Sierra Domino Day, Part 1 - Shafter

It's been far too long since I posted a series of Sierra Domino Studio's work, 

so we will have a two parter today, starting with my favorite SD model, Shafter.

 

Glare

The glare and harsh lighting might be blinding, but Shafter looks good in it.

 

Wildfire

That grass looks tinder dry.

 

Undressing

Here we see Shafter gettig out of his shorts.

 

Big Rock

Shafter would look good anywhere, but he is especially fetching in front of that big rock.

 

Repeat

The last image of Shafter in the set is a repeat of a post from over five years ago.

 

Sierra Domino Day, Part 2 - Promotions and Covers

Part two of our Sierra Domino set features publication covers and promotional material.

I found a slightly better quality version of the Brothers cover, shown below.

 

Album A

Album A did include some nice keepsake photos, but it's main purpose was

 to generate mail orders for sets of photos of the models featured.

 

Head Shots

1981's Excellence in Ebony set featured head shots on the cover.

I'm sure the interior was not so demure.

 

Rhapsody in Black

The cover art for Rhapsody in Black featured a tantalizing derriere shot,

something not seen that often in the bulk of the material extant.

 

Album A-3

Album A-3 featured Wendell.

 

Odis in Hawaii

Our final Sierra Domino promotional item features Odis in Hawaii and a guy who's 6'8".

 

Jamaica

Like almost all of Sierra Domino Studio's models, this one went by a single name, Jamaica.

The man behind this excellent studio was Craig T. "Calvin" Anderson.

 

Shafter

I've always like this Sierra Domino Studio photo of "Shafter" against the sky 

on a concrete wall.  I have a feeling that his name came from the movie Shaft.

 

Black Men by Request, Part 1 - Sierra Domino Photos

I received a rare double feature request from Marc of Philadelphia for some "modern" photos of black men to be followed up by a historical art series on the same theme.  So that led me to the work of Craig T. "Calvin" Anderson, the owner of Sierra Domino Studio.  Most active in the 1970's, Mr. Anderson had an amazing stable of models nearly all of whom used pseudonyms.  We start with "Jamaica."

 

Rodney

A confident looking model named "Rodney" posed for this image

 where shadow and light interplay beautifully.

 

Odis and Allen

Duos are relatively rare in my collection of Sierra Domino Studio photos,

but "Odis and Allen" make up in quality for the lack of quantity.

 

Carlis

Craig Anderson's use of color in this photo of "Carlis"

beautifully captures the tone of his skin.

 

Dan-El

This exceptional Sierra Domino model went by just "Dan-El."

Everything here works . . . the model, the shadows, the trees, and even the broken pavement.

 

Craig T. "Calvin" Anderson and his Sierra Domino Studio

Sierra Domino Studio was founded in the early 1970's by Craig T. "Calvin" Anderson (1941-2014). Craig was a former high school teacher who started photographing African-American males around the Bay Area.  Craig did everything from coffee table books to self-published magazines to newsletters promoting the sales of prints from his portfolio.  He was also a train fancier who published a book on American passenger trains that is now a collector's item.  

So our R-rated photos today feature the work of Mr. Anderson.