the right places. It is hard to single out any single part of his body as the whole represents well the sum of his parts, but it has to be mentioned that his butt is nothing short of perfect. Perfect size, perfect shape and perfectly beautiful to photograph.

I mentioned at the beginning that Austin arrived at the shoot with a surprise. In this case the surprise was a husband as, unbeknownst to me, Austin had married about a year ago. I don’t normally like surprises in the form of friends or family coming along to my photo shoots, but Austin’s husband was as pleasant and good natured as can be. He never tried to ‘direct’ the shoot and was full of compliments for Austin’s work and mine.

Finally, when we we got to the last part of the shoot where I was photographing Austin in the shower, I teased him about having to follow us around all afternoon without being in any of the photographs. “ Now it is time for you to be part of this”, I said, and with his husband's encouragement, he doffed his clothes and got into the shower with Austin and that is the last photograph you see here. A perfect ending for a fun day of shooting!

Austin on ModelMayhem

Gordon Nebeker on ModelMayhem

True Paradise: Austin by Gordon Nebeker

'I shot over 1,400 photographs of Austin during this shoot. There is a book here... when I get the time to pull it together.'

Gordon Nebeker

Sadly, if you only listened to a certain 'leader', all you would hear about was how horrible and scary every thing was outside of the countries four borders. Reminds me a bit of the witch from Into The Woods, who keeps Rapunzel locked in a tower to keep her 'safe'. She spent years trying convince Rapunzel how scary the outside world was, and that no one could keep her as safe as she could. Truth was, it was the witch who was terrified, fearful that if Rapunzel learned how wonderful the outside world was, she would leave her all alone.

Anyone lucky enough to have traveled, know the beauty and goodness that exists in every part of the world. Just below that 'build a wall' border is a country, and a world, pretty much similar to all that occurs above it. Humans both with goodness and evil and people striving to live their lives, raise their children, and follow their dreams. It is also a country full of amazing and historical culture, vibrant color and music, great food and incredible beauty. It is also provides the perfect setting for photographer Gordon Nebeker's most recent shoot with one of my favorite models, Austin Wild.

Gordon and Austin's trip to Mexico stemmed from both Gordon's ability to form strong friendships, and... his determination not to let a perfect opportunity pass by. When Gordon heard that a close friend of his had rented a house in Mexico to celebrate his birthday, Gordon couldn't let him celebrate alone. Then... after he saw some photos of the house, he told his friend that it was far too great a photographic backdrop to let pass by. Cue Gordon getting in touch with Austin.

Things quickly began to fall into place with Austin not only available, but enthusiastic about a four day Mexican adventure. I can't think of a better model to take a long for the shoot. Austin long lean lines contrast beautifully with the beauty and lines of the location. Also, living in South Florida, Austin spoke fluent Spanish which Gordon reports came in handy many times during their trip.

I think this shoot is without a doubt one of Gordon's best. Gordon beautifully captured not only Austin, but the house and incredible grounds. Austin's body and poses align perfectly, and symmetrically with every location and space. I especially love some the angles Gordon captured which blend in as much of Austin, and the surroundings, while keeping a firm focus on the subject at hand.

'In the time we were there, we never wanted for a place to take a photograph. The house and the property were stunning and did not disappoint. Everywhere I turn there is a wonderful setting in which to shoot. It was a True Paradise!'

Gordon's images, along with being extraordinary captures of the male form, could easily be seen within the pages of Architectural Digest... well, except for the addition of Austin's beautiful naked body. If the owner of this house was smart, some of Gordon's shots should be included in his future rental ads. Renters would however, be disappointed to arrive and not find Austin emerging naked from the swimming pool.

Although a working vacation, There was plenty of time to enjoy the house and grounds and their time in their Mexican paradise. Gordon shares that in addition to his many talents in front of the camera, Austin displayed some of his other hidden talents, including his superb cooking skills. Although Gordon and Austin were the recipients of the generous friend of Gordon's who invited them along, my suspicion is that.... having Gordon shooting Austin throughout the house and grounds, was the best Birthday gift one could have asked for.

FH readers know how much I love Gordon Nebeker's work.  His approach, and the majestic and elegant manner in which he captures the male form. I especially love Gordon'w work with Austin, who too could be described as majestic and elegant, especially in front of Gordon's lens. I have been fortunate to have featured Austin's images a half a dozen times over the last few years, this piece, being the fifth featuring his work with Gordon. Austin has a beautiful flow on camera, and a strong ability to use utilize his body to connect with whatever space or location that Gordon has placed him in to shoot. This was never more strikingly apparent than with this shoot.

Some of Gordon's photos of Austin are going to appear in his photography exhibition which begins February 18th in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Check out more about the show in the post below!

Austin on ModelMayhem

Gordon Nebeker on ModelMayhem