'Simon had that perpetual hard on that just wouldn't be vanquished...'
We have all from time to time seen an actor or actress on some late night talking show talking about nude scenes. Talk show hosts like to create moments, so if they have an actor in their chair who has dropped trou on film, they can't resist asking about the details. Although many might be closet exhibitionists, serious actors usually answer their decision to bare is based on if it's integral to the story.
Integral to the story is sort of how I base my decision on whether to include erection shots in any FH feature. In real life, I like most of you, enjoy a good erection. In photographs however, I find most erection shots often gratuitous, uncreative and and a far too easy distraction from an other wise weak image. When done well however, when the erection rises to match the story being told, the results can be spectacular.
Photographer Mark Grantham is an artist whose work is consistently spectacular. I not only love, and always look forward to, featuring Mark's work, I trust in the integrity and artistic beauty in anything Mark graciously sends my way. When going through Mark's work with Simon, my question was never if I would feature the erection shots, it was how I would present them in the context of story. I need not have worried. When Mark sent on his reflections of the day, Simon's perpetual hard-on wasn't just integral to the story, it became such a big part, it became one of the main characters.
'Simon is wonderfully sexy, yet doesn't quite seem to realize it or believe it. He has an amazingly fit body and great face (and beard). I first met him the day of our shoot, when he arrived at my house. That doesn't mean he was a complete mystery however as we been exchanging lengthy text messages for a couple of weeks as we made plans for our shoot.'
'Along the way I'd learned that he enjoyed being naked, and while shy at first wasn't once he got to know someone. Maybe that's part of why our collaboration went so well, as we already felt like we were on the way to knowing each other pretty well after all the texts. One interesting tidbit is he'd warned me in one of the text messages that he got hard easily, and hopefully that was okay if it happened.'
'Typical for me, we arrived at the location without any one set image in my mind that I "had" to create that day. Instead we explored the setting and discovered it together, stopping wherever the light or textures or setting called us. Just before dropping his pants he commented that he'd been gogo dancing the night before, and taken an herbal pill to keep himself erect... it had worked surprisingly well, with the results still in strong evidence a day later'.
'We started with some butt shots to help him relax. His dick wasn't going down, and it was impossible to hide it... we more or less ignored it, operating as I always do; thinking about the model's lines and shapes and how they fit with the space... Our first location was a loft with a dusty old chair in the "attic."
'From here we continued exploring the complex of abandoned buildings. Our second location was in front of some broken windows with the sun shining in, highlighting Simon's every muscle and curve beautifully. No longer possible to ignore his erection, it was time feature it. Any residual shyness on his part evaporated...'
'I love a model who is so at ease with their body. He spent the afternoon naked, with the exception of when we would walk from one building to the next, so he was always ready to shoot if we found something interesting. Unlike many models all he'd brought to the shoot was the clothes on his back - I love that! My work is about the model's lines and form, and not fashion, so when someone arrives with luggage I'm always a bit nervous about what the day may hold. No fears like that with Simon though!'
'Along the way we visited storerooms, and old gym, and sauna... Simon was good natured and fearless through it all, not only braving, but embracing, a lot of dirt and grime along the way... Chatting in the car on the way home I learned a bit more about him, and why he's in such good shape (neither flour or sugar are part of his diet).'
'He's a genuinely nice guy and he made our day of creating a pleasure. He has continued to be a great guy following the shoot, responding enthusiastically to the photos as I've sent them along. From what I hear they have lead to him getting a couple more exciting modeling offers too..'
