'Without a doubt, Seth is one of the most beautiful men I have had the pleasure to photograph.'
Under my 'welcome' on the right side of the blog, I write that FH is not just focused on the current, but favorites from years gone by. I think San Diego photographer Steve Jerome is a great example of why only focusing only the here and now would mean missing out on so many incredible images of the male form. Yes, Steve is shooting some of today's hottest men, including Dakota Charles who introduced me to Steve's imagery last November, and Quinn Christopher Jaxon last month. But.. delving into the archives often unearths some of the most stunning of treasures.
I am sure some of you have seen the image above, not one of Steve's, but from photographer Keith Munyan. Many of you who collected Playgirl through the years might recognize the shot from a 2005 special issue of the magazine, Men At The Beach. That man on the beach is Seth Sorenson, model that Steve had the pleasure of meeting and shooting when Seth had just started to step in front of the camera. Steve shot Seth just after he graced the cover of Men's Fitness, but just before he took off, for taking it all off, for Playgirl Magazine.
'I thoroughly enjoyed his company and loved showing him my hometown of Chicago, enjoying some of the best pizza and Italian food the city has to offer. I recorded almost everything we did and later released a DVD called Seth Sorenson Unedited that was a hit with his fans. I still have copies and like to look back on what I did very early on in my career.'
'Seth came to our Chicago facility when he first started modeling his exceptional good looks and incredible body, but he has since been living and working in San Diego and has developed a large following of adoring fans (for good reason) from all around the world. He also started a successful sports and fitness website that offers advice on how to maintain a healthy, near perfect body.'
Seth has that 'it' factor that photographers, and lovers of images of the male form, saw right away. His incredible body is important of course, but I think it was that face, Seth's beautiful blue eyes and adorable grin, and maybe just a bit of an 'awe shucks', sweet, but not cocky attitude that drew so many fans his way. Seth, who also went under the name of Jeremy Markum, built up a large fan base in the 2000's for his modeling and video work. I am sure that Seth was a part of many our early experiences with the male nude after we started our Google searches for naked men after first getting on the net!
'Seth came to Chicago and spent an entire weekend with me shooting, so we played around with all sorts of images, poses and lighting (studio and natural). He was amazing, to say the least. He was willing to try everything and really opened up during the weekend shoot.'
' Young, gorgeous and built, he turned heads everywhere we went. I remember going to a Tower Records and having him purchase a copy of the fitness magazine that featured him on the cover. The clerk looked up and said, "that's you, isn't it?" and the smile on his face was precious.'
That video Steve shot, Seth Sorenson unedited, was Steve's first foray into video. Steve's first film, The Blue Velvet Video, a softcore video featuring an array of gorgeous men in the buff, won Steve a couple of awards. Thanks to Steve for sharing his early work with Seth, and you can check out more of Steve's images with Seth, and check out the many prints available, on Steve' site HERE:
'Seth is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime find and one stunning example of a man.'
