'Andrew had recently lost a job. He had a Craigslist ad in the job/resume selection looking for any kind of work. . He responded right away with interest in modeling.'
Richard, The Third Eye
The quote above is how I began the first chapter of Andrew's story, featured on FH back in the summer of 2016. (Same Old Story) Andrew's story was featured along with several other models Richard had work with in 2015/16. Andrew's story captured before knowing anything about him, my fascination with his story began with the first image of Richard's I saw of him.
The image (HERE:) featured Andrew staring out of a window. There was something about the look in his eye that had me wondering what brought him to that window, what led to him removing all his clothing and be photographed in such an emotionally vulnerable way.
Truth is I don't know if Andrew knew he was projecting such emotion that would trigger such intrigue from someone viewing the image. As Richard shared in the first part of the story, Andrew wasn't a model, had never modeled before in fact. But, having just lost a job, he needed work, he needed money to pay the rent. There are models I feature on FH who have made modeling a career. There are other models on the site, who have jobs and careers outside of modeling but enjoy doing it on the side, as a creative outlet, or to make a little extra cash.
Then there are models who never thought of modeling before, but due to circumstance and opportunity, find themselves in front a photographers lens for the first, and often, only time. Andrew returned to shoot with the Ohio artist again this year, a little older, a little wiser, and with a few more life scares on his emotional resume.
Andrew's story is still a work a progress. He shares that he is still struggling to find a career path that he's passionate about. His modeling work with Richard however, has inspired him to seek out something creative, something allows explore his talents and passions. He is however in a happy long term relationship. Andrew's girlfriend is also creative, and works in the entertainment industry.
Richard is a master storyteller and each of the last three pieces featuring his visuals, (Kyle | Besecker) | Brian) have gone beyond the front cover into stories of transformation and change. Richard's images of Andrew continue to stoke my curiosity, and I look forward to discovering more of Andrew's story. As much as I love the physique and nudes, it is Richard's portraits, and Andrew's beautifully expressive eyes, that tease pieces of his story yet to be told.
