Duane Thomas (1)

I ordered this book so long ago that I had forgotten about it so that when it came last week it was like finding that I still had one Christmas present unopened.

I like photography books in general, especially of men because they are less hackneyed than ones about women who are usually young, beautiful, slim and are posed to show off just how desirable they are in a very Western way. Meaning big botties not allowed. Which is why Lopez, Beyonce and Kardashian are so remarked on, because its just not considered a generally-beautiful feature for women by the white world and we are not really multi-cultural, the Western world is white and everyone else is supposed to adapt unless they are being a bit exotic. Anyway that was a diversion.

I was saying I like photographic books about men. I tend to buy the ones about the Masaai, Samburu and Dogon tribes that purport to be about the interesting aspects of their culture but actually seem to be a good excuse to photograph some entirely delicious men going about their day-to-day business.

Its not that I like black men particularly, but a lot of photography books about white men are gay and the poses are sexual. I have only a passing interest in the gay lifestyle and sexual poses are not what interest me. So finding this with Lenny Kravitz (who is mixed race and Jewish just to add to the salad) on the cover was just the thing I was looking for. Men with big muscles, men with hardly any but looking sensitive, men who looked straight at me like they wanted to go to bed with me (shiver), men who looked like they thought we should go to the movies and eat popcorn, men who looked like they had no interests but themselves. Just lovely.

Technically, the lighting was especially good and the use of the white space of the page contrasting with the pose was remarkable. A very well-thought out book and one which I will enjoy for a long time to come.

Get it with a box of chocolates and share it with a girlfriend.… (mehr)