'I had to spend countless hours, above and beyond the basic time, to try and perfect the fundamentals.'
Julius Erving
When you whittle it down, the fundamental elements needed to produce art are not that complicated. An artist, a subject and a mechanism to create it. Crayon drawings of puppies adorn many of our refrigerators. For photographers of the male form, the mechanism is of course a camera, and the subject, a male model. Beyond that, many secondary elements certainly come into play; skill, creativity and imagination, studio and equipment and of course great lighting.
I love images of the male form in all of their creative variations, but often I'm drawn back to the fundamentals. For many men, jeans and a white t-shirt make up a basic wardrobe, for photographers like ArtPole, the basics is a plain background along with a man who's face and body are able to match the strength of the lens that focused upon him.
I'm always impressed with photographers who don't allow a model to hide. To hide within a location, beside a prop, wardrobe or inside a character they're creating for the shoot. There is intensity, beauty and honest when the camera focuses so clearly on a model.
Although some images are quick glances or brief moments, others are long, deep and unflinching stares. Stares that don't just see you, but inspect and evaluate you. Although the inspection may seem stark and unflinching, in the end, it's to gain and capture a greater appropriation of the subject, something a quick look or glance couldn't as easily accomplish.
ArtPole Photography's images are beautiful and sexy long stares. They welcome you to linger, inspect and enjoy the model he captured slowly and deliberately. The first image of from ArtPole that I saw was one of the nudes below of Philip. Philip's penis clearly deserved some visual time and attention, yet the image and model almost pulled you to look further up and further in to Philips eyes, staring right back at you.
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