Miners Day

 It's been a while since we had a miners' set on the blog, so let's do it today.  I'm starting and ending the set with two repeat posts from my very first miners' set on this platform from 2018.  Above we have a charming clip from a 1980s documentary about British miners.

Hard to read

I find it hard to read the expression on this miner's face.

 

Nice rear view

We get a good rear view of a nicely built miner here.

 

Italy I

This is the first of two photos in today's set made in Italian mines where the men work nude 

and semi-nude because of hot working conditions.  I'm not sure I would work 

around all that machinery and falling rock with my dangly bits exposed.

 

Blue shower

I don't know if the blue tint in this photo is from the paint job in the shower room 

or some artifice of the developing process.  Either way, I rather like it.

 

Shower Room

 This is one of those shower rooms that doesn't exactly look clean.

Chernobyl

This is an actor portraying one of the Soviet miners who struggled to control the meltdown at Chernobyl.

 

Horse

Horses and ponies have been used in mines for centuries, so I had to include this beautiful horse.  

The expression on the horse's face is quite uncanny, like he's proud to be part of a team.

 

Chunky Changer

This hefty guy in a mine changing room really makes me smile.

 

Clip II

This is another clip from the same movie as the opening post in today's series.

 

Italy II

This is another Italian mine photo, and I wonder if they still do it nude.

 

And a last favorite

As promised, here is my favorite photo of miners, posted almost six years ago.

The dirty faces, fine bodies, and most of all, those smiles are just the best.

 

Chuck Renslow/Kris Studio Day

I'm quite embarrassed to say that, although I have posted several stray shots here and there, it's been over a year since I did a full series on the work of Chuck Renslow of Kris Studio.  An early and tireless activist for both freedom of expression and gay rights, Mr. Renslow is someone we all owe a huge debt of gratitude.  Let's start with Steve Reno and his tan lines.

 

Don Fuller

Chuck Renslow took this photo of Don Fuller while visiting Los Angeles.  Mr. Renslow's notes described Don Fuller as a friend of Kip Behar.  The term "trade" was also used to describe him.

 

Johnny Seaton

This photo of Johnny Seaton is all about skillfully lighting those muscles.

 

Larry Williams and John Giller

These guys are Larry Williams and John Giller who did a film for Kris called "The Plumber Comes."  Chuck Renslow described them as two Chicago hustlers who didn't like each other.

And no, I don't know which is which.

 

Dave Allen

Chuck Renslow used actual U.S. Air Force member Dave Allen as a model here.

Unfortunately, I only have four other photos from the shoot.

 

Rocky Lanz

Rocky Lanz looks a bit surly or peeved in this one.

 

Bob Kolinski

Although he's better known for a stunning photo shoot in Chuck Renslow's 

Mid-Century Modern living room, this studio image of Bob Kolinski is amazing.

 

Matt Gordon

Although undated, I think this posing strap  photo of Matt Gordon 

was made early in Chuck Renslow's career.

 

Bob Smith

We get a classic reclining male in this photo of Bob Smith.

 

Mike Bradburn

My favorite all-time Kris model is Mike Bradburn, and I found this great photo 

of him over at James' blog, Men From Back Then..  Thanks, James!

 

Dennis Devlin

Although he never took it to the extent of Don Whitman of Western Photography Guild,

Chuck Renslow did several domestic themed photo shoots.  This is Dennis Devlin.

 

Sig Ulmanis

Our last Kris Studio is a great example of Chuck Renslow's excellent ability

 to light and post a great model, in this case, Sig Ulmanis.

 

Nudists Getting a Sunbath

Now you would think that putting together a series showing nudists obviously sunbathing would be easy as pie, but it wasn't.  I was only able to find about a dozen and a half images that fit the bill.  I was wondering why when I had one of my big duhhhhh moments.  When you're a nudist and run around doing everything naked in the sun, why would you need to specifically sunbathe?

 

Lotion Application I

In the first of three photos in today's set showing men applying suntan lotion,

we see a guy oiling a female I mostly cropped out of the picture 

I think this was made at Walter Kundzicz's Sunshine Beach Resort.

 

All angles

When going for that classic all-over tan, one has to catch the sun from every angle.

 

Beach Blanket

Here we have an attractive young man on his beach blanket.

 

Lotion Application II

Our second lotion applier has a sporty goatee.

 

Stump

Sunbathing on a stump is rather unconventional,

but sometimes one has to work with what's available.

 

Faceless

We don't get to see this snoozing Australian's face,

but the rest of him makes a nice impression.

 

Lotion Application III

This is our third and final photo of a man applying lotion.  Something over 

his left shoulder has his attention.  Probably some comely female.

 

Amateur

This one was sent in by an amateur photographer to the readers' submission page 

of an Australian nudist magazine.  I wonder if that's Mr. Scotford?

 

My Favorite of the Day

I saved my personal favorite of the day for last.  I love the hat, the sunflower cushion, 

the sun shades, and most of all, the somewhat furry ordinary average guy.

 

Deutsches Heer, Part 1 - Non-combattants

Today's triple feature is focused on the Deutsches Heer of 1914-1918, the Imperial German Army.  Although they were not anywhere near the same league as their World War II successors in terms of brutality, they were not choirboys, either.  Ask any Belgian about the 6,000 civilians murdered under false charges of being partisans or the 12-15,000 who died as the result of forced relocation.  Otherwise, they generally behaved much better than the later Wehrmacht.  Part One has some non-combat troops, starting with two cooks, one of whose straining tunic buttons indicate that he has been sampling the output of the field kitchen to some excess.

 

Tack maker

This wild eyed fellow with a cigar was a tack man who made and repaired harnesses, 

bridles, and reins for the millions of horses the Heer needed for transport.

I can almost smell the leather and horse sweat.

 

 These older men were in the medical corps, but it isn't clear if they were field medics 

or hospital personnel.  If I had to guess, I'd say they were attached to a field hospital 

because battlefield medics would likely have been younger, fitter men.

Repair man

This burly fello looks like he was used to working with his hands,

and he seems to be repairing a broken wagon wheel.

 

Pencil Pushers

These men were involved in some sort of record keeping or office work.  

I'm sure they knew how lucky they were not to be in the trenches.

 

Deutsches Heer, Part 2 - Down Time

The World War I German Army, like most of the others, rotated men out of the trench lines from time to time.  A bath, a swim, a trip to a canteen, and/or a few nights sleeping indoors in barracks were welcome relief.  Of course the ultimate reward was leave to go home, something that became very infrequent as the war wore on.  We start Part Two with a variety of portable bathing methods.

 

1915

This 1915 photo is one of the earliest authenticated uses of a mobile shower.

 

Swimming

When weather and war conditions permitted, swimming was a treat for men in Das Deutsches Heer.  Above we have some men enjoying a river swim, and below is a fellow I cropped from a much larger photo of over a hundred men.  He was one of a few who were undressed at that point.

 

Canteen

This photo shows a mobile canteen that provided snacks, candy, cigarettes, and other niceties to troops not far behind the front lines.  I think the bear in the door is the canteen operator.

Lausjagd

This one was titled "Lausjagd" which translates as "Louse Hunt."  No wonder they all had lice 

if they slept in a pile like that.  Of course, there were rewards for such sleeping habits.

 

Deutsches Heer, Part 3 - Bears in Portraits

Part three of our series features bearish men taken from group, indivisual, and paired formal photographs.  You will notice a variety of headgear and uniform types, and that is due to the fact that in 1914, the combined Deutsches Heer was made up of units from a number of pre-Empire principalities and regions.  Thus Wurtemburgers looked different from Bavarians who in turn looked different from Prussians and Saxons.  As the war progressed, things became more standardized.  Our first example looks pleasant, and I find the positon of the hands around him interesting.

 

Early in the War

These two had their picture made together either early in the war or immediately before it.  Those shiny spike and medallion embellished helmets gave virtually no protection and made a great target for British and French sharpshooters.  They started being replaced by a plain canvas covered 

version a few months into the war and were gone entirely by mid-1915.

 

Decorated

This soldier posed for a solitary portrait, and he apparently was awarded not one, but two, Iron Crosses First Class.  He's too modest to wear them both, but the second ribbon on the placket of his tunic tells us there were two.  Unusually, he posed with neither hat nor helmet.

 

Three Bears

Goldilocks is nowhere in sight, but we do have the three bears, one of whom looks affectionate.

 

Set apart

Our final bear from das Heer is a fellow I cropped from near the center of a unit group portrait.

He is the only man in the photo not holding or lying next to a rifle.  He is, howver, carrying two ammunition cases on his belt.  Maybe he left his rifle in the barracks.