Showers

I've visited shower shots before in my Locker Room series (March 28), but this theme is simply too common in physique photography not to revisit. When I first started digging into this period, it felt like every other photograph was a man or two standing under a shower. 

1. Don Dunne by Kris Studios rinsing off.

Mizer (whose shower is in many photos in this set) and Kundzicz (Champion Studios) seemed especially fond of it—Kundzicz even managed to work scuba gear into the mix—but plenty of other photographers returned to the theme as well. This set includes men lathering up, rinsing off, posing for the camera, and closes with two shots of men making sure they got those hard-to-reach places.

2. Norman Elijah Moore in Bob Mizer's shower soaping up his leg.

I think shower scenes pull together a whole bunch of fantasies at once. On one hand, showering is completely ordinary. We all do it. On the other hand, it sits right on the edge of something more erotic. A lot of us started having sexual thoughts in the shower as teenagers. 

3. Lonnie in a yellow shower.

4. Earl Dean in Mizer's signature shower.

The warm water feels good. The soap feels good. It's private. And when you're done, everything gets washed away and you get on with your day.

5. Henri Garsou catching water from straight overhead.

6. Phil Slabodjia catching spray in Mizer's shower.

7. Mike Norlan in tight shower stall.

Then there are the buddy showers. Maybe it's completely innocent. Maybe it's just two guys saving time after a workout. "We're both guys, no big deal." But physique photographers understood how quickly that innocence could tip into something else. A compliment about somebody's body. A little accidental contact. "Hey, can you get my back?" 

8. George and Chick Howard in J. Brian's shower together.

9. Chuck Hall and unknown model giving each other a hand in Mizer's shower.

The shower might be the single best example in this whole domestic series of how physique photography loved to play in that space between everyday life and fantasy. And for me, that's what ties together the Bathroom, Vanities, Tubs, and Showers posts. The bathroom is one of the few places in the house where nudity feels completely normal and completely practical. 

10. Leo Hooks, Colt Model helping the water reach all his parts.

Maybe that's why photographers kept coming back to it. It gave them a setting where innocence and eroticism could comfortably occupy the same tile floor.

Bonus. Unknown model rinsing out the nethers.

Please leave thoughts, questions, or corrections in the comments. If you can ID the bonus photo let me know.