I had to build a new profile for FB; you can find me at Terry James Cyr to continue following what I am doing there. I still have not heard anything from FB and don’t suspect I will. I just found out there is a way to back up all your FB contacts and correspondence. I was always meaning to post all your comments into this project but never quite got around to that process, for that I am sorry; there have been so many moving comments along the way. I would encourage you to post into the blog things you want to share because it will become the lasting record of what I am trying to achieve here. I have begun to process of putting together a new web presence that will combine all my internet locations into one central place. I spent a great deal of yesterday trying to come up with a style and format that will make it all work and the contents of this project will eventually roll over into that project with everything in tact.

The work continues despite the minor interruption. I got so many text messages asking if I was all right. I see what a community I have been building here with this project. Thank you all for your support.

So my big question now is how do I make this grow? I would like to make this project somehow more interactive with all you out there following it. My dream is to somehow to connect us all as an arts community. Where we can really share our thoughts, processes, art, and dreams!!!. Is this something I can incorporate as part of my new web presence? I guess the first real question is anyone else really interested in becoming a part of this sort of collective? After all this other debacle I am thinking of investing in and setting up my own server so I know it will always remain safe and secured and I can promote whatever I want without the threat of being shut down. This is the second time things I have been associated with since this project began that my images and artwork have been shut down. How does it work that the internet is filled with graphic sexual materials that never seem to get shut down but the artists are the ones that seem more effected? Perhaps we as artists are naive to the reality of the real world. Perhaps because we are so idealistic and believe in all things good. It seems that I talk to a lot of artists who are afraid to show what they are creating? It remains hidden. I know mine has for the past 13 years. It brings to question: how many people are hindered from following their passions because they think it is unacceptable to others? They it may become offensive to someone. I think good art challenges us to rethink and reexamine who we are as a person, as a culture, as a society. The Italian Renaissance was a spiritual uplifting for its viewers and gave them a place of beauty that they could aspire to. We live in a time of great global turmoil, not so much a fear of each other anymore, but of the shifting environment through natural disaster and economic hardships. We need some relief and to reestablish our beliefs back into humanity. To believe in the beauty of our selves without fear, doubt, and oppression of becoming consumed by the failing economic and political systems we have created that no longer work. I personally am tired of all the financial, mental and emotional distress? I am desperately trying to get back in touch with my inner self and celebrate the dignity of my human existence.

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” Hamlet – Act 1, scene 4 William Shakespeare Well that outcome was not so good for everyone involved…

Yesterday afternoon, all of my Facebook accounts were deactivated. At first I was a bit disconcerted that it had stopped with no warning, or signs that there was an issue. I tired to contact Facebook to figure out what the heck was happening, but there is no way to even contact them what so ever. You can submit a request, and I have sent several dozen with no response what so ever. I began researching the net to others who have had similar situations, and apparently the whole system seems to be automated and many people are currently being shut down if they have any kind of trigger terms within what they post or how they post. It can take months to get an account reactivated. I am not quite sure what to make of this. I think it is one of the greatest social inventions ever, the best networking tools instantly at our disposal globally 24/7. But how good is a social system if it becomes unreliable, without any way to interface with your issues or problems with the system. Has Facebook now become the new big brother that watches and begins to control and dominate how we interact and use it? Has it become a soulless entity that sucks us in merely for the adverting dollars? Somehow the past 24 hours without Facebook has given me a new perspective and given me my life back. This morning I got more work done than I have in a month, because I remained focused.

Though I am thankful that it has given me this global connection that otherwise would have taken years to cultivate, it appears to have not hurt the integrity of my work and this project. It appears that the following I have on this project remains and still follow and I greatly thank you all for that. If any of you out there can still spread the word what has happened I am most appreciative.

The next issue I think really needs to be addressed regarding this is censorship. What triggers some people to be shut down while others remain? Why was my account specifically targeted, when I am having such incredible response from everyone who visits it? I sent the message out yesterday asking others to respond. Granted I am involved in a project called The Naked Man Project and I have been linking it to my Facebook feed, but I have been doing it consistently from the beginning. Yes it does involve nudity, but I feel I have made a great effort to censor my own images and feeds when I felt they were not appropriate for general consumption. I see as much skin and nudity on others profiles of images of them on the beach or by the river rafting. I have seen far more graphic imagery on many personal profiles than what I have in mine that borders on graphic sex? Why are these not censored? Where do we draw the line and who is qualified to define what that line is when the subject is so subjective? My friend Gianni, who deals with a lot of gay artist, says this is becoming quite common on Facebook for many gay artists to be deactivated. Does this mean that the programmed automatons of Facebook are homophonic? Are words like gay, love, desire, male, naked, and art a trigger? Gay Artists throughout history have been censored, but have still always prevailed, like Michelangelo. Does this mean that I now walk in the footsteps of greatness destined to become a part of that class? It has certainly been my dream. My friend Gianni says in some cases where he has seen this happen it has been at the hands of other less skilled or wannabe artists who become jealous of the work of artists who are succeeding at what they’re doing. If this is the case, I too am quite flattered by the success I am finding in my imagery and know I am on the right path. Perhaps I will never learn what has happened here, but it is a cautionary lesson for all of us to take to heart. Beware we are all being manipulated by forces beyond our control. Freedom of expression has been repressed, and whenever this happens it becomes a fearful day for all of humanity as the radiant light of beautiful art continues to prevail.

I had a chat this morning with a friend who was looking to buy a new camera. He has been using a small automatic and is getting the most remarkable results. He shoots in total automatic mode and as we began to chat I began to realize he didn’t really understand the basic function of the camera. It really got me thinking about this modern era of automatic imagery and that no one really understands what the basic principals of imagery are even about. I am not sure how I feel about this. In a sense it’s become unnerving because nobody has to make any kind of choice in what or how they capture their subject; but it kind of thrills me that people are able to capture the spontaneity of the moment. I’m so used manual mode that I take this process for granted and know exactly what I am going to get when I click the shutter button. Photography actually becomes about making a choice about how you will capture your subject; perhaps I should do a series on the basic principles of photography. I am going to reprint what I said with Ramon this morning. He is looking to buy a new camera but has no idea what he is looking for. He wants to develop his talents, but has no control of the camera. His camera controls him. Here is my simplified version of photography. We must understand the basic concept first.

The only thing you need to know is how to eventually run your camera manually. The best way to get there is first find a camera that will allow you to shoot in aperture or shutter priority mode. The simple concept that all cameras function on and always have: is that the lens has an aperture (hole light comes through that adjusts how much light is allowed in) and a timed shutter that exposures how long the exposure will need to be. For a perfect exposure, these two elements are in sync and create a relationship to each other. Aperture priority allows a perfect sync of exposure when you open or close that hole on the lens. Shutter priority allows perfect sync when you adjust the shutter speed, (it automatically adjusts the hole of the lens to match). What becomes creative about photography is making a creative choice based on what the aperture or shutter does. It impacts what happens in the frame dramatically and you have complete control of how it will look. The aperture creates a depth of field, how much of the image is in focus, while shutter freezes motion (waterfalls or sports). My style of images are based on aperture decisions because it’s about softness of tone and environment, so I want to control how much clarity (depth) the viewer sees in the final image. The entire history of photography is based on this basic concept on creating that reciprocal relationship between the aperture and the shutter speed. When I was first learning photography, I often shot in aperture priority mode because I was concerned with how I wanted the subject to look in the final image. The more I began to learn about that depth and how it affected the exposure, the more I began to go completely manual. Now I can’t stand to work in anything but manual mode because I need utter artistic control of the final exposure. The meter is just the basis from where to jump, and to me you make your own perfect exposure according to where you want to place the shadows and highlights. But the principle concept is based on these two elements aperture and shutter speed. This is lesson one in photography 101. I will expand these concepts in more depth in future posting since there are so many new photographers following and they can grasp these elemental concepts.

Today I have two examples to illustrate my points. The top image is about the aperture setting, I chose an aperture setting that creates a very narrow depth of focus because I want the viewer to focus on both the textures of his hands and the material of his underwear. In this second image, I chose a fast enough shutter speed to freeze his movement in time as he was getting out of the shower because the subject was about his action.

Today’s project is about a living legend who still inspires me and actually become the impetus for my creating this project. That person is my dearest friend Billy Bowers. I met Bill many years ago when I worked in the theatre. Bill was originally born and grew up here in Missoula, Montana, went back east to go to school at Rutgers, become a world famous Mime, television/film actor, and eventually working the musical Broadway circuit in the original cast of the Lion King. He currently lives in NY with his partner Michael, who also is another man of great inspiration.

Well many, and I mean many, years ago, Bill and I met on a national tour with a production of The Heidi Chronicles for The Montana Rep. I was stage manager and tour company manger for the production when Bill came in as one of the lead actors. During that tour we become roommates and creative soul mates. We would lie in bed at night, before falling asleep and tell each other the stores of our lives and just laugh our selves to sleep. For some reason Bill and I always seem to see humor in all the tragic events of our lives. Bill had come to this particular tour just weeks after his life partner of many years passed away in NY; he was needed to get out and work the open road again. Our lives on the road was like an extended version of the characters in the movie The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: two gay men touring the country passing though small towns and the constant misadventures of life on the open road. Every day was an adventure and challenge. At the time when you are touring with a show, it seems like hell and such a burden because it is so much work. Your entire life, every moment, seems filled with constant production issues. Beginning early in the morning, traveling, setting up an entire stage, and adjusting all the production elements of lights, sounds, and cues, sometime in the most unlikely of place were no production should go. Adjustment rehearsals, a quick bite in the theater as you work though fixing problems, the run of a brilliant show, and tear it all down, load it all back into the trucks, and get to bed in the wee hours of the morning only to get up a few hours later to begin the process over again. But looking back what an experience to have such an opportunity to live such an existence. Your creative team on the road becomes your greatest friends or worst enemies depending on how well the company has been put together. So Bill and I totally bonded; it was these rich stories of our lives we shared that become the tapestry which wove us together. I have toured with Billy several times since and we have worked on several projects together and have remained friends over the years.

Several years ago Bill took all the stories of his life and wove them together as this awesome show called It Goes Without Saying where the mime breaks the silence and speaks. It’s an incredible journey of an artist’s life and his evolution as an artist. Funny, tragic, heroic, a love letter from his heart that moves the audience to the depth of its soul. He premiered the show in NY and I went out to see the production. I was so utterly moved by what he created and how honest he was in telling the story of his life. It was pure poetry delving deep into his self and bearing it for all to examine. After the NY run of the show, he wanted to take it on tour and so I helped him adapt it for the road. I took the original lighting concept and adapted it, put it together as a script, and a lighting plot that could be thrown together in a day that still maintains its technical brilliance. This plan works in any theatre or, more importantly, the many non-theatre spaces he might have to play. This was my forte in life technically adapting shows for the road. The last couple of years this show has now toured all over the globe and now for a four-night run Missoula. It will be at the Crystal Theater from the 24th through the 28th of this month and I will once again work on creating the lighting for this brilliant show. Bill always stays with me when in Missoula and our love for our craft, life, and laughter begin a new. A new adventure is always around the corner. In fact the Saturday after this Missoula run we are taking the show to a nudist colony in Idaho.

Billy’s courage to honestly share his stories and life become the foundation for me telling my own stories and examine my own life as a creative artist, hence this The Naked Man Project was born. Thanks Billy for the courage and inspiration to do what we do best, create and make each other laugh.

Checkout Bill’s Website

My Bill Bower gallery on Facebook.

I am actually taking the next two nights off from my UPS job; the sun is shining here and is incredibly beautiful out so I am going to do something for myself the next couple of days. Today I am going to give you and myself a break from the naked man. Today I am stirred with memories of when I first got into photography. Then it was only film and I used to spend amazing days, like today, just out shooting all the time. Making lots of mistakes, more mistakes than actual interesting images. You see I was more of a theorist than an artist back then. I saw photography as a means of exploration. I went to the library and checked out books on design concept and theory and pretty much spent years putting them all to the test. Looking at balance, shape, figure, texture, and color. Working in the theater was about proportion and how things fit into relationship to each other. As a director you have to place the actors on the stage and tell the story of their characters physical, mental, and emotional relationship to each other by how and where they are visually on the stage. They are then sculpted by light, which enhances the inner psychological state in which they exist. So visual relationship becomes vital. For you actors out there I am not suggesting you are pawns to be moved about, because you then imbue it with your own brilliance to bring the life of the characters to flesh. But a good show has all the elements of design and we should almost be able to tell the story though this design without uttering a sentence. Photography is the same; the borders of the image merely become the proscenium that contains the stage unless of course, you are working in the round. I highly suggest that young people first getting into photography should actually pick up some books on composition and study that first. Technique will come with practice, but when you develop an intuitive sense of spatial harmony, this is what really makes photographs interesting. I look at so many images of new photographers who take technically great photographs, but don’t tell what the story is within the image. Often times cropping out the edges or pieces of the subject they are actually trying to capture. To me the art of photography almost become a Zen, you must study the image and then ask yourself why do I want to take this picture. If your answer is merely on the surface, chances are your image will not contain much interest for anyone else who sees the image, but it you say I am drawn to this image because of some thing deep within yourself, the viewer will also be engaged. I digress, so I would spend hours and days and weeks and months working on images to gain my own sense of balance. There was so much film thrown out, but it is all a part of the learning process. I rarely ever go back and look at my old photographs anymore. Life is too fast with our environment and self-perception ever evolving. I love photographing naked men and women because it still holds such a power of mystery for me.

Today’s picture I dug way back into the archives of my first beginning of my photographic process. This was an ordinary arch in Balboa Park in San Diego that everyone just walked by daily without a second thought, just an ordinary setting. This was shot at night with the natural available light. These are the natural colors from the original chrome slide, just the way I saw it, just the way I shot it. This is how the ordinary become transformed when you look deeply enough and put yourself in the process.