Close-up: Why Vintage?

I like to close each month with a Close-up—a chance to hear your thoughts on a topic that's been rolling around in my head while researching the blog. I find myself asking this question more and more as I work on bushnstache. If my interest were simply the male nude, contemporary photography would give me endless material. Yet I keep returning to images made fifty, seventy-five, or even one hundred years ago.

Why?

1. Will Seagers aka Matt Harper, an iconic figure in the late 1970's "clone" era of adult media, characterized by his distinct mustache, athletic build, and short haircut.

2. Mr. Bradford aka Kurtis Dallon, 2020's model who mimics a vintage, retro 1970's aesthetic. The wood-paneled walls and warm, shaggy carpet directly reference the classic mid-century basement or sauna backdrop frequently seen in vintage adult magazines like Playguy.

Part of it is certainly the photography itself. Part is the history. But I suspect there's something deeper. These images were created in a world where desire often had to be coded, where beauty and shame could exist in the same photograph, and where the simple act of looking carried a different weight than it does today.

When I visit other vintage physique blogs, I notice everyone has their own preferences. Some love the earliest academic studies. Others prefer the polished physique era of Mizer or Bellas. Some gravitate toward candid military snapshots or amateur photography. Others are drawn to overtly erotic work. There seems to be no single reason we're all here.

So I'm curious...

What draws you to vintage male photography?

Is it the history?

The artistry?

The models?

The photographers?

The mystery?

The forbidden quality?

The nostalgia?

Something else entirely?

Or do you actually prefer contemporary work and simply enjoy looking back?

I'd love to hear what keeps bringing you back.

Nets

Nets take many of the same ideas and remove the pretense of concealment. They can be wrapped, draped, stretched or held like fabric, but their open structure turns the body beneath into part of the pattern. Like fishnet stockings, the covering somehow makes what it covers more sexy.

1. Johnny Menendez by Chuck Renslow aka Kris Studio holding a net.

2. Charles Zumwalt by Bruce Bellas holding a net in one hand.

3. Gene Cook by Kris Studio holding a net with flexed muscles wearing a posing strap.

4. Ray Royal by Don Whitman of Western Photography Guild - 1949 - holding a net at a strong diagonal. Apparently this photo is among the rarest of this period of Whitman's work.

5. Gar Nanson by Bruce Bellas -1960- wrapping a fishnet around his waist.

There’s also a ready-made masculine narrative here. Fishing nets evoke sailors, fishermen and the sea—all familiar territory in mid-century physique photography. But in the studio, removed from any practical purpose, the net becomes something else: texture, shadow, negative space and just enough suggestion of clothing to emphasize that the model isn’t wearing any.

6. Bud Taylor by Bruce Bellas - 1961 - holding a fishnet at a diagonal in front of a black background. I like how the net catches the light here.

7. Larry Bordeaux wrapping a fishnet around his waist. The caption read, "Two years in the Marines and a tour of duty in Viet Nam hadn't toned down the heavy Southern accent of Larry at all. North Carolina was too deeply imbedded to ever get lost. The only fishing that Larry had ever done was with his pole but he handled the net I gave him with the feel of a real professional model." (potentially by Barry Gable aka Bobco, but I cannot confirm.)

8. Joe Dallesandro aka Joe Davis or "Little Joe" by Bruce Bellas - c1964 - holding a net. Apparently Joe was still a teenager in this shoot and had just arrived in LA. Dallesandro has an interesting back story...he was born in Pensacola, Florida, on December 31, 1948, (a New Years baby). When he was 5 years old his mother was incarcerated for auto theft and his father relocated Joe and his younger brother, Robert, to NYC, where they were placed in an institutional home and foster care for a time before being reunited with their father and moving in with their grandparents. Joe got into a lot of trouble as a teen and hitchhiked across the country to LA when he was 15 or 16.  He met Bellas and Mizer almost immediately upon his arrival.

9. Ed Fury wrapping a net across his waist on a beach.

10. Rick Wayne by Jean Ferrero holding a dark fishnet in front of him.

Please leave thoughts, questions, corrections or additions in the comments. Thank you, bns

Fabric

Fabric may be one of the most versatile props in physique photography. Draped, wrapped, held or simply laid beneath the model, it can recall the theatrical folds of classical and Baroque art, provide a textural counterpoint to bare skin, or become a conveniently movable bit of modesty. Depending on the material, it can conceal, reveal—or manage to do both at once.

1. Ernie Lopez draping dark reflective fabric across his pelvis taken by Jimmy Caruso of Montreal (1926-2021).

2. Frank Giardina wrapping dark fabric over his shoulder and across his back. VintageMuscleMen just shared with me that "Frank Giardina was widely believed to have been the lover for a time with Lon of NY aka Alonzo Hanagan. Frank took up photography himself later, and there are some creditable photos by him out there." (Thanks, Jerry!) This makes Giardina another example of an artist who worked on both sides of the camera.

3. Barton Horvath leaning into a crutch draped in black fabric.

4. Beresford Morris by John Barrington holding shiny gold or silver fabric behind himself.

5. Gerald Homer holding a small piece of fabric in one hand.

6. Chuck Howard by Jared French of PaJaMa draped in light patterned fabric.

7. Drexel Poe covering himself with dark fabric.

8. Joe Marcy by Douglas of Detroit (aka Douglas Julef) reclining on reflective fabric.

Sheer fabric makes that contradiction especially playful: technically covering the body while drawing even more attention to whatever lies beneath. At the other extreme, Ralston Hale sends ribbons of brilliant color flying against a blue sky. Seen today, the rainbow effect is difficult not to read through the visual language of Pride—a fittingly exuberant finish for a prop that can become almost anything in the photographer’s hands.

9. Rock Granger by Walter Kundzicz (aka Champion) draped in sheer fabric.

10. Ken Roye by Walter Kundzicz (aka Champion) wrapping his manhood in sheer fabric.

11. Ralston Hale by Jim French (aka Colt) waving colorful fabric ribbons in the air.

Please leave thoughts, questions, corrections or additions in the comments. Thank you, bns

Miscellaneous Props

Sometimes the prop is less about realism than giving the model something to play with. Frames make that idea wonderfully literal. Bob Cutlass holds an empty picture frame around different parts of himself, turning the photographer’s act of composition into part of the photograph. With a handsome face, generous manhood, and plump backside, there’s plenty worth framing.

1. Bob Cutlass by Ralph Kelly - c 1950s - in a deep squat holding a frame diagonally across his upper body.

2. Bob Cutlass in a standing pose holding the frame diagonally across his backside.

3. Cutlass in a standing pose holding from around his face and upper chest...great smile!

Pieces of Wood take a more organic turn. Chris Lee wrestles with a twisting branch that curls around his crotch almost like a python, its shape inviting some obvious visual comparisons. Danny Dugan uses a piece of driftwood more strategically—as both natural object and conveniently placed bit of modesty.

4. Chris Lee holding a branch.

5. Danny Dugan holding a piece of driftwood.

Vases bring us back toward classical art. In the hands of Jack Gallagher, Bob Hille and Henry Karczewski, the vessel gives the body a sculptural quality—the sort of pose that could easily migrate from photograph to painting, statue or fountain. Man and vase become two variations on form: curves, volume and silhouette.

6. Jack Gallagher (I think by Al Urban, but cannot confirm) in a seated pose holding a vase.

7. Bob Hille holding a glass vase overhead.

8. Henry Karczewski by Al Urban (late 1930's to early 1940s) in a kneeling pose on a box holding a small vase over his shoulder.

Finally, Furs blur the line between handheld prop, costume and fabric. Don Rackenby and Bob Kappel drape themselves in leopard-patterned skins, bringing a little primitive fantasy and theatrical luxury into the studio. They also make a useful bridge: from the solid objects we've been playing with to the softer handheld props.

9. Don Rackenby in a kneeeling pose draped in an animal print fur.

10. Bob Kappel in a reclining pose on an animal print fabric.

Please leave thoughts, questions, corrections or additions in the comments. Thank you, bns

Hank Ditmar

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Hoops

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.