boysbyryan

Grant the Workman

Added 2021-03-27 21:00:02 +0000 UTC

Grant and I met this summer to explore the woods together for a new photoshoot. It was a wonderful break from quarantine to be outdoors and creating again. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. We began our work in wonderfully soft light, shrouded by storm clouds, continuing to shoot through a rejuvenating rainstorm that cleared to a sunny afternoon. This allowed for a wonderful progression of connecting Grant first with nature (see the last set), and then with a gruff workman persona- soft skin smeared with grease and sprawled against rough machinery. This shoot also offered me my favorite collage opportunity to date (see the last photo in the set). Carefully staging Grant across an excavator, I was able to create one of my most ambitious digital creations- a complex scene teeming with 25 nude bodies seemingly interacting with each other.

Grant is a talented 22-year-old artist and singer from my home state who moved west soon after our shoots. I immediately connected with his warm and playful energy. And of course, his physique is almost otherworldly, a real treasure to photograph. This was his first time creating nude art, and we spent a lot of time discussing the nature of free expression and censorship of male bodies. Grant told me;

“I’ve never seen being naked as a sexual expression. It’s always been a way for me to bond with my surroundings. The images captured by Ryan reflect on the childlike fascination I have with nature, and how I’ve always felt a deeper connection in the nude. …I’m inspired by finding alternate ways of looking at a subject matter. As someone who has struggled with self image, it was both creatively stimulating and a confidence boost to become the subject matter of someone else’s creative endeavors.”

This month I released my entire ‘Grant the Workman’ set to full members (232 high-res photos in both color and black & white). Upgrade now to unlock all my complete photo sets. Thank you for your support! ❤️

If you missed it, check out our last photo set HERE, and nude art featuring Grant HERE.