Door Frames - Back

Apparently I wasn't finished with door frames. There were simply too many good images to fit into one post, so today's collection turns the models around and admires the view from the other side. 

1. Bruno by Colt

We begin with Bruno, COLT's famously furry Cuban bear, and end with 1980s favorite Lex Baldwin, who also seems quite proud of what nature gave him.

2. Tommy Pollack leaning on book case

3. Rock Granger

Like yesterday's set, most of these photographs are interior shots built around doors and frames. Many are cropped just above the knee, putting the emphasis squarely where the photographers intended. 

4. Unknown Model

5. Unknown Model with roses

Looking through them, I was reminded of my recent Echoes series and the possibility that photographers were borrowing ideas from one another. The compositions are surprisingly similar despite spanning different eras and studios.

6. Tore Lind has the key

7. Ralph Kleiner holding knob

Together, these three posts have convinced me that photographers were fascinated by doors. Sometimes they invite us in. Sometimes they suggest what's on the other side. And sometimes they're simply a convenient excuse to frame a beautiful body. 

8. Bob Anders (yes, I had his front side in yesterday's set;)

9. Guy McCoy (reminds me so much of Tiger with those lamb chops)

Yesterday was about the face. Today is about the buns. Both seem to have inspired photographers equally.

10. Lex Baldwin with hairy buns (perfect!)

Please share thoughts, questions, or corrections in comments.  If you can ID #4 and #5 please let me know.

Door Frames - Front

This set picks up where yesterday's doorway post left off. The difference is that most of these images are taken from inside the room rather than from the outside looking in. 

1. Jack Fontan by George Platt Lynes

We open with Jack Fontan in George Platt Lynes' Doorway and move through a collection of models framed by doors, doorways, niches, and thresholds of all kinds before ending with Doug Anderson and a composition I can only describe as Knobs.

2. Steve Clayton

2. Bob Anders in color

If yesterday's post was about crossing from one space to another, this one is more about framing. Photographers love door frames because they naturally draw the eye to the subject. 

4. Gerald with chest tattoo

Sometimes the model is centered inside the opening. Sometimes he's leaning against it. Sometimes the door is open, sometimes closed. 

5. Barry

6. Mike Dunn in a niche

One image even returns us briefly to yesterday's theme, showing the model, Al Parker, from outside looking in through a sunlit doorway.

7. Al Parker by Colt

I mentioned liminality yesterday, so I won't repeat myself here. What interests me in these images is simpler: photographers seem unable to resist putting handsome naked men inside rectangles. 

8. Mike Jones in profle with wallpaper

9. Joe Priest

Maybe it's art history. Maybe it's composition. Or maybe they just knew a doorway is a great way to frame the goods.

10. Doug Anderson by Colt

Please add in thoughts, questions, or corrections in the comments.

**My friend, Jerry, did a shout-out to my blog today on his titled, VintageMuscleMen, which I've been following for a few years.  It's a great blog and his feature on bushnstache can be found here: http://www.vintagemusclemen.com/?zx=61b4b095c990a7fb.  Go check it out and follow his blog as well.  We're both centered on vintage male nude photography, but he casts a bit wider net to include nudists/naturists and late-19th/early 20th century. It's great!

Doorways

This set explores one of my favorite recurring themes in physique photography: doorways. We start with an unknown model lingering at the threshold and move through Scott McCoy, Tony Nero, Tiger, and Scott Randsome. Some are peeking out, some are heading in, and some seem perfectly content to stand there letting the photographer admire the view.

1. Unknown model in profile

2. Scott McCoy close-up

3. Todd Russell looking back

There's a term in performance studies called liminality. It comes from the Latin word limen, meaning threshold or doorway. In simple terms, it's an in-between space. Maybe that's why these images work so well. A doorway sits between public and private, inside and outside. It's where you pause, hesitate, sneak a look, or decide whether you're coming or going.

4. Ken Helmsman (beautiful stache and chest hair)

5. Ronnie Ronson with tan lines and strong shadow

6. Martin Kramer in silhouette

7. Liard by Ferrero

Of course, it doesn't hurt that doorways make handsome naked men look fantastic. They frame the body, draw the eye, and add a little drama to the scene. That's what I love about these photos. They can be simple eye candy, but they can also feel a little deeper, a little mysterious. You're not just looking at the man. You're wondering what's behind the door—and whether he's inviting you in.

8. Tony Nero lacing up

9. Tiger by Colt Studio

10. Scott Randsome in natural light

Please share thoughts, questions, or corrections in comments.  If you have info on #1 please let me know.

Yards

This set opens with audience favorite Phil Knight, watering the garden and giving the flowers almost as much attention as he's giving the photographer. 

1. Phil Knight holding what looks like a weapon (so random;)

From there we visit a few other familiar faces, including Cherokee (Everett Lee Jackson) and the always-iconic George O'Mara, before ending with Kyle Carrington and Bernard Naceri cooling off under garden hoses and outdoor showers.

2. Robert Rex arms stretched wide

3. Cherokee aka Everett Lee Jackson

Like pools, patios, and decks, backyard photos occupy that sweet spot between home and the outdoors. The difference is that almost everyone has a yard. 

4. Emil Swoboda with a shofar

It might be a simple patch of grass or a carefully landscaped garden, but it's still an extension of the home. The backyard also feels private—fences, hedges, and tall shrubs creating a little world tucked away behind the house.

5. George O'Mara leaning on a bust

6. Larry Carr in posing strap

What I like about these photos is how approachable they feel. The models aren't at a luxury resort or posing on some grand estate. They're just hanging out in the backyard. 

7. Kyle Carrington with garden hose

8. Tony drinking from the hose

When the host says, "Make yourself at home," the guys in these photos seem to take that advice quite literally and leave their pants somewhere back in the house. 

9. Bernard Naceri in outdoor shower

Maybe that's the fantasy: a sunny afternoon, a backyard full of handsome friends, and everyone comfortable enough to relax exactly as they are.

10. Brett Hayward in the outdoor shower (love his smile;)

Please share thoughts, questions, or corrections in comments.

Decks

This set opens with Dakota, better known as Ken Sprague, bodybuilder, model, entrepreneur, and the man who purchased and transformed Gold's Gym into the world-famous "Mecca of Bodybuilding" during the 1970s. Before all that, he posed for COLT and appeared in a handful of early gay films under the name Dakota. Not a bad way to start a post about decks.

1. Dakota aka Ken Sprague lounging

The rest of the set explores men posed on decks and porches. Like swimming pools and patios, decks occupy that interesting space between the home and the outdoors. But they have a different feel. Patios can be elegant. 

2. Jason Brahm taking in the view

3. Casey doing push-ups

Pools can be luxurious. Decks feel more rugged and personal. They're usually built from wood, tucked up against a house or cabin, surrounded by trees, mountains, lakes, or backyards.

4. Buddy Houston standing with wood

5. Jeff in Squaw Valley by Bruce Weber (thanks, Boz!)

Maybe that's why I like deck photos. They feel less like a resort and more like a retreat. A deck is a platform with a view, a place to sit with a cold drink, catch some sun, and let the day slow down a little.

6. Roger Cole striking a pose

8. John Holiday in deep squat

 The men in these photos often look right at home there—comfortable, relaxed, and letting it all hang out. There's something a little woodsy, a little Midwestern, and a little lumberjack about the whole thing. Less country club, more cabin weekend. 

8. David Peters with t-shirt over shoulders

9. Tex Murdock leaning on a log

And if the guy next door happens to be sunbathing naked on the deck, well, that's just part of the scenery.

10. Mac Turner reclining on a mat

Please put thoughts, questions or corrections in the comments.  If you can ID #5 and #6, please share.