Acclaimed photographer Blake Little has a new photo book out, entitled Primary. It’s his first collection of nudes. We’re only able to bring you censored images (sorry!), but they give you a taste of what to expect.
Little was born and raised in Seattle, WA and studied at the University of Washington and Seattle Central College where he completed his photography degree in 1984. He then relocated to Los Angeles.
As a commercial photographer working mainly in the entertainment industry, he’s built up an enviable portfolio, shooting everyone from Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore to Samuel Jackson and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Besides his commercial work, Little also pursues his passion for fine art photography. This has included covering contemporary western culture in Alberta, Canada, and documenting the gay rodeo scene. An ongoing project, Fluid, exhibited last year in Canada, is documenting members of the transgender, non-binary and gender-fluid community.
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Little’s also well-known for his portraits of men, such as those collected in his 2011 collection, The Company of Men, and 2013’s Manifest.
Primary continues in this tradition, but this time, the models are naked.
“‘PRIMARY’ usually refers to what comes first or is most important. We come into this world without clothes and all the associations and signifiers they bring. It’s where we start. To be naked is often to be revealed, stripped-down, raw and honest,” says a press release for the book.
Talking to Queerty, Little says that he again realized how taboo nudity is for many when it came to finding models. Lots of guys declined, despite Little’s pedigree as a photographer.
“The men have different responses to being photographed nude. Posing nude for most guys is a big issue for societal, family and professional reasons. About half of the men I asked decided not to be photographed.”
In the end, over four years, he managed to shoot 100 different men, both in his studio and on locations around North America and Europe. Most pose solo while there are also some couples. The book features 166 photos.
“I let the shoot happen organically and capture their reaction. The book includes everything from flaccid to erect and lots of in-between.”
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Would it be fair to say Little shoots the type of guys he finds attractive?
“For Primary, I photographed a full range of gay men from age 23-65. I find each of the men beautiful in their own way and felt compelled to photograph them. For me, they are part of an international community.
“I suppose they represent a particular gay subculture that I identify with.
With these nude portraits, my main focus is to capture the essence of the individual and a true connection with the viewer while still concentrating on the figure, composition and environment.”
Primary, which includes the uncensored versions of the images shown here, is available now.
CatholicXXX
no thanks
I want colton underwood
sebastianreign
Your screen name and comment: “Tell me you’re self loathing without telling me you’re self loathing.”
Let me guess, you whip yourself Opus Dei style every time you look at Colton don’t you? Oh wait, you consider that a feature not a flaw.
Kinkslola
You need to assume the missionary position and let your priest bang the devil out of you!
G R
Me too!!
sebastianreign
Beautifully done.
Every one of these men are gorgeous, impossible to pick a favorite!
Georgeiv2
They are indeed all fantastic but M.Po is perfection .
Ken A.
At least Michael Stokes gives full previews.
M@
Great looking men, great pics. Just wish we’d get over the “it’s not masculine to smile” thing. Most of these guys look thoroughly pissed off, or at least not happy.
GayEGO
Great pics! I wonder if any of them have perky bums!
G R
Meh to every guy here.
ondaboat0069
From a photographer’s eye the only interesting one is the guy in the drainage pipe. We’ve seen millions of other photos in the same bland backgrounds
Creamsicle
I think the subjects are sexy and appealing, but the composition is pretty lacking for a photography project. I hope the artists keeps doing their work, but with a lot more purpose and staging.
Joshooeerr
Yes, the actual photography is unremarkable. Beyond snapping chunky naked guys, what’s the point?
greekboy
The takeaway here is this photographer prefers middle aged rather robust men in trite settings. No complaints from me
AZ71
I like Blake Little’s work..but these photos seem really amateur. I’m not sure what it is…like almost test shots. Maybe we need to see the entire nudity of the men for it to hit us.
Redmon17
Methinks some commenters are mighty picky. Every one of these men is a hunk and I doubt many of us would kick them out of bed. So the lighting doesn’t suit you, or they need to smile. Give it up and enjoy the photos for what they are. Can you do better?
jayceecook
I agree that most of the photos here in this Q article are rather bland. The men are fine (pun intended) but just the overall composition is rather basic. Some even look like the website shots of the models for porn studios.
Now when you go to his website you’ll find some much better examples of what this artist is capable of. There is one of a guy from FL that is rather stunning. One of the couples’ photo is striking. There are also some nice bums on display but no full frontal. So there are some great shots however I worry the rest come off as nothing more than random Instagram pics. Also, the cover for the book is…well…a choice. Not sure how I feel about it.
Kangol2
Looking forward to this one. Some very hot men on this page (Quinn in particular) and I’m curious to see if he does anything interesting with the various aspects of photography.
Diplomat
Rather bland. I’d like to have seen more diversity in his choice of body types.
barryaksarben
I know it isnt popular but I like obviously gay men who are on the thinner side. My friends are bears or love bears and every event they drag me to I see not one person Im attracted to physically. There arer many great guys who are fun to talk to but I have seen them look down on thinner or gay acting gays and it makes me sad and has caused me to not go with my friends any longer
jayceecook
Grow up.
Apolodorus
You’re not like other girls. You are different and unique.
nunya
Those legs on Pablo! Me gustan!
averageguy40
I haven’t seen Po in years. OMG he looks fantastic. He was great back then and even hotter now.