'Bare skin , the feel of a man made machine, wooden logs , sand and stone beneath me I was able to feel something quite unforgettable. The wind breathed emotional history, humans ability to innovate, create, build, harm and destroy.'
Ever since I was a kid I had a fascination with trains. I remember the thrill that I felt when our car had to stop so the trin could pass by. Annoying to my parents, exciting for me. Wondering who was on the train and all of the incredible places they might be going. Although it has been years since a train went through my town, the old tracks remain, forgotten, run down and incredibly beautiful. A visual reminder of what was. I am also obviously partial to photography focused on the male form love when my passions so wonderfully collide.
I remember prior to starting FH coming upon a blog that combined both the male form and trains and the history of rail road. Although the blog had a few incarnations, some of you might remember it as Blood & Custard. It was amazing to see the blog authors posts, alternating between beautiful naked men and modern and historical images of trains and rail roads. Another of my fascinations is with long abandoned spaces. Places left for dead, overgrown, no longer the living breathing space they once were. Over the years on FH I have featured artists and models all over the world in abandoned buildings, farms, old mines, banks, prisons and of course on rail road tracks.
Some of my favorite artists have breathed new life to some of these spaces. Photographing the living, breathing, naked male form, while unearthing memories, a bit of their history all the while resuscitating them briefly through their imagery . I cannot think of a finer combination of artist, model and space than and old train car and tracks in Borrego Springs California, David from YogaBear studio and the extraordinary male form of Yoni Baker.
The first time I saw David's work with Yoni I stopped in my tracks. Yoni has a powerful and incredibly sexual presence in front of the lens. His body is a work of art and his face and eyes exudes a classic, almost immortal quality that brings a unique and timeless quality to his work. Completely naked, no hint of anything but respect and pride for the art being created. Both David and Yoni were very supportive of my sharing their work, first in a series of pieces back in February. (Journey To Blacks Beach)
When I contacted them both recently about their most recent shoot together, again both jumped on board with full support. When reading Yoni's account of their day together, I knew his captivating account of the day needed needed nothing from me but a couple of comma's. If you're as captivated as Yoni as I am, be sure to check out Warrior Yoni, Zombie Yoni and of course naked Yoni on his new site HERE:
Borrego Springs
By Yoni Baker
'When David mentioned Borrego Springs, near a nudist colony for out shoot, I had a little heart skip. I was a virgin on the beach for that first photo shoot, so now a virgin in the desert. David came to pick me up which was great of him. Sword, shield, costume, religious items, Hiking shoes, hat, and water, we were off on our latest adventure. Before the desert. we stopped to get gas. I went inside the store to get a protein bar, however I suspect I took a bit to long in comparing the labels of the bars. One can never be to careful in choosing a decent protein bar I told David. We found a parking spot (not to difficult ) and as I lathered on the sunblock as we talked of the upcoming hike and the deserted trains to come.'
'Being a huge sci-fi, Mad Max, Zombie, Apocalyptic, 80's music/fashion fan, I was fascinated by the trains ( and the graffiti on them) I wondered the trains history and how it got here. Who rode it? where they were going? what were all those peoples stories, discussions held aboard, arguments, joy, laughter, sadness.... its bitter sweet for this train, it sits in burial in the blazing sand yet captivated by visitors.'
'So here I am to be a part of the trains hidden secrets, to walk in the isles nude, to touch its sides covered by the colors of spray paint, to feel the crunch of broken glass beneath my shoes. , to hold the railings, to pose below its belly. The vapors of the past, and the now, excited me , we had a great session on the train and the huge wooden logs nearby (some of my favorite photos).'
'As we walked back and clothed I remembered David's dislike of the tracks we were about to cross, but asked him to take a few photos of me on them just to capture the model moment. As we did that, a few guys passed us, cameras in hands heading to the train. I looked at David, no time like the present, lets shoot? so we have time?'
'Not caring about the trains newest admirers I quickly took my clothes off and posed on the tracks. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. However, instead of my warriors nature and desire to muscle the tracks, I romanticized them and tried to be a part of them. Again David captured that and more...'
'With David as a true narrator, storyteller and author, he was able to bring all this to light. He asked me what my motivation was behind the modeling and the photo shoots. I can sum it up as that connection to my imagination, my history , the world around me, and what I can bring back to it...Maybe it wasn't as dramatic as that, but I like to remember it that way haha. It's also being able to connect with someone that can capture that essence. Once again a great team, we parted ways only to plan our next adventure.'
