Birthday Wishes

So, my birthday has come and gone, and I am now 52 years old. Yippee. I am almost at my weight loss goal, which is probably being delayed because I have a birthday cake to eat. I'm eating that damn cake, though I am having very small, very thin slices because I don't want my blood sugar to skyrocket. I have my physical tomorrow, and here's hoping all is well. (I feel well, so I don't know what could go wrong other than being told I have to go for more tests or something.)

 

My birthday went well. I had lunch out a couple of times with my good friend Susan. My brother and nephew joined my parents and I for birthday cake Sunday morning, which was a few days after my birthday. I spoke to my sister-in-law on my birthday. It was pretty quiet for the most part.

That said, I was asked about my birthday wish. What would I want if I could have anything - no limits (other than not forcing anyone to do anything they don't want to do). Normally, I'd keep it to myself, but this year I'll talk about it.

So, as a photographer, I've done a lot of beefcake or male erotic photography.  I have worked with all types of male models, from the usual suspects (meaning, these are the guys you would expect to be standing in front of a camera) to the ordinary / everyday guys, and even some guys you wouldn't think would ever step in front of a camera that way. I find all body types and looks to be interesting and attractive and sexy. Of course, I have my personal preferences, but tend to keep an open mind - especially professionally. I've worked with a few models who would not have been my first or even second choice, and they turned out to be some of my favorite shoots.

Now, how does this relate to a birthday wish? Only in that I wish I could take this to another level. I'd like to take what I do and apply it to some of the male celebrities that I like. There are quite a few I'd like to photograph, including (but not limited to) Ralph Attanasia III, Adam Richman, Adam Tsekman, The Try Guys (collectively and individually), Gunsmile, Mike Chinnarat, Jonah Ray, David Tennant, Zac Efron, Max Adler, and quite a few others.

Now, I know that I'd be limited to them being shirtless. I figure the shoots would run into quarters from fully dressed, open shirt, tank top, and shirtless. That would be awesome.

Here's the problem. I ain't got money to do this! 

First of all, I figure I would need an agent to help negotiate a photo shoot. While it's been a while since I tried to get one, I've never been able to find an agent.

Second, I would have to pay them a fee for the shoot. Since I have trouble paying my models a bare minimum (the value is in the models getting the photos - a Time For Prints situation), I can't imagine being able to put together the funds for a shoot with a celebrity. Especially some of the more popular ones. On top of that, I would want my offer to include a donation to the charity of the celebrity's choice in the same amount that I am offering for the shoot. I figure that is best motivation for them to accept. I'm just a small-time photographer, and will probably remain so. I have to be able to have some reason for them to accept, so charitable donation works for me. I even would be open to donating some of the sales to charity, or allowing their charity to use some photos in some manner or another. For example, what if a calendar were put together with the sales going to that charity.

On top of that, I have to pay for flight and hotel to either go to them or bring them to me. I also have to rent a space so I don't have to rely on the great outdoors for the entire shoot. I'm sure there are other expenses I am not thinking of at this time as well.

What would happen with the photos? Prints would go up on eBay of course, since that's my main source of income. I would also put together a fanzine or two from the shoot. With an agent, I would hope to get some of the photos in various galleries as well.

Now, to be clear, my wish would be to have the means to make this happen. I expect some would turn me down. Others might do a shoot, but not a shirtless one. I never want anyone to do anything they aren't comfortable with. Just because I want something to happen, doesn't mean it has to happen. When another person is involved, they need to want it to and/or give their consent.

To me, it seems like an impossible dream almost. Maybe if I win the lottery, I can make it happen. Still, it's good to dream, and you never know what could happen. What if one of these gentlemen read this, and think "Hey, he's in Jacksonville. I'll be that way in a month or two. I could work something out with him.". I also realize they could read this and think "Creepy! He needs to stay Far, Far Away!" A couple of the celebrities listed are Thai actors I like. I hope to one day go to Thailand, and would hope to be able to photograph some of them when I do go there.

So, that's it for this post. That's kind of been my wish. It would be nice if I could make it happen, but if I can't... well, the world will go as it will and not as you or I would have it.

My other birthday wish is that I really wanted a video greeting from Gunsmile, kind of like what you can get from Cameo.com. I couldn't figure out how to make that happen though. I did try. C'est la vie. Hopefully he'll be part of some online fan event in the future, and I can make something happen that way.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading all this. Have a great week!

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