Photography and Painting

In this painting by Alma-Tadema, "Whispering Noon", two young maidens share confidences in a classical setting.

Again, I simply added Darin to the painting, where he sits, not noticing, as the girls whisper about him.

Photography and Painting

Another of the romantic paintings of Alma-Tadema, the lovers "Xanthe and Phaon"

This time, instead of substituting a figure, I simply added one, of Darin sitting quietly on the edge of the pool.  Xanthe seems to be momentarily distracted by him, as Phaon, oblivious, continues to worship her.

I had particular fun with the reflection of Darin in the pool.  Look closely:

Photography and Painting

The 19th century British painter Alma-Tadema was wildly popular with his late-Victorian audience.  His cool, romantic history paintings, set in idealized settings of Rome and Greece, gave his patrons a safe and safely remote view of the titillating pagan past, often with elements of discrete nudity thrown in for good measure.


His meticulously-rendered backgrounds are a favorite of mine, and I use them again and again.


One of his paintings, "Expectations" is shown below:

Wade, a young model I was using for the first time, in his first nude shoot, showed up with an unfortunate body shave.  I prefer little or no shaving or trimming with my models; I think it looks premeditated and cheap, and tends toward gay porn.

In any event, Wade did not know what he was doing, and had shaved completely to the pubic line, but left his legs, which were quite hairy, unshaven.  The unintended result was somewhat animalistic.

I shot him in various poses, but one struck me as particularly faun-like, his spread toes resembling hooves, so I added horns and placed him in Alma-Tadema's idyllic setting.

The result is below: