Michelangelo DiNapoli: Into The Woods

Be careful what you wish for..... In the musical Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine delve into the darker undertones or our childhood bedtime stories exploring beyond the surface into the characters motivations, pain and longings and of course what happens to them after 'happily ever after.' The Woods, the setting, but also a metaphor the places, both literally and emotionally that we all go to satisfy our longings and needs.


What better place then, for model Michelangelo DiNapoli to enter into the woods then in the Meat Rack, a section of forest between the Pines and Cherry Grove on Fire Island New York. This particular area of woods is known as a place of desire fulfillment, a dark thick forest, you enter, then exit happily, although not usually, for ever after.




I was first introduced to the work of New York model last year when profiling his work with photographers Kevin Hoover and Rick Day for tMf#7. Michelangelo knows how create a great image, his savory body the bait, his beautiful soulful brown eyes, the lure to hook you in. In addition to his physical attributes, what most impressed me about Michelangelo was his determination. Even when told that he was too short or too ethnic looking, Michelangelo continued to follow his passion, working and creating an impressive body of work with some of the preeminent capturers of the male form.


I love these shots from New York photographer Ron Amato. Within the foliage, within the tree's and on the beach, Amato beautifully captures Michelangelo as if he belonged there. A natural, and sensual, inhabitant of the forest. The images, like the woods, are lush and green and there such detail and depth they almost appear as if a 3D painting. Because of the weather and the lighting, Ron and Michelangelo shot twice, once at 6a.m, which ended early due to the overcast sky, clouds and drizzle. You can see the foreboding sky in the last two images on the beach taken that morning. They got together again at almost 6p.m, to bring in the evening sun, after the days rain finally ended.


The second shoot took place deep in forest, and even with all the trees, there was plenty of sunshine to warm and light Michelangelo's naked body. In this particular section of woods it is not exactly unexpected to run into the odd nude man, or men for that matter. It was still however a nice surprise for others who ventured into the woods, to come across Michelangelo at work. The first shoot included a cigarette smoking spectator on the boardwalk, clearly happy with his early morning view. The second shoot, possibly from the mornings positive reviews, had an even larger audience.

'The men who walked through the woods, looking for sex, stopped to watch our shoot--some stayed longer than others, some stayed too long until Ron stopped and gave them a look, or until we moved to another location. I got lots of attention, which created a great sexy mood for the shoot. I used it to my advantage. The men were pleasantly surprised to see a photo shoot in the woods with a completely nude model.'