Furry Unknowns

Today we have some nice furry models whom I can't identify. 

We start with a fellow in an interesting pose on a platform.
Edited to add:  My friend Boz sent an email letting us know that this is Rudy Burke, a Colt model.  Thanks!

The pattern is what sets this one apart.

This Bum Brigade special is all about hair.

This photo is not about football, but then I'm sure that's the last thing y'all are looking at.
Edited to add:  This is apparently a skillful photoshop to remove a posing strap.  See comments from  the_cham_cham below for details.

I don't really understand this picture, but that's OK.  I like it a lot.

If anybody knows the story, please clue us in.

Hitting the Showers Alone

Today we look at some men in showers all alone, starting with this poolside number.

This middle aged industrial worker has a big stretch of shower all to his lonesome.

It would seem like the shower itself could use cleaning up in 

this photo, but I'm sure the Bum Brigade guys don't mind.

I can't imagine a military shower being so empty, but I have it on good authority that this young man is a U.S. Marine recruit getting cleaned up for his first leave.

He's either singing in the shower or he just realized that the water is way too hot.

Don Whitman's Western Photography Guild, Part 2 - the not quite Nudes

  Don Whitman of Western Photography Guild was one of the best of the classic era physique photographers in terms of expertly posing a model in such a way to make him exciting without showing genitalia.  That skill kept him out of jail and busy selling photos while his peers suffered harassment.  So part two of Don Whitman day features those sexy almost nudes.  I greatly admire this photo of Dick Mathias for the lighting, the handsome man, the use of the dead wood prop, and that brooding dark sky in the background.  Amazing work!

Bill Pugliese posed for this impressive and sexy photo by WPG, showing more body hair than the typical model of the studio.  Don Whitman's nephew and niece have continued the business beyond the death of the founder.  They inherited the WPG archive and still sell high quality custom prints from the original negatives.  And yes, there is still a market for that today.

This may be the best example of how Don Whitman managed to portray two highly sexually charged men without crossing the line of repressive legality.  The models are Doran Propp and Frank Zeuch.

Don Whitman did some excellent color work for his Western Photography Guild studio, so I had to include this photo of Harold Adducci dramatically posed against pines and the blue Western sky.

Jim DeRose posed for Don Whitman on a hillside patch of rough rock that had to be uncomfortable.

Don Whitman's Western Photography Guild, Part 1 - Nudes with Whips

Don Whitman (1916-1998) was the founder and only photographer of the Western Photography Guild of Denver, Colorado.  He began photographing bodybuilders in 1947 and also established some major competitions for them in Denver.  Mr. Whitman's work appeared in a number of magazines, and out of town bodybuilders would visit him to be photographed.  Due to the repressive legal atmosphere, he had to be restrained in what he sold, so we have hundreds of men in posing straps and trunks from his early years.  As things loosened up, he began to sell nude photos, some of which he had take earlier and never published.  I think his work is exceptional, so it is Don Whitman day on the blog, beginning with the following nudes that are just a little bit kinky.

For a somewhat conservative and mild mannered man, Don Whitman could go a bit on the wild side, and all of today's nudes feature men with whips, something just a teeny bit kinky.  Throughout his long career, the majority of WPG models were body builders, many championship level, but not this one.  The fellow with a partial erection to go along with his whip is Rory McLeod, and the photo is about as "out there" as one gets from Mr. Whitman.

Here we have Rick Alexander in a WPG photo I cropped from a card set of mixed poses.  Those sets featured from four to six different photos of the same model with catalog codes to allow customers to order specific prints of their choosing.  Don Whitman sold his photos both via mail order an in a shop attached to the studio.  I have exchanged messages with people who actually visited his shop in the 1980s, and they describe him as friendly and unassuming.  More about that is in a later post today.

Don Whitman took a somewhat conservative approach to his early work which helped him avoid the legal harassment suffered by many of his peers.  That does not, however, mean that he didn't know how to make very sexy photos.  This shot of Eddie Williams with a whip pretty much proves it.

This unknown model posed for Don Whitman in a rocky, partially wooded area, a common setting in WPG photos, many of which were made in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Added note:  One or more of you probably knows the model's name because Mr. Whitman used a meticulous cataloging system in the walk-in photo store attached to his Denver studio.  A wall was lined with well organized filing cabinets containing fully indexed prints of all his work.

Glen Hudson posed for this WPG photo by a lake or large pond.  

It is part of an impressive series apparently all shot on the same day.

Physique Models and Books

No, it's not a Book of the Month Club meeting.  It's naked models posing with books today on the old blog.  (I have a whole series featuring these guys, but I'm saving the rest for later.)  The ball and chain tattoo on the left end's hand and wrist is so intellectual!  Anybody know the photographer?

Like all but one of today's photos, I have no info on this one.  The composition and staging are interesting, and I'd like to see more of the photographer's work.

I haven't forgotten the Bum Brigade today, so here's a serious looking young on a rich looking carpet.  He might be doing some "heavy" reading as his book seems to contain a technical drawing.

This hirsute fellow looks all comfy curled up with his book.
Edited to add:  My friend Dan emailed to let me know that this is Paul Baresi who appeared in Colt as well as Playgirl publications, among others.  He also made films.

Christopher Coe seems to have just started on "The Tragic Conflict" 

in this Western Photography Guild photo by Don Whitman.

Yikes!  I just realized I need to do a feature on WPG soon, really soon.

Japan Day, Part 2 - The Art of Goh Mishima

Goh Mishima, aka Tsuyoshi Yoshida (1924-1988) was a gay Japanese erotic artist.  Upon being drafted into the army in 1942, he had a torrid ongoing love affair with his commanding officer.  (Sounds like our kind of guy.)  In post-war Tokyo he became heavily involved in gay night life and became fascinated with yakuza gangsters' flat top hair styles and tattoos.  Mishima's developing art featured bondage, sado-masochism, hypermasculinity, and fundoshi traditional underwear.  He published in gay magazines as early as 1964, a time when it was illegal to depict a penis in Japan.  So it's Goh Mishima day, and in our first piece, we see tattoos, ropes, and a peek of pecker.  Nice.

The tan line on this rear view is a striking reminder of Mishima's varied depiction of fundoshi underwear.  In this case it isn't there, but then again, it is.

Some of Mishima's work is graphically violent, including at least one gory ritual suicide image.

This is about the mildest of that lot and as far as I care to go with it.

The fundoshi element appeals along with the pose of the two lovers.  When Mishima started producing such work in the 1960's, it caused quite a stir in Japan.

Compared to a lot of Mishima's work, this guy is only lightly tattooed . . . 

some of it is, however, in a rather delicate location.

Japan Day, Part 1 - Nude Photos

Here in Hawaii, Japanese culture is pervasive, so Japan is our theme all day today. 
We will start with some male nude photos and move on to the erotic art of Goh Mishima later. 
I think this man is doing some sort of mechanical repairs in a boat shed.  I hope he's careful.

These rural Japanese workers seem to be building some sort of framework on a river bank.

This is the second photo today which should appeal to the Bum Brigade, 

and it is said to be a military induction center in Japan in 1940.

Most of these Japanese fisherman are showing off their sexy fundoshi, 

but the guy at right is showing more than the rest.

This reminds me of Tamotsu Yato's work, but it didn't come to me labeled as such, 

and a Google Images search produced nothing.
Edited to add:  Read the anonymous comment to learn the model and photographer.  Thanks!

Ordinary average guys at the beach

Today's theme is typical Joes at the beach.  We start with this fellow 

who has finally found the ocean and is demonstrating how big it seems.

This young man seems to have taken an interest in seaweed.  It can be good to eat 

if you find the right kind and know how to prepare it.

I think this is from a professionally produced nudist magazine, 

but he does fit the bill for an average sort of guy.

Salt water in my eyes makes me squint, too.

I went to college 45 years ago with a guy who looked just like this and still does today.  

Could it be?  He was fond of skinny dipping back then.

Pat Milo Day, Part 2 - Non-nudes

Pat Milo photographed several championship bodybuilders, including Larry Scott, seen here with Milo at a desert photo shoot.  Scott credited Milo with helping jumpstart his career and 

refining his posing style.  There are unsubstantiated rumors that Milo had a crush on Scott, 

but chances are it was unrequited.  Scott was married twice, and Milo apparently 

never succeeded in getting his pants off . . . at least in front of the camera.

This is Bill Wright, who may or may not have been a real sailor.  While Pat Milo and other physique photographers of his time did sometimes work with servicemen, many of them kept various uniform components around the studio to use as costumes and props.  We could probably tell if we could see his shoes because most sailors at the time wore distinctive footwear with their uniforms.

This is Robert Rex, the brother of Bill Rex who posed with Milo grabbing his goodies in today's R rated series.  The brothers posed together, too, and I'll get around to posting them someday.

Don Deckman looks amazing on top of this clothes hamper that Pat Milo used as a prop.

Here's another Milo underwear shot, this time featuring Ted Wills looking serious.

This unknown model seems to be asking,  "Gee, Mr. Milo, did we get it right this time?  You can move it around some more if you need to."

Edited to add:  James IV says in the comments that this is Henry T.

Pat Milo Day, Part 1 - Nudes

Pat Milo is one of the best of the classic era physique photographers, so his work will be featured in both our R and G rated series today.  We start with a photo I published late in my tumblr career where Milo is having a playful moment with model Bill Rex.

Bob Baxter is all muscle in this Pat Milo photo.

The lighting and somewhat sprawling pose work to near 

perfection in this Pat Milo photo of Max Wolf.