Mel Roberts Day

Our series today features the work of Mel Roberts, a photographer who came into his own 

in the closing days of the posing strap era.  He is perhaps best known for his extensive use 

of color, and all the pictures in today's set are examples of his color work.

We start the show with Keith Clayton ankle deep in water.

 

Joey Richards

Mr. Roberts photographed Joey Richards on a waterfall viewing platform.

 

Details

Sometimes it's the details that make a photo work.

These two are Rick Johnson and Sam Evans.

 

Steve Desmond

The grass and even the tree on this California hillside look almost dead.

Steve Desmond, however, looks very much alive.

 

Tad Bennett

Tad Bennett wore a sailor cap and some sharp tan lines in the woodland photo.

 

Ron Brouillete

Censorship and arrest were facts of life for male nude photographers when Mel Roberts career got going.  He was one of the most creative when it came to finding ways around the rules.  He had a creative array of posing straps that involved gauze, mesh, and even sheer women's underwear fabric.  The shot above of the handsome Ron Brouillete is a good example of this.

 

Brand Davidson

This 1968 photo of Brand Davidson makes me wonder if Mel Roberts borrowed Bruce Bellas' ranchito for a photo shoot.  Of course there were plenty of other ranches in California at the time.

 

Gary Seegar

Gary Seegar posed poolside for this one.

 

Mike Kelly

This photo of Mike Kelly may be my favorite of the day.

 

Jerry Johnson

Finishing the Mel Roberts series with Jerry Johnson from 1965.