Dangerous Diversions: The Photography of Mark Bower

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When I was compiling the list of artists yesterday who have shared their work with FH, I was thinking about why some photographers work speaks to me more than others. Of course the reasons are different for each image, each shoot. I can tell you what it is not, and that is hot men. Yes, I know that great looking guys are a core reason many (ok most) people come to FH but the net is full of hot naked men. There has to be something more. I have seen so so looking men be elevated to greatness in a the hands of a skilled artist and incredible looking guys butchered to blandness in the hands of a bad photographer.

I would guess when many see a great shot of a model they google the model, with me, I hunt down who took it. It is usually one factor and one photo that draws me to want to see more of their work. In the case of photographer Mark Bower the image was that of actor and model Kairon John and the factor was excitement and maybe just a little bit of danger.

Four images above: Kairon John

Kairon John is an electric model and Mark shooting him naked, on a motorcycle, with the editing, the poses, is a dangerous, but beautifully safe, overdose of stimulation. It is no wonder then that one of the shots became the cover of Mark's 2011 edition of his Caliboyz calendar. Sadly Mark tells me he has been too busy shooting other projects to have a 2012 edition, but he had created and produced the calendars for the last three years.

Stephen K

There are not a lot of kittens and puppies (ok, maybe one adorable puppy) in Mark's work, In front of Mark's lens, the men are strong, raw, masculine and sexy. These attributes come through the eyes, the facial expressions and the poses Mark captures. The edge, or the danger, may come from Mark's thoughts on planned concepts which he outlines on his MM Page.

Justin Dane Chambers

'The hardest question for me to answer with respect to my collaboration with Models in this forum has to be: "what is your concept for our shoot?" Reason is, I believe strongly in my creative abilities and in most cases, the most incredible things happen spontaneously, in the moment and without planning. Why? Partly because anything a creative individual brings with them to the process is more interesting, more REAL than something mapped out or detailed'

At one time on the other side of the lens, Mark has the ability to feel out each shot from both perspectives, something he has been doing the past twenty years since his passion for photography turned into a profession. Thanks Mark for sharing your work with FH!

Mark Bower on ModelMayhem
Mark Bower Official Site

Below: Connor