Eric, in Drifters + Wanderers

Here’s Eric, one of my most recent Drifters. This is one of my favorite sets in the series.

See the whole series on Vir Impudicus.

Weekend: New Model, Art Auction and More

I enjoyed this weekend even though it threw my schedule off a bit. We stayed up later than anticipated on Friday night because I had a model coming into town to spend Saturday shooting with me. We expected him about 11pm but he got delayed, and didn’t arrive until 12:30. And when he did get to the house, he was hungry, and since we hadn’t met before it wasn’t like we could all just go to sleep, so we stayed up talking and getting to know one another until about 2am.

That led to us getting a later start than anticipated on Saturday, but we spent the whole afternoon shooting photos. After that, we had dinner with the model (Naisa, one of my favorites), and then Jay and Jared and I went to the IYG Art Auction. I have to confess that I wasn’t really in the mood for the auction this year, but Jay and I each had three artpieces in the auction, and with all the policial bullshit that Republicans pulled on IYG this year, we kind of felt like we had to support them. Personally, I hope that IYG gets more donations than ever before.

The Auction ended up being a lot more fun than anticipated. A few of good friends who I haven’t had the chance to connect with for months were there, as well as quite a few other people we knew. We ended the night at Metro with some of our best friends.

Sunday, I didn’t do a lot. I was exhausted from being up late on Friday, having a photo shoot on Saturday that lasted a lot longer than most, and being at the auction and then going out after that. I spent Sunday on the couch. I edited and organized photos. I watched two movies, “Friends With Benefits” and “Melancholia” (neither of which did much for me [okay, I'll be honest: "Melancholia" sucked.]). I mopped the floors. I cooked a tuna casserole. I pet the cats.

My shoot with the new model was good. He was a great guy, which shouldn’t surprised me as I learned on Friday that he’s good friends with one of my favorite models to ever walk into my studio. I’m looking forward to going through the rest of his phots. So far I’ve only edited a few, but here’s a preview.

The First Family

I’m posting the following portrait just because I like it. It kind of makes my heart warm.

This is The President of the United States and his family. He is not “Obama,” as Fox News has determined to call him, but “President Obama.”

He is my president.

Thanks, Marc, for the photo.

William Levy

I should be watching this season of Dancing with the Stars just because of William Levy. This model/actor is HOT. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of him before.

It helps that he’s Cuban-American . . . back in the day when I was younger and single I had a serious weakness for Latino men. I had some fun with a Dominican, a Puerto Rican, and a few guys from Mexico, but I never made my way to a Cuban in my tour of Latin American men.

I’m just not sure how a Cuban gets a named like, William Levy.

See my photos, one of which is decidedly not safe for work. They are all hot. You’ve been warned.

Black and White Ball

“I think there’s nothing Truman can’t do. He writes like an angel, he’s the dearest and most understanding friend – and now this party, the most superb thing I’ve ever seen.” Vi Tate, for Time magazine.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s was the play that first put Truman Capote in the spotlight, but it was In Cold Blood that cemented his place as the most famous writer of his time. The book sold out immediately and bookstores couldn’t keep copies of it stocked. It became the most talked about book of the 1960s. In Cold Blood quickly made Truman Capote a millionaire and elevated him to a position of fame that no author has reached since.

Truman Capote

To celebrate his new-found success, Truman Capote threw himself a party, the masked “Black and White Ball,” which was later called The Party of the Century. The ball, to be held at New York’s Plaza Hotel, had a limited guest list of 540, and an invitation to it quickly became one of the most coveted items in the world. Capote taunted the rich and famous with invitations for months (“Well maybe you’ll be invited, and maybe you won’t”). As they realized that being at The Black and White Ball would validate one’s place in high society, celebrities begged, bribed, and threatened Capote for invitations. The hounding became so bad that Truman had to leave New York for a while.

Candice Bergen

Penelope Tree

In the end, it’s said that Truman Capote “made 500 friends and 15,000 enemies,” snubbing even old friends and popular celebrities as he determined who was worthy of attendance. The final guest list contained a diverse mix of New York socialites, writers, movie stars, artists, politicians, royals, some townspeople that Truman met in Kansas while writing In Cold Blood, and even the doorman and elevator operator of Truman’s apartment building.

“They rolled off the assembly line like dolls, newly painted and freshly coiffed, packaged in silk, satin and jewels and addressed to Truman Capote, the Plaza Hotel.” From, The New York Times

The famous guests included:

Edward Albee, Richard Avedon, Lauren Bacall, Tallulah Bankhead, Harry Belafonte, Candice Bergen, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, William Buckley, Richard Burton, Noël Coward, Walter Cronkite, Sammy Davis Jr, Oscar de la Renta, Marlene Dietrich, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Mia Farrow, Henry Fonda, Joan Fontaine, Greta Garbo, William Randolph Hearst Jr, Christopher Isherwood, Senator Ted Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Harper Lee, Vivien Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Norman Mailer, Walter Matthau, James Michener, Arthur Miller, Vincent Minnelli, Mike Nichols, Gregory Peck, Jason Robards, Nelson Rockefeller, Philip Roth, Frank Sinatra, Steven Sondheim, John Steinbeck, Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Taylor, Andy Warhol, Billy Wilder, Tennessee Williams, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra

Tallulah Bankhead

The party started around 9pm. At midnight, dinner was served (Plaza Chicken Hash). Frank Sinatra and his wife Mia Farrow took their entourage and left at 2:45am, which suggested to other guests that the Black and White Ball was winding down. Aware that this would be the case, Truman begged Sinatra to stay longer, but he was ready to move on to his favorite bar, Jilly’s. The last guests to leave were Truman’s friends from Kansas.

The Black and White Ball

Extra

While researching this post, I found a recipe online for Plaza Chicken Hash. It sounds like something so rich and fattening and unhealthy that no one I know would eat it, but here’s the recipe:

• 4 cups finely diced cooked chicken breast
• 11/ 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup cream sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/2 cup Hollandaise sauce

Mix chicken, cream, cream sauce and seasonings in a heavy skillet. Cook over moderate heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. When moisture is slightly reduced, place skillet in a moderate oven (350F), and bake for 30 minutes. Stir in sherry and return to oven for 10 minutes. Lightly fold in Hollandaise sauce and serve at once.

Serves 4-5

Jarrod, in Models: Men

This is Jarrod, one of the latest new guys to come into my studio. He’s great.

You can see more on my primary website, www.sbarnesphotography.com, under Models: Men.

My Dirty Easter Story

I grew up in a house pretty much without religion, but from an early age I understood the concept of “Hell” and had a pretty sure feeling that I would earn a trip there.

This was cemented into my head on the morning of the Easter when I was 13. All the other kids in the neighborhood were in church — besides the estimated 25% of our neighbors who preferred Passover to Easter, who I assumed would all be spending that particular morning doing something “too Jewish” for me to disturb them.

So with nothing else to do, while everyone outside of my household was in church, I went into the bathroom and jacked off. At the time, I thought I was doing the most sacrilegious thing imaginable, and I decided that if I didn’t cum that this Jesus being that my parents didn’t celebrate and I didn’t understand would take pity on me and NOT send me to Hell for it.

But I was 13 years old. I came, anyway.

NSFW Saturday, Derrick Davenport

I had never heard of Derrick Davenport, even though I have a couple of his photos on my screen saver.

I guess he was Playgirl‘s 2006 Man of the Year.

If you choose to scroll down, the following post becomes decidedly Not-Safe-for-Work.

All photos this post, copyright someone else.

Griffin

Griffin was sent to me by a friend of mine, who used to be a photographer before he moved to California. Griffin’s style, that European skater look, is really “in” right now in high fashion photography, so I was eager to work with him.

The shoot was fun because Griffin’s personality and interests are also unlike most of my models, which made for interesting conversation during the shoot. I’m looking forward to working with him again.

He has a brother, too. I’d love to get twins into my studio together, but I’d settle for brothers.

You can see more on my primary website.

David, in Portraits

Here is a new portrait I recently took, of a friend named David. It’s a little different from my usual portrait look.