Back in August, I did a two part series featuring photographer Mark Leighton's extraordinary images of Joel. In the first part (A Layover in Lagos) the focus was on images of Joel in and on the coast of Lagos, Portugal. In the second part, Mark took us inside with Joel, including many images of Joel lying seductively in bed. This had Mark and I discussing a future post with a focus on the horizontal.
When Mark recently sent on images for the piece, there were so many incredible shots of different models, I didn't want to lose the individual beauty of each one, of each image by lumping them together. With Mark's support, I am going to be featuring several of my favorites from the series in smaller, individual posts that I will be sharing over the next month.
There was something about the images that struck a cord for me, maybe because I have been in a bit of slump lately with work. Many photographers of the male form shoot models in a bed, but beyond the obvious themes and connections, there was something else that has me loving Mark's series and theme. We have all experienced that feeling, usually at the end of the day. Work is done and you're home. Your shoes, and often your clothes, are off and on the floor, and you're free from the stresses of the day... even if just temporarily for the next eight, ten or twelve hours. It is that sensation I feel weaved within the images, that sensation of both beautiful relaxation and erotic freedom.
That moment each day has become one of my favorites, one not just of freedom, but of escape. It is the time I can stop doing the things I have to, and move onto the things I want to. One of the things I love to do each evening is look for inspiration for stories. My work days usually don't have me returning home until close to 10 pm, so after those shoes, and clothes are off, it is usually a shower and bed. I don't have much time to actually write, or work on the job through the week, so most of that I fit in on the weekends.
I am not sure there is better example that feeling, or a better model to begin with than Mark's work with 23 year old model Shane. Born in Barbados, these images were shot in Portugal last last year. Shane has an incredible look and presence in front of the camera and I have been loving Mark's images of him for some time.
