Mid-Year Recap

June is coming to a close, so I thought it'd be appropriate to do a mid-year self-assessment.  This is by no means a complete summary, just some of the more memorable highlights of the year for me so far and what lies ahead (including a sneak peak of "Heat Waves").

The beginning of 2010 kickstarted my modeling pursuits into high gear by reuniting with a good friend of mine, the talented photographer of Y.M.I.J.  What was initially intended to be test shots turned into a solid foundation for my portfolio.  "Pink Magic" earned critical acclaim from Ohlala and "Stereophone" was endorsed by Australia's Wearitout.au - both images remain prominent staples in both of our portfolios.

2010 came with a lot of great success, but also a lot of criticism.  Earlier in the year my Facebook account was disabled for violating their Terms of Use, an instance I believe was due mostly to my images being reported (by the bitter, jealous hater types).  I had lost a lot of networking contacts with photographers and industry insiders, so earning all those folks back proved to be challenge and quite taxing.  Plus, I had temporarily lost all my images, including those of friends, family, and my adorable nephew!   It became personal at that point, and to this day I remain skeptical of people's intentions.  In addition to Facebook, I've come to learn that my images are being stolen and used for Male Wanted ads, fake profiles are being created across the internet, and cases of identity theft have been reported.

Spring was rosier though.  Couple months into the year I worked with fashion photographer, Tony Veloz.  I'd always been a big fan of his work, and was quite thrilled and excited to have worked with him - twice.  The first set of images were all test shots as well, but I named the set "Stones" and thought I would try my luck by submitting them to YVY. A few days later, the images were beautifully displayed on their website.  The second shoot I did with Tony was just as groundbreaking.  I created a Spring Tennis series that resulted in a cover ad for upcoming 5IVE Magazine and a full-page spread in Germany's Display Magazine.  The cover picture for the Spring Tennis series remains one of my all-time favorites!

Other spring success stories included multiple fashion shows with Universal Gear, winner of Team DC model search, and exposure from fashion websites, including DNA with Y.M.I.J., Ohlala with Kevin Almond of Haringman Photography, YVY with Y.M.I.J. (Midnight Cowboy), Beautiful with Robert Charlies (New Blood), and featured articles on MaleFitnessModels.net.

The summer got off to a sizzling start as well.  I reconnected with AJR for a 2nd photoshoot down in Orlando which debuted my summer photoshoot season, CSA International, DailyJocks.com, and MaleModels.us have begun displaying my portfolio online through their Facebook fanpages, the popular Strobe180 produced a video portfolio titled "Killer Looks," and continued website success from EthanSays.com with Robert Charles (A Body Study), Homotography with Y.M.I.J. (Masquerade), and Metrovelvet with Haringman (Robert Redford Series).  And finally, two of my passions collided twice this year, resulting in my first ever print editorials.  Display Magazine featured my Spring Tennis cover image (from Tony Veloz) in their "Eye Candy" section, and Compete Magazine displayed exclusive images from Y.M.I.J. as their MVP centerfold.

The summer forecast continues to be hot and humid, as I just wrapped up a photoshoot with Joe TickNow up in NY this past weekend.  Our debut images will be part of a series he's calling "Heat Waves."