When we last left photographer Eddie Christie and model Samuel Lora, they were on to Plan B. After fleeing the old fort they were shooting at after being discovered by some unexpected visitors! (Skin & Stone) The next stop, somewhere a little bit more private to shoot.
'Plan B required driving to a friend's house in Maryland, about an hour away. She offered her private 5 acres to me and I took advantage of the offer. The trails no longer existed in her wooded backyard but plenty of places to shoot abounded. Samuel and I found a starting location in a dried up stream. He got naked and I started taking pictures. It's great working with a model that needs very little guidance and who knows how to pose his body or come up with interesting lines. We worked together on pose ideas throughout the shoot.'
Every time I feature Eddie Christie's work I am always impressed at how with his camera, he brings life to almost any location, no matter how long forgotten. Every time I feature Samuel, I am in amazed at how he is able to blend himself into anywhere he is working, taking on not just the feel, but the history of the location and channel it through his movement and poses.
In this series I could not get the image of a woodland creature out of my mind, a deer maybe or the character of Mr. Tumnus from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was Mr. Tummus who first welcome Lucy into the world of Narnia and in this series it feels it is Samuel who is welcoming us to take off our clothes and join him to play, frolic and experience all of the pleasures of the woods.
In my research of mythical woodland creatures the closes thing I could find to the spiritual vibe and magic, eroticism and sexual energy Samuel exudes was the Satyr. Although not every adjective to describe them remind me of Samuel, much of the description is spot on to the visual he has created within his work with Eddie.
'In Greek mythology, Satyrs (in Ancient Greek: Σάτυροι — Sátyroi) are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus that roamed the woods and mountains. In mythology they are often associated with male sex drive and many artists have portrayed them with erections. Satyrs acquired their goat-like aspect through later conflation with the Roman Faunus, a carefree nature spirit of similar temperament. Satyrs are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk — subversive and dangerous, yet shy and cowardly. As Dionysiac creatures they are lovers of wine, women and boys, and are ready for every physical pleasure. They love to dance with the nymphs with whom they are obsessed and whom they often pursue'.
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