He showed up with his two dogs, both pitbulls. I love men who love dogs. I’m curious about men who own pitbulls. This one, a young male, was named Chaos.
I was immediately fascinated by his profile. I’ve learned one of the most intimate things one can do is touching a man’s head. With Gabriel I stood next to him and gently positioned his head again and again. A man’s head, his hands, his genitals: three volumes that hold all of his secrets.
As we were moving lights, Pony made a joke and Gabriel smiled. This was the only time he smiled during the shoot. It wasn’t that he was overly serious; he was intently focused on being the best he could be for us. It made the entire session remarkably easy and fun
There were so many things that made me curious, such as the fact that both of his armpits were tattooed with images of stars, planets, space. He had had so many things done to his body—some beautiful, some extreme, some extremely painful. But he was utterly matter-of-fact about it all, making everything feel like signposts or clues that you were free to read and interpret.
He’s 32, lives in the East Bay and works as a landscaper. He’s gay and is just coming out of a longterm relationship.
Halfway through the shoot I had him lie down. He’s tall and I wanted to be able to explore the landscape of his torso. I don’t know why, but I’ve been a little obsessed with the divisions of ribcage, mid-torso, loins.
While he was lying down, I moved between his legs. A thick strand of precum was hanging from his cock. I reached in and wiped it away. If you look closely you can see a very thin strand that was left. I love it when men ooze precum while they’re posing.
More than any of the other snapshots, this shows how Gabriel felt in person. Just before I snapped this shot, I’d asked him if he falls in love often. He said “No.” I pointed out that he’d just been in a six-year relationship. He said “I don’t fall in love easily.” I told him that I didn’t believe him and took this shot.
Gabriel was a study in light and dark. A landscaper who loves the outdoors, he has dozens of piercings and tattoos. Ranging from the sternum piercing to the armpit “cosmic” tattoos, to the scrotal piercings and the Baphomet tattoos on his legs, he literally embodied the signs of pain and pleasure, of good and evil.
After he’d left, Pony and I talked about him. We’d both completely fallen in love with him.
– PAUL MORRIS
