Bush by Bruce

Today's theme is bush by Bruce, and we start with a stern looking James Galbraith.  The lighting is quite good and produced a shadow that a certain frequent commentator will no doubt enjoy.

 

Hank

A well oiled Hand Evans shows some bountiful bush in front of a fish net.

 

Jimmy

Bruce took Jimmy Hart to a boulder strewn area for this one.

 

Rudy

A cocky smirk and a classic bench pose got the job done for Rudy Valenti.

 

Fred

I think this very bushy photo of Fred Orlando was made relatively late in Bruce's career.

 

Rock Granger Day

I got a lot of comments when I posted a photo of Rock Granger kissing on Valentines Day.

So today's series will be all Rock by Walter Kundzicz of Champion Studio.

 

Football jock Rock

Here we see Rock Granger in minimal football gear.  And for the uninitiated, that is not the way thosd back straps are meant to be worn.  I think Mr. Kundzicz was trying to show off the cheeks.

 

BVDs or some such

This is the first of two photos in today's series of Rock Granger in his undies.

It is also the first of two with workman's gear and that painted backdrop.

 

Dusky

The dusky lighting is effective in this photo of Rock Granger getting out of his pants.

And yes, I know I've been neglecting you underwear fans. 

 

Peekaboo

Although I called this one "peekaboo," I'm sure that Mr. Granger

 and Walter Kundzicz knew just what they were doing here.

Oh, and I think that's a sofa bed he's sitting on.

 

Which is it?

There was a period of several years in from about 1962 to 1968 during which it wasn't really clear to what extent male frontal nudity was legal.  This was because various appeals courts in different regions of the USA had differing standards.  Walter Kundzicz of Champion Studio came up with a clever way around this by using a wide range of sheer and mesh undies to throw off the censors. 

 

Just the basics

No props, no trick lighting, no kitschy poses.

Just one fine rear end.  What more do we need?

 

Similar stance

The stance in this photo is very similar to that in one that appeared earlier 

in today's series, but I think it was shot in a different room.

 

Chiffon?

I don't quite understand why Walter Kundzicz had Rock Granger partially obscure his package with what looks like a woman's chiffon scarf, but it does show the diversity of the props he used.

 

Workman Rock

Ending the Rock Granger series with a prop-filled photo 

of the model as a construction worker in a jockstrap.

 

Housekeeping matters

Housekeeping

Just need to update a few housekeeping issues.  First, the email subscription service that many of you still use was officially discontinued months ago by Google.  It has continued to work, however, for quite a few of you.  In recent weeks, things have become dodgier.  I know because I kept a dummy subscription on an old email address, and it's been hit and miss lately.  You will be better off in the long run if you bookmark the site in your browser and visit on your own.  Some browsers allow users to set up a "tickler" so that may be an option for some of you.

Second, I have been getting spammed in the comments by a Korean bot promoting gambling sites.  I delete them as soon as they pop up in my comment monitoring email, but they may be there for hours before I notice.  So if anybody knows a way to block them, please let me know.

Third, comments posted on old (usually more than about six weeks past) posts are showing up in my comment monitoring email with no indication of what post they are coming from.  I see what you say, but can't reply unless I'm lucky enough to guess from you comment which post it might be.  Again, if anyone knows a solution to this, please let me know.

I know Google Blogger is free, but they could really do better than this with all their resources.

Snow extravaganza

Well, I decided I should do my annual snow series before winter is over.  This photo came to me labeled as early World War II Germans, but they are lacking the large identity discs that we see on a lot of those soldiers.  Did they doff their discs for the snow party, or are they really Finns who just emerged from their sauna?  They sort of look like Finns to me, and I know quite a few Finns.

 

Skimpy

The snow seems lacking in this shot of a cross country skier.

 

Snowball fight?

These guys may be preparing a snowball or three to throw at the photographer.

 

More cross country

This cross country skier is giving a nice view of his derriere.

 

Bath?

This one's hard to figure out.  It looks like they could either be having 

a bath or a post-sauna cool-off.  That water isn't deep enough for a swim.

 

Snowman

The snowman is a bit ragged, but the guy building it is in good shape.

 

Beard Day, Part 1 - 20th Century Models

We're having a double feature of bearded men today, starting with John Skaggs by Bruce of LA.

 

Red Carpet Look

This could almost be amateur, but he sure is posed nicely, 

and his hair looks like it was done for the occasion.

 

M

All the info I have on this one is the letter M and 1970.

 

Ed from 1975

This is a very blonde Ed Haney from a long gone 1975 magazine.

 

Ladder leftover?

Is this a leftover from a recent ladder series?  No, I had it thrown in with the bearded guys.

 

Beard Day, Part 2 - 19th Century Drawings

Part two of Beard Day is another turn through 19th C. academic art.  If this first model looks familiar, it's because we saw a different view of him from the same session two weeks ago in a "middle aged and older" set.  This version is by Haquette, while the previous was drawn by Ruffin.

 

Taxi!

Is this how one hailed a horse drawn taxi?  These images are a good example of how the 

archived academic works of these artists give a really interesting grasp of a moment in time.  

I have as many as five views of the same model from the same session through the eyes of five 

artists.  The goal was to depict the man exactly as he was, and the results that have been 

preserved seem to be quite accurate, but the there were always subtle differences.

 

1812

First prize for size (of the beard, that is) goes to this model from 1812.

He seems to be writing something on a slate.

 

Popular model

All I can say is that this particular model must have been very popular.  No only do I have these three views from what had to have been the same session, but I also have several others of him.

Enlarge this one if you can, as it's very nice in the details.

 

Unknown artist

This bearded model bear a resemblance to one featured in a 

twin set today, but I don't really think it's the same fellow.

 

GI Showers

Today's theme is GI showers from World War II.  Although it could be 

in better focus, I really like the lighting in this one.

 

Gafsa

The very talent Elliot Eliasofon took a memorable series of photos in North Africa of bathing, showering, and frolicking at the ancient Roman baths of Gafsa.  I've always loved details in this one.  A few of the guys.  We have one guy who has put on his boots before fully drying off, several who've noticed the photographer, and a fully dressed GI looking on.  Lots to like here.

 

Sprucing up

These guys seem to have set up their shower in some spruce woods.

 

Modesty? Nah.

This is a rare example of military showering where some provisions for modesty were made.

They were not, however, used as both GIs seem to have left the curtains open.

 

Gafsa II

Here's another bit of Eliosofon's work from the Roman baths at Gafsa.

The nudity is more restrained, but the photo is also far more artistic.

 

On to something

These World War II GIs have spotted the cameraman,

but they don't seem too upset by it.

 

Denny Denfield Day

It's Denny Denfield Day, and we'll start the show with a color desert view of Tom Mathews.

 

Andy

Denny Denfield did not have to worry too much about being arrested for his photography because he did not (to anyone's knowledge) distribute his male nudes through the mail.  In fact, they seem to have been almost entirely for his private enjoyment.  As a result semi-nude, posing strap, and trunks images by him are relatively rare.  As shown in this one of Andy Kozak, they are quite good anyway.

 

Harpo in a Tree

This very statuesque guy in a tree is a Denny Denfield model known only as "Harpo."

 

Beach Ball

This Denfield photo of an attractive and unknown model is one 

of a very few non-nudes left in my collection that has not been posted.

 

Jack

A grove of fan palms was the setting for this Denny Denfield photo of Jack Le Van.

 

Estate Item

Jack S. of Atlanta sent me this photo of an unknown model that he found on a vintage resale site.

It was listed as having been part of Denny Denfield's estate, but not necessarily by him.  More than one physique photographer collect the work of others, so I suppose it could go either way.

 

Ed and the Golden Gate

Although he didn't feature it nearly as often as Dave Martin did, Denny Denfield 

made good use of the Golden Gate Bridge in this photo of Ed Siemens.

 

Vince?

This looks like bodybuilder and Hollywood gym empresario Vince Gironda,

but I'm not at all certain that it's actually him.

 

Andy II

Here's Andy Kozak again in a great shot that I somehow neglected to post until now.

 

Art

Ending Denny Denfield day with non-nude shot of Art Ullrich.  Although we don't get to see his 

near legendary low hangers, Mr. Ullrich looks quite good.  For me, his legs stand out in this one.

 

Men and Ladders

A good photographer can do a lot of things with a ladder, a decent model, and some 

good lighting.  Today we'll look at some mostly unidentified material I got during the sack 

of tumblr.  We start with a fellow who reminds me somewhat of Troy Saxon, a model 

who went on to be a successful physique photographer himself.  

 

Cleaned up

I had a hard time finding a good derriere shot that included a ladder, never mind 

one with interesting lighting.  I found this unknown, and thanks to a crappy scan, 

I had to clean it up electronically.  It looks like Pat Milo's work to me.

 

Outlier

This is an outlier among our studio works in today's series.  I think it was

 made outdoors, and I also think it is exceptional on several levels.