Werner Bandi

Swiss photographer Werner Bandi is best known for the nude photos he took of his model, protege', and presumed lover Bob Steffen.  When the barely legal (by mid-century Swiss standards) Bob caught Werner's eye, Bob's mother was only too happy to encourage the relationship because of the money and opportunities it afforded.  Today we will see a mixture of photos of Bob and other models. That's Werner above with his collie in a selfie.

 

An der Lichtung

The title of this photo, An der Lichtung, translates as In the Clearing,

but it looks more like the unknown model is in a thicket.

 

Bob's Bum

The lighting here is interesting.

 

Mislabeled

I think my source mislabeled this one because they said it was Bob Steffen.

It doesn't really look like him to me, and I have lots of picttures of him.

 

Lakeside

The model is  unknown for this lakeside photo.

 

Seaside

Werner Bandi took Bob Steffen on several trips to the Italian seashore,

and this is supposed to have been made there.

 

Blond Archer

Here we have an unknown blond archer.

 

Very Swiss

A setting can't get much more Swiss than in this shot of Bob.

 

Dapper Bob

Bob looked good when he dressed up, too.

 

Bob and the snow cap

Closing the series with a shot of Bob Steffen in a stunning mountain area.

 

Werner Bandi, mostly without Bob Steffan

If you click on the label below this photo, you'll see some other posts which describe the relationship between Werner Bandi and his favorite model, Bob Steffan.  Today we'll look at some Bandi photos, only one (or two) of which feature Bob.  I don't know if the young man in this photo is Bob or not, but his skimpy swimsuit looks more like a posing strap.  That's Werner second from left.

 

Auf der Bergwiese

The title for this Bandi photo translates as "On the Mountain Meadow."

I don't think this is Bob Steffan, but I do know the shadows will impress B.D.

 

Bob 1944

A rock, a lake, some mountains, and Bob Steffan.  Bandi perfection.

 

Duo

Neither of these models looks like Bob Steffan, but the photo is quite good.

The tree roots and the grass complement the models quite well.

 

Switzerland? Bob?

I can't tell if this is a Swiss lake or the Italian seashore.  (Bandi was known to work in both places and more.)  Furthermore, I can't tell if it's Bob Steffen or somebody else.

 

1945

This 1945 Werni Bandi photo of an unknown model is called "Auf dem Felsen," or "On the Rock."

Th

 

Werner Bandi and Bob Steffen, Part 2 - Semi-nudes

This stunning Swiss scene is one of my favorite photos of Bob Steffan.  If you're just picking up this thread here, scroll down to some earlier posts for some interesting biographical information.

Quite a few photographers from Werner Bandi's era shunned color work as "unartistic,"

but Werner used it with moderationa and to good effect as with this shot of Bob by a lake.

This is one of several Werner Bandi photos captioned simply "mit Bob" or "with Bob."

Werner actually published this photo of Bob in the Swiss magazine Der Kreis, 

one of a very few openly gay publication in the world at the time.