In my planned book, I juxtaposed this letter with the Letter from the Photographer. From all indications, it was clear the two writers had never met, which is kind of a shame, for both of them. As I wrote at the time, "It is also clear that there is a lot to be said for photography as a profession."
Brent Woods, our model, definitely had a boy next door quality about him, and could easily have modeled for great fashion photographers. Granted, the photos below weren't taken in a photographer's studio in an old studio in a deserted part of Paris, and when the story veers off into a dungeon later on, our photos of him don't go there, either. Which doesn't make them less hot.
BOY-NEXT-DOOR MODEL FINDS HIMSELF A MORE EXOTIC IMAGE
Two years ago I was living and working in Paris as a professional model. My looks, which are not the typical “generic” exotically handsome male, are extremely “All American, boy-next-door, clean-cut, healthy” in type. Therefore, I did little print work —lots of runway and commercial ads. Anyway, I was continually trying to build up my portfolio with more exotic photographs — a different look than my standard “boy in a plaid shirt or football jersey.”
I was given the name of a photographer who was considered extremely “exotic” — in fact, word around town was that Philippe Martin was an up-and-coming Helmut Newton. I went to see Philippe...