'I've always enjoyed the juxtapositioning in these shots of Michael's soft cherub-esque hair and his hard sculpted physique; almost reflecting Canada's famous apologetically friendly disposition, and our harsh frozen winters. Definitely a shoot we'd like to recreate at some point in the future, maybe for Canada Day 2018. ;)'
There are thousands of images on the web of models wrapped, or unwrapped, in the American flag. There are only a handful of similar shots featuring models with the Canadian flag. It may have a lot to do with population, or how people of each country express national pride. With the notable exception of hockey, Canadians tend to express their pride inwardly. This doesn't negate it's intensity, especially this year, with Canada celebrating their 150 birthday.
Thankfully a few artists have weaved the Canadian flag into their work, my favorite being Halifax photographer Shaun Simpson's images of model Michael Hamm. I have featured Shaun's work several times on FH and am excited to be able to feature his work with Michael. If you're a fan of either, you know the magic they create together. This magic is especially evident in work with Cosplay, a passion of both. Self described 'geek's, some of their Cosplay themed images have become iconic, especially the superheroes, they have vibrantly brought to life.
Michael blends his geek side with fitness and sexy better than any model I know, and Shaun knows just how to shoot it. These shots come from an impromptu shoot they two had together a few years ago, before Michael's rise to fame with his cosplay work. I had seen one of the images before, and was curious to if there were more. Thanks to Shaun for editing a few others to help FH commemorate Canada Day!
'The shoot was probably our quickest ever, we got into the studio, setup, shot, and wrapped things up in about 35 minutes; I recall it was a particularly warm day, in a studio lacking air conditioning. I've had the pleasure of working with Michael on well over a dozen shoots in the past few years; one of my favourite models, and bestest friends. We actually just finished another cosplay shoot on Thursday, complete with last minute location cancellation, and a multi-hour power outage; thankfully shooting with him is more like hanging out than actual work. Oh, and be sure to check out Michael's Facebook and Instagram page for more of our work together; you can subscribe to his Patreon account to check-out exclusive shots from our shoots, and special behind the scene stuff too.'
