I clicked and saved the above pic of Colin a few months ago. I was going to post it as a pic of the day as Colin has such a beautiful behind. When looking more closely at the pic I was struck by the emotion in the picture. The use of light, the fact that Colin's reflection was not seen in the mirror, and the question of what exactly was Colin looking at or for in that mirror and a sense of sadness that there was no reflection to be seen.
In researching the pic, I discovered it's photographer, 24 year old Ryan Pfluger. Ryan works out of Brooklyn and although I have been reading his blog, and checking out his site a lot since discovering his work, what struck me most was this quote on his site 'their sense of self'. Sense of self is something I to spend a great deal of time trying to discover. As soon as I read that, Colin's picture took on even more meaning to me. Sense of self is so much different that what one presents. If one works hard, you can combine what you present and your sense of self, but most of us spend our life using our clothes, body, choice of words, to cover self. Self can be a truly amazing thing, or something scary as hell. Ryan's work sums it up in a beautiful and thoughtful way.
Below: 2 self portraits of Ryan.
It is interesting to me that Ryan's subjects seem to have so much in common with Ryan himself. There are similarites I am sure were done with intent. Ryan's models are not the typical runway model, and neither are most of us. A typical beautiful model would not be able to convey what is being said the same way. Not because they to don't strive for self, but because we would have trouble seeing this as we assume because they are perfect, this struggle is not a part of them. Of course we are wrong. I find Ryan's models, both nude shots, men and women to scream erotic and sexuality without screaming sex. Difficult task indeed. I have enjoyed studying Ryan's work and getting to know a bit about him recently. Thank you!
Next 2 pics are of Brian, who seems to be a favorite of Ryan's.
The pic below of Colin is one of my favorites of Ryan. His beautiful face and those eyes speak to me.
Check out Ryan's Site HERE:
Check out Ryan's Blog HERE:
Check out Ryan's Myspace HERE:
