Ten From Tell

ADS

'I never saw myself being a model. I was always the class clown and a goofball. I thought if anything I would be a comedian or a comedic writer. When people asked me to model for them or their company it shocked me.'
Tell Perry

Tell Perry knows he may not be an obvious choice to be a male model. No bulging muscles or perfectly defined jaw line. What Tell does have that shines through each photo is his incredible smile and infectious personality which draw people to him.
The Indiana model is a performer and strives for perfection in anything takes on. This is not just in modeling, but athletics, running cross country or playing soccer through dancing and singing, Tell gives his all to each and every performance



Given the Tell is just starting out in the business I thought it would be interesting to find a bit out about his perceptions of his experiences so far.

Q-Tell me about the first time you stepped in front of a camera professionally.

The first time I stepped in front of a camera professionally was for a little photography company my Senior year of high school. I had absolutely no confidence until the photographer, Casi Leisure, began to cry and get excited over the quality of the photos. It was an amazing feeling, to see a professional get so excited over work that involved me.



Q-Do you see modeling as a career or as part of the big picture of where you’re going?

I could see modeling as a career for sure. It's the end result I love the most. The clothes, the compliments, and the locations are fun, but the end results of both the photographer and the model are always rewarding.

Q-You’re also a performer, how much does performing play a role within your modeling?

Performing plays a huge part in shooting. It helps with feeling comfortable. You're asked to show emotions you don't exactly feel at the time. Performing in front of thousands is overwhelming, performing in front of a single person is a lot more intimate.



Q-Model Mayhem is a great way to connect with others in the industry. What is the most interesting request you have had since joining the site?

Model Mayhem is so addicting and fun. I meet such interesting people on there along with very interesting requests...the most interesting one has been a photographer asking to shoot photos of me in complete clown attire. I had to refuse cause the weekend conflict...had It worked out, I would have done it in a heartbeat...it sounded so intriguing.

Q-What is the oddest request?

The oddest request I was given was to take photos mourning over graves in a graveyard. I had to decline. Out of respect for others I didn't want to mourn the life of someone I didn't know.



Q-What factors went into deciding whether or not to shoot nude?

I always look at the photographers past work before deciding to take my clothes off or not. There is a clear line between beautiful nudity even erotic photos and porn. There are some photographers who tasteful do nudity, and other photographers who will you get you naked for their own sexual interest, which is apparent in some of their photos.



Q-How did you feel during your first nude shoot?

My first nude I was nervous, but the photographer, Scott Barnes, was SO amazing and was completely professional. He was a great mentor and I look back now and couldn't be more happy that the first photographer I did nudity with was him. He is an amazing artist.


All images above by DSquared Photography

Q-Is there a model whose work you especially admire?

Oddly enough... I admire Alex Pettyfer, he is well known for his roles in movies like Beastly and I Am Number Four, but his photo work is amazing. He is so handsome and so engaging, it's easy to get jealous of him.


Below: Tell by Scott Barnes


Q-What photographer would you most like to work with?

There are so many photographers I would love to work for. Paul Reitz being one! I had plans to work with him in November/December but unfortunately school got in the way.



Q-What would be your fantasy dream shoot?

My fantasy dream shoot would be a male version of fairy tales. Two men playing fairy tale couples like 'Cinderella and Prince Charming' or 'Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming'. Two men, no dresses. I think that would be so fun.


Tell Perry on ModelMayhem
Tell Perry's blog

ADS

Hawaii via Australia: David Does Donkey Beach!

ADS

If your a member of JustADream you are undoubtedly familiar with one of it's most popular posters David Asset. David has also been a frequent contributor to FH, chronicling and sharing many of the videos I use each year from the solo strips which precede the annual Broadway Bares show.



Early in October David entered a self-portrait competition over at one of my favorite places to visit each day Aussielicious. The site, as many of know, is run by the photographer Brenton Parry and is a welcoming site that I have enjoyed frequenting for a few years now. David's beautiful window shot brought him not only third place but his own feature on the site the following month.



In his Aussielicious feature, the former television executive and ACE-certified Aerobics Master Presenter shared his love of the Islands and his time, usually naked, on the their many beaches. In the shots below, David had just competed in an Aerobics Marathon in NYC and headed to Hawaii shortly afterwards for a holiday to relax and chill out.



'I love the freedom of a nude beach, emerging from the waters just as unencumbered as the day on which you were born. What's great about both Donkey Beach and Little Beach is that they are both visited by an eclectic bunch of people: tourists on holiday who want to be daring, locals who simply want to lay back at the end of the day, surfers out to tame the wild waves and families with children unashamed of their nakedness, gays and straights out for a day of camaraderie and fortunately very few gawkers.'



'Donkey Beach on Kauai is unfortunately becoming more gentrified and its status as a nude beach is being threatened by the development of multimillion dollar cooperative apartments nearby and I fear it will soon be off-limits to nudists. Little Beach on the other hand sits high above the Cliffs and requires a long, somewhat difficult journey over sand and rocks so will probably remain a nude for years to come.'



David Asset is an aspiring videographer and purveyor of vintage movie posters currently living in both New York City and Rancho Mirage, California. Thanks David for sharing your time in Hawaii, and your pics with FH!

ADS

Spend 2012 with Jack Mackenroth

ADS

Above: Jack by Ray John-Pila

The incredible Jack Mackenroth present his 2012 AUTOGRAPHED, high-quality, 15 month calendar, now available, just in time for the holidays!

Each month a different photographer, include Adam Bouska (NOH8), Rick Day, Carsten Fleck, Frank Louis, James Franklin, Karl Giant, Tommy Synnamon, Mattheus Lian, Richard Gerst, Ray John Pila, Sonny Tong, Thomas Evans, Krys Fox and Preston Cros provide an amazing image of Jack which run through May of 2013!

Below: Jack by Carsten Fleck

100-percent of the proceeds from the calendar will go directly to amfAR, The American Foundation for AIDS Research (www.amfar.org) to help find a cure for AIDS. Mackenroth has been living with the disease for 22 years.

Below: Jack by Richard Gerst

ADS

The Elements of Freedom: Skyclad Modeling

ADS

Freedom:
gazing across a misty sea
naked flesh upon naked rock...
sun warmed... wind cooled...
stripped of society's constraints
nudity is my freedom
awakening my senses to this natural world
Steve Loxley

Below: Steve by Mike Herring

With the beginning of Model Search 2012 I could not think of a better day to feature the extraordinary work of Steve Loxley from skyclad modeling. My goal on FH has always been to feature both established and successful artists alongside new talent and artists who do not get the attention they so deserve on more mainstream sites and blog. I love when models and photographers send me their work to feature, but whenever I see undisclosed recipients, I am sometimes a bit disappointed for a creative blogger, the comes from finding, writing and sharing material that is not seen elsewhere.



Whenever I post shots by an artist or of a model who does not fit the general look of the current guys gracing the covers of major gay and fitness magazines, I get comments and emails critical of their looks and about how they won't make it in the industry. I am curious what people think that 'industry' actually is. Yeah, there are tons of HOT guys (many I love to feature) shooting in New York or other major fashion cities with the top fitness and fashion photographers. Doing campaigns and spreads for magazines and online sites. Often these models are students, and most have to work several jobs to supplement their incomes in order to survive. Success can be measured in many ways but I don't think one can argue that someone who does what he loves, and, since the early 80's, has made his living primarily from modeling is pretty darned successful.



Steve Loxley's began modeling in 1984 when naturalist photographer Mike Herring (second shot above) developed some of Steve's holiday photos and contacted him about hiring the model in the shots. Since most of the shots were self portraits Steve had taken, or shots of him taken by his wife, he was flattered to find out the model Mike was referring to was in fact him.



'After several successful photographic sessions with Mike, both on location and in his studio, I decided that an alternative career might be beckoning me.'


Except for the shot by Mike Herring, all the beautiful shots above are self portraits done by Steve.

Mike was the first photographer I ever modelled for, in fact we have been friends ever since, and have some great memories of travelling and working together throughout France for three summers. When people ask me if it's really glamorous being a photo model I usually tell them the story of when I was working for Mike at a French Nudist club we were making a promotional video for. We had to show all the facilities so Mike thought it appropriate that I was always in the shot, especially for the shower shots (as they were very proud of their new shower/toilet block!) Unfortunately they only had cold showers and we had to retake about three or four times until Mike was satisfied.... I have to say that I was glad it was a very hot, sunny day as the showers were freezing!

Below: Image from Christa Graham.


The shot from Mike Herring shown above was from a naturist hotel in South West England, and we had earlier that day been shooting in the outdoor swimming pool which was probably more freezing than the showers had been! I remember that I even had to rescue a few frogs out of the pool and chased Mike around the pool with them in a net! I still have all the photos I have ever done with Mike, some particularly poignant ones of me and my ex wife, which were beautiful black and white art studies.

Below: Steve shot by Susan Bonor at a class at Langara College.


The Pagan Path:

There were so many things I wanted to focus on with Steve (you know that working as a nude model for art classes must be filled with many funny and great stories...)'

'Being nude in front of one person isn't too daunting, the reality of being nude in front of a dozen or more was a different proposition!'

The Pagan Path section of his website really peaked my interest. Like many of you I'm sure, when I first read the word Pagan on Steve's page I almost clicked off as for some reason I had always connected pagan with Devil worship. I or course, could not have been more wrong. Pagans do not believe in the Devil. In a nutshell Pagans believe that everything has a soul or spirit, not just humans which has been a long held traditional Christian belief. (which seems though in some sections to be changing)

Two shots below by Alma Luz



Skyclad in fact, is in Pagan term used for ritual nudity. On his site, Steve says that for most Pagans, nudity, or going skyclad, is a preferable state in which to invoke the deities of nature. Ritual nudity is not a new concept and has been practiced in many ancient religions and in fact is still practiced today by many in remote areas of the world.

Next three shot from Gilles Champagne

Last fall, when Vancouver was blessed with an Indian summer, Steve, along with fellow Pagan Gilles Champagne, ventured off to an untamed part of Vancouver to photograph the male nude within nature. Steve says their aim was to show both the strength and vulnerability of the naked male body in harmony with the four Sacred Elements of the Pagan belief, Air, Earth (represented by sand, stone and trees), Water and Fire (represented by the Sun).



'We shot the photos at the almost named Acadia Beach, a well known but little used nudist beach, adjacent to the more famous and heavily populated Wreck Beach. There were plenty of opportunities for me to drape my naked body over large, smooth rocks and fallen trees, as well as entwine myself around living trees which at hide tide grow right by the edge of the waves.'



Check out more of this beautiful, fascinating and successful model on Model Mayhem HERE: & on his portfolio site HERE:

Last two shots by Steve Loxley

ADS

Within: Ευσταθιος Παπαβραμοπουλος

ADS

The Artist Within the Art
Ευσταθιος Παπαβραμοπουλος (Steve R)


It has always fascinated me when to see an artist photographed with their own work. It is always interesting to see how an artist positions themselves beside the painting, the sculpture, their creation or design. Photographers in particular often seem shy, even nervous when posing with the subjects of their art. Of course this isn't always the rule, but artists generally use their work as their main mode of expression.



For many, art is the outward expression of something internal, often passionate and deeply meaningful. Many artists choose to explain their work in great detail to ensure the message is clear. Others choose to let the art speak for itself, either wanting the meaning to remain secret or allow the viewer to interpret it for themselves.

Below: Annihilation by Steve R


In the case of artist Ευσταθιος Παπαβραμοπουλος, the line between art and artist are not clearly defined. Steve is one of my favorite men to profile on FH, I have profiled his art and modeling work several times in the past. Not only hot, but talented and complex.

"I have been drawing since I was 7 years old .. drawing is my life .. its the only way to go away from this world ... I can't imagine my life without it. Sad or happy, blank paper and a pencil are my best friends!"
Steve R.



When I saw these last two images I had to share them on FH. There is something so beautiful about Steve, not just with his art, but in these shots, within. Steve's world is filled by Heroes and Heroines battling the demons of the world. Battling these demons is not just something Steve draws, it is something he does within his own life. Please spend some time viewing more of Steve's work at his deviantART page HERE:

ADS

Keeping up with Nick Ayler

ADS

The first time I saw shots of Nick Ayler was back in 2009 when Hans Fahrmeyer sent me shots from his most recent shoot with Nick. Instantly it was clear there was something special about this man. Besides being one of the hottest models, Nick is a also a talented singer, actor and DJ. What impressed me most about Nick was how driven he was. Nick worked hard to get his career jump started and was generous to in providing FH with material and information. Since 2009 Nick has been someone I feature as often as I can!


Above: Two of my favorite shots of Nick by Jin Wang

Nick's hard work and determination has led to Nick heading to head of the class. The past year has had Nick featured in numerous campaigns, calendars, magazine covers (DNA by Richard Gerst), book covers (ONE by David Arnot)and much much more!

After a move from New York to CA last year new opportunities presented themselves including a role in the new series Hollywood Boys. Hollywood Boys is just getting off the ground but if you want to jump on board from the beginning you check check out the official site HERE: I will feature more as the series progresses.

California has also provided Nick the opportunity to explore one of his main loves, music. Nick DJ's every Saturday and recently began a new Facebook Page and Website to feature his work. Check out his latest, The Contradiction Mix HERE:

Below:
The cast of Hollywood Boys by Scott Hoover.

ADS