Photos & Videos Ancient Olympics re-creation / nude athletes, etc

[blakeyelavich]

This has NOT been broadly announced because I am getting all the details in line before the unveiling of my concept and idea, but I would love the LPSG members help. I am the creator of the well-known "Men Of Utah" series, (you can find that website easily) but now I live in Athens, Greece. I have found that except for PBS in the early 1990s, no one (NO ONE !?!) has done a photographic re-creation of the first Olympics in 776 BC... so I am taking this on as my next project. Even PBS, of course, shy-ed away from any nudity - they're PBS. I am not going to do that. I'm using twelve athletes, authentically naked, training, preparing and competing in the first six primary events (foot race, javelin, discus, long jump, wrestling and the very bloody pankration - the precursor to today's MMA fighting.) I'll include a few pre-production images I created to begin collecting believers in this book, but I also compiled a video that needs to "knock them off their feet" (on Kickstarter) bringing the authentic past to now.

Can you guys watch the following video and, just as blind observers, tell me what you think? Do you GET the idea of what I am trying to create? Is it engaging? Is it too long/short, etc? Does it suggest all of the possible sections of the original Olympic games that will be covered in a 180 page glossy coffee-table book? I want it to be "rich" but with dicks... LOL. I am trying to appease both crowds - academics and "admirers of the naked male form"...

And we all know how nit-picky both groups can be.

The link for the unreleased video is: https://www.menofolympus.com

And attached are a few pre-pre-production shots, as a bribe. LOL. These were taken in studio - the re-creation will of course be outdoors for the most part... but it's January.

And there may be some glitches still in the website... Everything is in the air right now and has not yet settled or been fine-tuned. (I have five models in the next seven days doing test shoots, if that tells you anything. I am no where near creation... We have only just begun...) I promise to share glimpses as we go along! (I'm tempted to tell you what others said of my other Kickstarter videos, but I do not want to put pre-conceived "look-out-for's" in your heads.)

Thank you in advance.

- Blake

 

[Pepijn]

Would love to see the series

 

[central professor]

I love this idea! I think many of us have been fans of this type of thing. Accentuating the male physique with a hint of sexiness... love it.

 

[larsmi]

This is an interesting concept rich with possibilities. I see the book and video aspects as being quite different though. The still images in the book would likely be engaging individually and as a whole. I'd be concerned that the video might get repetitive and feel long. If you think about the current Olympic telecasts, they are probably 50% personal stories which draw the audience into the lives of the athletes. Without some narrative thread (historic or personal) I'm not sure a video would keep the audience captive. With a solid structure (documentary or personal) it could be a hit.

Good luck, sounds like a worthy undertaking and a TON of work. I hope it pays off.

 

[Jmal646]

Love this concept, I think it just comes down to the execution. The video is fantastic, where did you find all this footage from? I think the tricky part here is being able to capture it in a sense that feels kind of authentic, I feel like the test shots you provoded - that style of photography is a departure from the aesthetic you are going for. I would say try to emulate the look of the vintage aesthetics from the video. The glossy digital photos just look a bit cheap and the lighting is just too modern. Have you conidered shooting it on film? Study the great male physoque photographers. Bob Mizer, Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, Pirelli calendars etc. Best of luck, and looking forward to seeing the finished project

 

[blakeyelavich]

This is an interesting concept rich with possibilities. I see the book and video aspects as being quite different though. The still images in the book would likely be engaging individually and as a whole. I'd be concerned that the video might get repetitive and feel long. If you think about the current Olympic telecasts, they are probably 50% personal stories which draw the audience into the lives of the athletes. Without some narrative thread (historic or personal) I'm not sure a video would keep the audience captive. With a solid structure (documentary or personal) it could be a hit.

Good luck, sounds like a worthy undertaking and a TON of work. I hope it pays off.

Yes, this is one of the "ridiculous aspects" putting a Kickstarter funding process out there. Kickstarter's demands basically mean you have to do all the work that you are asking for funding in order to do. They ask for a eight to ten minute video as well as photos, etc... (the video is mandatory)... Well, Mr. Kickstarter, if I could accomplish this in the way I wanted, I wouldn't need to Kickstarter! My attempt at a structure of thread is putting a continuous mix of video, paintings/etchings/carvings, and existing recreations to explain what the book would cover: the days of the athlete during the Olympics in 776 BC, from rest to training, to competition...

 

[blakeyelavich]

Love this concept, I think it just comes down to the execution. The video is fantastic, where did you find all this footage from? I think the tricky part here is being able to capture it in a sense that feels kind of authentic, I feel like the test shots you provoded - that style of photography is a departure from the aesthetic you are going for. I would say try to emulate the look of the vintage aesthetics from the video. The glossy digital photos just look a bit cheap and the lighting is just too modern. Have you conidered shooting it on film? Study the great male physoque photographers. Bob Mizer, Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, Pirelli calendars etc. Best of luck, and looking forward to seeing the finished project

Yes, to reiterate the post before, one of the ridiculous rules of Kickstarter is to provide a video of what you intend to do... while you are asking for the funding to do just that. Also, it being (now) the first of February, my only choice was to shoot in studio and not on location - not just for the Kickstarter but also to use to attract the rest of the male models and explain to them what we are trying to do. When possible I shoot in the Herb Ritts / Bruce Weber styles (in all honesty, my mind and inspiration goes back even further - to the Jim French / COLT photography - absolutely my muse.) Plan to see that in the finished product.

 

[blakeyelavich]

This is an interesting concept rich with possibilities. I see the book and video aspects as being quite different though. The still images in the book would likely be engaging individually and as a whole. I'd be concerned that the video might get repetitive and feel long. If you think about the current Olympic telecasts, they are probably 50% personal stories which draw the audience into the lives of the athletes. Without some narrative thread (historic or personal) I'm not sure a video would keep the audience captive. With a solid structure (documentary or personal) it could be a hit.

Good luck, sounds like a worthy undertaking and a TON of work. I hope it pays off.

It would only be a "coffee-table" book product, not video. Once a video is released anywhere, there is no reason to try to sell it - it is basically gone and out of your hands. Think in terms of "Locker Room Nudes Dievx Dv Stade." You can google images from it or check out... Think an ancient Olympic version of that.

https://www.amazon.com/Locker-Room-Nudes-Dieux-Stade/dp/0789313073

 

[blakeyelavich]

The only videos I had available to use to make my promotional video are: 1. Up to 5 minutes of video graciously provided by permission of the 1988 PBS documentary (which they blanket offer to anyone who asks because they are PBS), and 2 & 3: two soft-core 'porn' movies of the same time period (1985-ish) by companies which no longer exist today which were made for nothing but to see naked men wrestling (etc) ... no sex or erections. Then I blended in many images provided by (for sake of generalities) `Getty Images' and my own photography of artifacts. Literally NO ONE has done this. (The HAIR in the PBS series is laughable; in the porn movies they didn't even try...). The music is from the band MUSE.

 

[blakeyelavich]

My current cast for Men Of Olympus (dot) com, as of Feb 1, is the following eight guys out of 12 as a desired "goal" with casting ending the 28th of February ... (Upon uploading, I sometimes forget I am a photographer and upload very large images. I will try to remember to bring them down to size. My apologies.)

 

[blakeyelavich]

Would love to see the series

Thank you!

 

[blakeyelavich]

I love this idea! I think many of us have been fans of this type of thing. Accentuating the male physique with a hint of sexiness... love it.

Thank you. I included some more information today, and some casting photos "so far" - things still can change and things get re-adjusted, but I just want to keep you all updated.

 

[HUNGHUNK777]

I love a good competition! I was planning to do the Sparta-based Spartan race but this looks even more fun!

 

[samsara108]

This has NOT been broadly announced because I am getting all the details in line before the unveiling of my concept and idea, but I would love the LPSG members help. I am the creator of the well-known "Men Of Utah" series, (you can find that website easily) but now I live in Athens, Greece. I have found that except for PBS in the early 1990s, no one (NO ONE !?!) has done a photographic re-creation of the first Olympics in 776 BC... so I am taking this on as my next project. Even PBS, of course, shy-ed away from any nudity - they're PBS. I am not going to do that. I'm using twelve athletes, authentically naked, training, preparing and competing in the first six primary events (foot race, javelin, discus, long jump, wrestling and the very bloody pankration - the precursor to today's MMA fighting.) I'll include a few pre-production images I created to begin collecting believers in this book, but I also compiled a video that needs to "knock them off their feet" (on Kickstarter) bringing the authentic past to now.

Can you guys watch the following video and, just as blind observers, tell me what you think? Do you GET the idea of what I am trying to create? Is it engaging? Is it too long/short, etc? Does it suggest all of the possible sections of the original Olympic games that will be covered in a 180 page glossy coffee-table book? I want it to be "rich" but with dicks... LOL. I am trying to appease both crowds - academics and "admirers of the naked male form"...

And we all know how nit-picky both groups can be.

The link for the unreleased video is: https://www.menofolympus.com

And attached are a few pre-pre-production shots, as a bribe. LOL. These were taken in studio - the re-creation will of course be outdoors for the most part... but it's January.

And there may be some glitches still in the website... Everything is in the air right now and has not yet settled or been fine-tuned. (I have five models in the next seven days doing test shoots, if that tells you anything. I am no where near creation... We have only just begun...) I promise to share glimpses as we go along! (I'm tempted to tell you what others said of my other Kickstarter videos, but I do not want to put pre-conceived "look-out-for's" in your heads.)

Thank you in advance.

- Blake

View attachment 159798451View attachment 159798491View attachment 159798721View attachment 159799061View attachment 159799111

Hot !

 

[Boywatch200]

Wow, nice, look forward to see it…

 

[thom_green2003]

This has NOT been broadly announced because I am getting all the details in line before the unveiling of my concept and idea, but I would love the LPSG members help. I am the creator of the well-known "Men Of Utah" series, (you can find that website easily) but now I live in Athens, Greece. I have found that except for PBS in the early 1990s, no one (NO ONE !?!) has done a photographic re-creation of the first Olympics in 776 BC... so I am taking this on as my next project. Even PBS, of course, shy-ed away from any nudity - they're PBS. I am not going to do that. I'm using twelve athletes, authentically naked, training, preparing and competing in the first six primary events (foot race, javelin, discus, long jump, wrestling and the very bloody pankration - the precursor to today's MMA fighting.) I'll include a few pre-production images I created to begin collecting believers in this book, but I also compiled a video that needs to "knock them off their feet" (on Kickstarter) bringing the authentic past to now.

Can you guys watch the following video and, just as blind observers, tell me what you think? Do you GET the idea of what I am trying to create? Is it engaging? Is it too long/short, etc? Does it suggest all of the possible sections of the original Olympic games that will be covered in a 180 page glossy coffee-table book? I want it to be "rich" but with dicks... LOL. I am trying to appease both crowds - academics and "admirers of the naked male form"...

And we all know how nit-picky both groups can be.

The link for the unreleased video is: https://www.menofolympus.com

And attached are a few pre-pre-production shots, as a bribe. LOL. These were taken in studio - the re-creation will of course be outdoors for the most part... but it's January.

And there may be some glitches still in the website... Everything is in the air right now and has not yet settled or been fine-tuned. (I have five models in the next seven days doing test shoots, if that tells you anything. I am no where near creation... We have only just begun...) I promise to share glimpses as we go along! (I'm tempted to tell you what others said of my other Kickstarter videos, but I do not want to put pre-conceived "look-out-for's" in your heads.)

Thank you in advance.

- Blake

View attachment 159798451View attachment 159798491View attachment 159798721View attachment 159799061View attachment 159799111

I truly love the idea of this, but question it's large-scale success...? It's niche, and I feel that for some people it will be "overly-sexualized", just by the presence of naked bodies. For another group of people, I feel it will be "under-sexualize" due to the fact that it's mildly suggestive but nothing more. In other words, and anti-porn crowd on one hand, and a porn crowd on the other. It might work (I hope so!) but it might also leave everyone a bit flustered or frustrated. Good luck though!

 

[Alberto.ftw]

Would u release two versions of thr book, one with tasteful nudity and another with hardcore erection and fucking, TASCHEN-style?

 

[ZuhayrKhan27]

Hoping for more pics

 

[blakeyelavich]

I truly love the idea of this, but question it's large-scale success...? It's niche, and I feel that for some people it will be "overly-sexualized", just by the presence of naked bodies. For another group of people, I feel it will be "under-sexualize" due to the fact that it's mildly suggestive but nothing more. In other words, and anti-porn crowd on one hand, and a porn crowd on the other. It might work (I hope so!) but it might also leave everyone a bit flustered or frustrated. Good luck though!

Oh, I have no intention on large-scale success. I will never compete with the likes of ... well the same ol' dozen nothing-but-dick shots photographers. Never have; knew that from the start. I lived and worked along-side many of them in Vegas. Simply was not my thing. So, fourteen years into a successful career of not joining the pack, I am merely going for authenticity.

"According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art: “ During competition and training, athletes were usually naked and covered with olive oil to keep off the dust. They trained in the gymnasium or xystos (covered colonnade), often coached by past victors. The Greeks believed that their love for athletics, among other things, distinguished them from non-Greeks, and only Greek citizens were allowed to compete in the games.”[Source: Collete Hemingway, Independent Scholar, Seán Hemingway, Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2002, metmuseum.org \^/]

In some competitions and during the opening and closing ceremonies they often covered themselves in perfumed oils. Even jockeys sometimes wore nothing. Wrestlers in the nude often had their foreskin tied over the tip of the penis for protection. Nudity was seen as a way of making all competitors equal by stripping social ranks they could otherwise express with their clothes."

 

[blakeyelavich]

Would u release two versions of thr book, one with tasteful nudity and another with hardcore erection and fucking, TASCHEN-style?

Unfortunately no. See the response below... or above... however it works!