Some photographs have a factor X I can't quite name. I can point to the lighting, the crop, the angle, the pose. I can see the familiar language of physique photography underneath—the reclining nude, the bulldog, the cowboy—and recognize where the model and photographer have begun to play with it. But none of that quite explains why an image gets under my skin. These do. They take something familiar and make it strange, beautiful, vulnerable, even a little awkward. They pull me past looking and into imagination, memory and someplace more subconscious. Maybe that's the sublime: when you can explain how a photograph works, but not entirely what it does to you.
1. Unknown model in high contrast b&w with black background.
1a. Same model and photographer as above.
1b. And a third shot from same session as above.
2. Unknown model and photographer in interesting cropped image.
3. Unknown model by George Platt Lynes.
4. John Converse aka John Converse aka Dak in extreme reclined pose.
5. Unkown model in beautiful oblique pose in bulldog with arm support.
6. Unknown model in extreme yoga dancer pose and bulldog.
7. Uknown model in Mizer-esque cowboy costume and posing strap. I like that we see him in the process of tying on the waste band and not quite fully covered.
8. Another tightly cropped cowboy-themed shot in a foreshortened side reclining pose.
Please leave thoughts, questions, additions or corrections in the comments. I have many unknowns in this set, so any help would be appreciated. Thank you, bns
These are all fine photographs. They're not cluttered with extra visual elements, the lighting is good, and the poses are varied.
ReplyDeleteNice observations! bns
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