'Dominic is not naked, far from it; he is embraced by the glamour and power of Manhattan.'
The first time I saw my home, I was drawn to the details. It was the specific features and characteristics of the old house that had me wanting to live there. I fell in love with the wooden floors, the wainscoting and wooden door frames. It was the high ceilings and the tin ceiling in the dining room. It was those beautifully unique details that had me sold.
That was a few years ago, and now... days, even weeks and months go by without my noticing those details. Is usually not until someone new comes into the house and comments on a particular architectural feature that reminds me of all the particular visuals that I was first drawn to. Familiarity breeds complacency for sure, with visuals as well as relationships and all aspects of our lives. We often see, yet don't notice the beauty we live with, no matter how spectacular it may be.
Great artists never tire of the beauty which surrounds them, and their passion for the focus of their art. They seem to have almost an instinctual way of keeping complacency from occupying space when they're creating. Although
Richard Rothsteinlives in one of the most exhilarating and visualizing inspiring cities in the world, Richard always manages to tap into a field of energy and unique vibration with every model, and every shoot.
Richard has lived in the same building, with the same roof top for over thirty years. He's shot hundreds of models on that roof, watched hundreds or sun rises and sun sets and clouds of various shapes and colors go by. Watched the rain come down, the snow start to fall and seen dozens of storms begin to brew. These images were shot over three hours and the changing color and look of the sky was due to the thunderstorms they had to work around during the shoot.
Each time Richard steps out upon that roof, he channels the energy of the model to capture the city in a new and unique way. Each model moves slightly differently, has a different relationship with the roof, the surrounding areas and the sky above. Each channels their inner Emperor tor look out over the city they are temporarily ruling over.
'Working on my roof, almost 500 feet above the city, brings a sense of quiet dominance to the images. The naked man speaks to the conquest of man, standing above all he has forged. So small compared to the soaring glass and steel towers of Manhattan, naked and exposed yet master of it all.''Naked above the city, yet spectacularly clothed in the geometry, architecture, glass and steel of what is arguably the most influential metropolis on the planet.'I love Dominic's look, his beautiful eyes and great face and lips, and especially how his incredibly body interacts with, and rules the roof top he's posing naked upon. Although I've loved all of Richard's roof top shoots, in his work with Dominic, I saw a more panoramic view, seeing more of the spaces nooks and crannies than I remember seeing together in one shoot before.
Check out more of the roof's nooks and crannies, and more of Dominic's as well, by checking out
