In 2003 I photographed Mike Otto, long time friend and model in fire gear, which he really enjoyed modeling in….we were playing around with some new backdrops and ideas for artistic posing…

                 

…and in 2006, still looking for a new backdrop for fire images, I pulled my old background projection system out and set it up in my studio and had Jeff, a local firefighter who had done some modeling work for me,  return and shoot with me to see if it would work out. It wasn`t bad, but you could tell it wasn`t real looking and really lacked some punch to it, although Jeff did a great job with it…..and the last one shows him at an actual fire, too…..thanks for the help Jeff….

              

              

                

 

…and discovered yet another new model during 06…a young farmboy named Wade, who I was able to help get into several opportunities along the way…

              

                          

…and the following year Wade returned to shoot some poster work with other models as well.

Then in 2007 I made a push to photograph several newer models on location to have some posters made up to market at big events to see if we could make a go of it once again….I have several firefighter friends who own their own fire trucks, some of them are antique trucks and some are not antiques at all….they allow me to photograph models on their trucks using their equipment alot….Jenn was the first female model that I worked with midway through the year…she was a real trooper, and besides her modeling work ethic and sheer beauty, I also admired her for her passion and work in cancer cure research…beauty and brains both…

           

             

I even got her to work with new model Vince that day too and they worked under extreme conditions that day, cooled down by deck gun spray….

             

..and she looked good against my new backdrop in the studio setting as well as swirling smoke…….

                 

 

Tim was the first male model I worked with with a new backdrop that was naturally backlit by sunlight, and a new backdrop called Lava, that a good friend of mine painted for photography work….I started out shooting it with front light only as you see below….

           

…and then decided to backlight it and boy did the colors and ” fire ” pop then….

 

Vince was my next model, from the KC area, one of those hunks thats easy on the eyes and while new to modeling like Tim was…both were naturals at it as well…and Vince produced some nice poster work as well….

 

              

                       

           

                         

                               

 

A few days after Vince came down to shoot with me, I had the pleasure to work with a hot young lady named TyAnn, who hailed from northern Missouri and needed some portfolio work done…I had her try on the fire gear to see what she thought and she instantly fell in love with it….talk about a doll to work with….

                     

                           

 

Dan came to me from the St Louis area to work in some portfolio work and after seeing his look and build, I suggested he give modeling a try…on his second or third trip out to model for me, I suggested he try on some fire gear and the rest is history….

JC was another model that came out to shoot some portolio work with me and liked the idea of shooting in fire gear too….another natural model with a lean swimmers build….

              

 

Nick was another hot guy with a toned build and a flair for modeling as sexily as possible….all very natural for him too…he pulled it off well and was a lot of fun to be around….here is one of his best images….

 

 

Laina was one of the hottest blonde babes I ever had the pleasure of working with…she came to me for some portfolio work, wanting to get into a website organization known as The Firehouse Girls…which unfortunately did not last very long, but because I was shooting alot of fire service themework, she found me online and asked me to shoot some images that she could submit to them with her application and I was more than happy to help her out…she became one of my favorite models to work with back then, returning a few times to work with me on other shoots….another natural at it…

 

              

               

          

                  

 

 

Shane came up and worked with me a few weekends…another hot Oklahoma boy that was nicely built and had a great attitude, needed some portfolio work done….I was able to keep him busy for awhile….

               

…and I met Alex in the Joplin area when I was down there for some shoots…shot him in the waterfall and then he came up to shoot with me up here at my studio and on location as well….

 

…and then photographed yet another Alex on a privately owned fire truck the very next day….

             

 

Ethan was yet another hot guy I found online and worked with a few times afterwards…he then got into some video work on his own and I never heard from him again….

                      

 

In the fall as I was preparing for my annual trip to Arkansas for my fall vacation, I discovered a gorgeous gal modeling in the southern area that I planned to visit, and was able to talk her into modeling for me at one of my favorite waterfalls in that area…Destiny was just starting out in modeling work and was great to work with…..

                 

                          

                  

                

         

 

…and when I returned from my vacation, I found yet another gorgeous gal from central Illinois to work with…her name fit her like a silk glove…Starie….talk about sexy and hott rolled into one fine form of gorgeous and sensuous beauty…..I recall my test session with her lasting a few hours in addition to the couple of hours I had suggested…she was that smokin hott to work with….

               

              

 

A few days later, I found a hot local guy named Chris, that had a very sexy look and defined build as well, in his thirties…unusual to find a guy in his thirties that looks as good as guys in their twenties these days….

             

 

…and then early into 2008 I discovered yet another sexy Illinois guy, Tim…who was into body building and had a great look and build both…and turned out to be yet another natural at modeling….

 

               

About a week after photographing Tim, I met up with a firefighter near the KC area and photographed him as well, some in my studio setting and some with one of his fire trucks…

 

 

…and along the way we took some group shots as well….which became posters later on….

 

 

 

 

During the latter part of the spring of 08 I found three new models, Jae, Jason, and Phil, and worked them into the mix as well…..

 

 

 

 

In May of 08, I had the good fortune of traveling to Kentucky and was able to photograph a beautiful antique pumper down there, with a couple of my models, Jackie and Justin from south central Kentucky, with it…..here are a few images from that shoot, for more, look for the story called Antique Pumper in Kentucky….

 

 

In June, I worked with yet another local model…Jimmie Sue who turned out to be gorgeous and stunning to work with….