Another influence...
Added 2022-09-20 09:48:00 +0000 UTCDNA Magazine launched here in Australia in the year 2000, the year after I came out. Discovering my taste in men at the time looks like it was heavily influenced by the work of Australian-born, L.A. based photographer Lewis Payton.
Looking at his website it appears to not have been updated in a while but I vividly remember these images of his men, the cover boys of DNA Mag at the time with their defined bodies, beautiful muscles, golden tans and all round sexiness.
Not only are they prime examples of the guys I find attractive but they also appear to have influenced the kind of guys I like to photograph. Obviously there is a clear overlap between attraction and who I want to photograph but I'd also say that to an extent, Lewis has influenced my photography too. It feels like we use natural light in a similar way and yes the guys are very muscular and athletic but they aren't posed in a cliched macho way.
Lewis has been revisiting some of these old shoots on his Instagram recently and bringing up fond memories. If you're wondering who these guys are they are Sean Harvey, Brent Van Want, David Rich, Jeff Wilson, Marco Dapper, Rusty Joiner and Ryan Daharsh. Dreamboats the lot of them.
