Expressions

Sitting on a sofa at an open window, with me sitting on the floor in front.  I put the camera on a tripod and we just talked - about what had happened since we last saw each other, about his experiences in New York theater, about his hopes and ambitions.

From time to time I clicked the shutter.

Shot with a digital Olympus in natural light.  Click on image to view properly.

Portrait in Sepia with Blue Eyes

This February 2004 session was intense and personal.  Looking back on it now, I think the viewer can see the relationship developing between the model and the photographer.

It was quite a ride.

Shot with Olympus digital in natural light, color manipulated in Photoshop.



Portait with Wet Hair

Rob, portrait with wet hair.

Olympus digital, one light source.



Two Portraits

From the Olympus shoot, February 2004.

Two sides of the same coin.





Portrait of an Actor

One of a series done with the borrowed Olympus point and shoot in February of 2004.

The model, whom I hadn't seen in more than three years, was back from the New York theatre.  I almost didn't recognize him when he appeared at my door.

Below is what he looked like on the day he left, in the summer of 2000:

Shot on film in natural light.



Sailor on Shore Leave

Number six in the series.  Tomorrow I will post the entire series as an album.



Sailor on Shore Leave

An actor friend with a passion for the vintage look, in this case a sailor on shore leave in San Diego in the '40's.  He wanders into a photo studio near the docks to have his picture taken, and goes all the way.

The first of a series:

Shot digitally, manipulated to give it a vintage look, with an authentic photo frame from the period.



The Boys of "Civil War"



From "The Civil War" shoot.  The guys were enjoying it.  The show itself was quite a serious undertaking, and they got a kick out of doing a "beefcake" shot.  Of course, it was a foregone conclusion who would be on the cover, but they had fun.

I made a poster of this shot and gave one to each of them.

Shot at the ALLEY THEATRE in Houston on color film, stage lighting.

Unfortunately, I didn't keep the ID info, so the only one I know is Matt Bogart, center.

Nude in Doorway

From the same shoot.  The model, an actor/dancer with a gymnastics background, had the physique of a Greek kouros figure, and so I purposefully posed him in that attitude.

This was part of an experimental series with the digital point and shoot, and impromptu. 

I had no studio space at the time, so this was shot in the hallway of my condo in Houston.

Natural light, with heavy dodging in Photoshop.



Tandem figure with water

The model played "The Boy" in a production of "Last Splash!" and I came up with this concept as a poster and program, but it was never used.

Shot with the borrowed Olympus digital point and shoot, "sepia" toned.



Poster figure

Yet another poster shoot.  Did anyone in the theater keep their clothes on in the '90's?  There must have been a production of "The Sound of Music" somewhere.



Poster figure

Another from the poster shoot.  Every pose was perfect.

Series shot on film.



Figure

Another image from the "Last Splash!" poster shoot.

The model, an actor, was not tall, but he was perfectly proportioned, and had a long, elegant line.

It was difficult to decide which image to use.



Stage shot

Another "lobby" shot.  Unfortunately I don't recall the model, or his name.  The play ran for quite a while, and there was something of a turnover in the cast.

Cute though.



Stage shot

Another "Lobby Shot" (Tuesday, August 2, 2011), this one not suitable for the lobby.



Stage shot

Another actor, who appeared in productions of "Last Splash!" and "Christmas Present". (Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14, 2011)

In "Last Splash!" there is a character, "Boy on a Rock" who never speaks or engages with the rest of the cast.  He is seen on a platform above the stage sunbathing in a Speedo, which he very slowly removes during the action of the play until he is nude.  At a critical moment he disappears, not to be seen again.

In "Christmas Present" he played the "present".

Intense on-stage, calm and cool off.



Figure in Light

There was something about this model that seemed to call for dramatic light and posing.  I'm not sure what it was; it may just have been his strong personality.

In looking back, I find that all the shots we did in two different sessions are like this.  We did nothing "soft".  Very much the opposite of the "Timmy" shoot. (Friday, July 22 - Mon, August 1, 2011)

I don't know what I would do with this same model today.



Figure in Light

From the same shoot.  The model was unusually graceful in his movements, with a compact physique, and needed no direction.  As an actor, he know how to move.

Film with one light source.



Figure on an Ottoman

A figure on a draped ottoman, with one light source.

This model was an actor cast in one of my plays, "Last Splash", who also posed for the poster and program, below.

Talented and quite beautiful, he had to bow out of the production during rehearsals.  The poster and programs had already been printed.





Figure on an Empty Set

Introducing a new model, Mikel, in a shoot done on an empty theater set.

Mikel is one of my favorite people, at the same time incredibly sexy and wonderfully funny.  He is one of those people of whom it could be truly said that he lights up a room when he enters it.

He is also a multi-talented performer, campy and irrepressible.

I always had a good time when he was around, and more than once he made the theater grind a pleasure.

This shoot was no exception, and warrants a series, so you will see him for several days.