June is busting out as we say goodbye to stars and stripes and hello to my Nubian brothers as they strut their stuff in a series of parades celebrating Pride and Heritage. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say, "I too relish the summer sun as it coaxes human beings to bare their souls and heavenly bodies to show the beauty that lies within."

Go on with your bad self. I know you’ve got it like that. I can see it in your walk as each muscle ripples in your body banging to full effect. Your swagger, strong and sweet with confidence that can’t be denied. Your smile refreshingly charming that as I take in every inch of you I suddenly lose my breath. Yeah it’s good. So good that my mouth starts to water as you pass on by. I turn my head to steal another glance only to catch you looking back saying, "Yeah, dats wassup!" I blush as a warm rush starts to ascend from my deepest roots making it hard for you not to notice how happy I am, but with no time to stop and chat or even get a number, I know your smile will have to suffice for now. "Yeah, mmmm, yeah baby got back too," I say to myself with a laugh and as I continue on my way, content that he has made my day. I know tonight, as I lay my head down to sleep, I can rely on my photographic memory that when I close my eyes I will see him again. And as John Legend sings, "Again, and again and again."

Bourica Rescue

Love’s Anguish

Have you ever had that kind of encounter? I’m sure you have. Sometimes we may long for more, but sometimes just acknowledging a good-looking brother is enough. Giving him his props and showing him some love can be satisfying. But having the gift and the ability to capture his beauty with a photograph for all the world to see can be priceless. And that brings me to the next artist I would like to introduce you to, Mr. J.D. Dragan. This brotha has the envious position of photographing Black men in the nude. I know what you’re thinking, "It’s a hard job, but somebody has to do it." Well, sit back and relax and join me as I enter into discussion with him about some of his fascinating men.

Imposing Duty

Hansen: JD, I know you have won several awards for your photographs, and more specifically your photograph entitled Endangered Eagle won 1st Prize at the Winter Membership Exhibition: Figuratively Speaking held at the Art Association of Harrisburg, but tell me how did you decide in your career to focus on choosing Black Male Nudes as your subject?

Endangered Eagle

JD: Hello Kevin. I am excited about the chance to share some of my philosophies, esthetics, and anecdotes about my passion and pride. And of course your audience gets to see some stunning men and great art to boot! Even though I deeply feel I am a brother at heart, I am not a brotha by skin. In part, it is why I defined my photographic genre to be the male nude, exclusively depicting men of color. When I was on my journey to find an artistic voice, I looked at the works of other photographers of male nudes. Some photographers were well known like Mapplethorpe, and some not so well known. Then I looked specifically at the portrayal of Black men in the photographic images created by other photographers. There were many times when I was insulted by the objectification of these men. I have known men of color my entire life and have known them to be every bit as complex, intelligent, and individualistic as anyone else. I say this only to state the obvious. But artistic representations did not always treat them truthfully. I was offended by the stereotypes I saw as commonplace. Photographers had done the White man as the subject of male nudes ad nauseam. At that point, I simply told myself that I could do a better job when it came to photographing men of color.

Hansen: And I’m glad you did. We are All God’s Children, therefore it’s all good. I’m not surprised that you are not a man of color. Art is universal and speaks to the soul in its most purest form when it is created with the heart, whose color is the same in all humans. Go on…

JD: You mentioned my image entitled: Endangered Eagle. It was without a doubt my image of the year. Not only did it win First Prize at the Harrisburg show, but it graced the front of my 2007 calendar "Black" published by 10percent products. It was also the featured shot in the November 2006 Australian publication BLUE+.

Hansen: You have an eye for capturing the essence of your men. They seem to be so at ease in your photos. How do you approach a session? And where do you get the ideas for what type of props you will use with them? Is everything planned in advance or are you pretty much spontaneous and simply go with the flow?

Sublime Aura

JD: Naturally, what I look for first in a model is how his physical look echoes back to an ancestral ethnic heritage. A man’s face becomes very important to me. His face immediately identifies his individuality. For example, look at the face of James in Sublime Aura. It speaks of ancestry, power, security, balance and pride. This fact is why I seldom crop off heads in my images. I also find a man’s hands and feet to be very important. Feet form the foundation of our bodies and hands often show how we work to support our time on this planet. A fit physique ties the whole package together.

Each model I choose is interviewed by me prior to ever entertaining the idea of a shoot. In this way, I spend a few hours understanding him and getting to know him as an individual. I find out what he does, and how he uses his hands. If he is chosen to model, I then ask him to bring some of the things he commonly uses with his hands. For example, if he is a manual laborer, I might suggest a sledge hammer. But if he is a corrections officer, I would suggest a revolver or handcuffs. Very often, the props used in the shoot, reflect something personal about the man holding them. The techy guys are always a challenge, since a keyboard would not be the sort of architectural prop I desire. In these instances, I hit Home Depot and watch how items picked up off the selves are handled by a variety of men and what looks natural in the hands of a man possessing the same feel as the man I plan to photograph.

So you can see, every detail is planned months in advance. Some of the poses are discovered on site, but I always sketch dozens of poses specific to the individual man. Then I lay them out during the shoot to give the model a concept of what I want to see. If he knows when he looks good, I always tell him to go for it. It would be such a waste to ignore all of that after shower time spent posing in front of the bathroom mirror!

The final element of the interview, involves the man getting undressed. This helps me "see" how comfortable he is or is not in his own skin. If he is shy or concealing, then I know he will not be a good model. But if he acts with as much confidence undressed as dressed, he will be a great model! I am not making a judgment about the man, just about his level of comfort while nude.

After all of these steps, I find that the men who model for me are very comfortable around me. Many become life long friends as I follow their growth as men and in some cases, models.

Hansen: You have a knack for choosing seductive environments for your photographs. Is there any place that you would love to use as a location but haven’t been able to yet?

Ebony Waterfall

JD: Yes indeed! It is generally possible to photograph any man in a studio, but finding the right location in nature can be a challenge. I have always wanted to travel to Arizona and photograph a group of Black men in the slot canyons. The light in these canyons is extraordinary and brief. In black and white, the scene would be fluid, biomorphically seductive and essential in nature. Given the right man or men, I know the results would be astounding. The men would have to have sleek muscles and low body fat, much like a dancer. Add flawless skin and a sense of theatrical cleverness and I think I would have the perfect guys.

Elusive Image

As I mentioned, studio shoots are always an option. And to be honest, I truly love studio work since it gives me the control I desire. I want to know just how the light hits the skin and where it appears to be too hot and where too shadowed. In a studio, I can control these elements. I always want to show the man to be as beautiful as he truly is. Guys who model work years to get a wonderful physique. Why should I show it off in any way other than perfection?

Hansen: I know many of our readers may be interested in modeling for you. How do you select your men?

JD: As I mentioned, I always interview the men face to face. Sometimes the best way to kick off a long distance agreement is for the man to send me candid snap shots. If I am interested, then we begin an email dialogue where we conduct a virtual interview. This is a good way to learn about each other, but it can not replace the face to face meeting. I will wait a year for the right man, eventually figuring out how we can meet. As a matter of fact, I am conducting such a process at this time.

If all goes well at our meeting, I make suggestions about muscularity changes, which may need improvement or refining. We talk about body hair, and why it is a good thing, and how to prepare for the day of the shoot. There are many tips I provide.

Sometimes I have a specific project in mind and search for the man who fits my mental image. But most of the time, each physically fit, muscular guy who desires to model for me is enough for me to say yes. If he is what he says he is, then his own personal motivations inspire me to capture him in a moment in time forever.

Hansen: I see your collection of photographs is in black and white. Do you ever do color photos, or is black and white your preferred choice? And if yes, why is that?

Evolved Moment

JD: Without a doubt, I prefer black and white prints. Black and white strips away the distraction of color. The form of the man becomes the central focus, not the shade of his skin pigmentation. The tonal range and play of shadow and light is superior when viewed in black and white.

For example, the young man in Evolved Moment is one of those techy guys I mentioned. He’s both my webmaster and model. He is deeply introspective and gifted. Photographing him in any way other than wrapped in shadow and caressed by pure light would have done him a disservice.

Black and white photography as represented via gelatin silver prints has gained its own stature as an art form. A testament to this is the annual Silver Symposium held by Ilford in Los Angeles . It has occurred for the past two years and I hope for many more to come. Black and white photography is a seductive and sexy visual art form.

I do not shoot in color or digitally.

Hansen: Your camera seems to have a love affair with the Black male physique. What is it exactly that compels you to focus on men of color and nude males?

Braided Numen

JD: OK Kevin, you’ve opened me up with some insightful questions, so I will do my best to elaborate on this one. I have done a number of interviews, but have not really illuminated all of the philosophical facets responsible for me choosing Black men as subjects.

For me, the Black male art nude genre concept and reason takes a bit of history. As I alluded to earlier, when I decided that male nudes were my forte, I looked at the works of other fine photographers. When it came to capturing African-American men, so many photographers objectified and demeaned their models. After telling myself that I could do a better job, I spent many years thinking about what this duty meant to me and to my audience.

My biggest challenge is an ongoing challenge. As a fine art photographer of male nudes depicting exclusively men of color, I seem to be somewhat hampered since I am of European ancestry and not Black. The expectation is that if I use Black men as models, I must be Black. At times, White collectors and gallery owners find my work threatening, especially since I am White. Some Black observers who do not know me may think that I am just another Whyte [sic] man trying to exploit the Black man. These concepts could not be farther from the truth. Granted, if you grew up in this country, you were influenced by racism. My challenge remains to portray the men in my images in such a way that they can be accepted as simply men by all ethnically diverse people. I want everyone to see the beauty I see when I look at my prints and not the color of my skin or theirs. This is a tough row to hoe in the United States .

As stated, the man’s face is very important to me. His face not only ties him to his life in the present, but to his ancestors as well. And this is where the concept of race comes in. In a biological sense, the term race is specious. Since we as human beings can all successfully interbreed, we are all of the same race. So the concept of race in the world is one that has been, and continues to be, socially constructed. It continues to be used as a weapon, segregating and instilling fear in others who do not look like us. Since the time I became a cognizant adult I have seen, African-Americans, and more generally, Africans, as a mirror into all of our pasts. It is only within the past several thousand years that Caucasians were forced by nature to adapt to the climate to which they migrated, Europe . The skin of the ancestors of modern day White people, used to be heavily pigmented. This pigmentation was lost as they moved north and had to acquire more efficient vitamin D production from sunlight. The same is true for Asians. It’s those amazing individuals who evolved in equatorial regions that gave rise to us. So when I look into the face and eyes of an African American man, I see the entire history of modern man on this planet. In a sense, we are all African, having all come from ancestors in East Africa . And as a population, sub-Saharan African continue to have the most active genetic mutations, thus evolution. They have more than Asian populations and more than Caucasian populations. So to me, peoples of near African origins are the link to our past and the hope for our future as a species. Their inherited strength and resilience is to be celebrated. Their intelligence to evolve and figure out how to survive among other animals is why we are here at all! In my small way as an artist, I have chosen to try and show these remarkable characteristics in two dimensions, free of the distraction of color. I hope those who see my work will see these men as not so different from themselves, and not men to be feared, but instead, admired.

Hansen: I think you have succeeded in your mission. Your art speaks for itself. You had an exhibit at the Museum of the African Diaspora, how did that come about?

Modern Man

JD: I am always on the look out for opportunities to show my work. This one was no exception.

My contribution to the wonderful Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco is an ongoing one. I consider myself fortunate to have been chosen to have some of my imagery included in the welcoming mural collage that greets all who visit the museum. If you look carefully through the photographs presented, you will see that my work actually is displayed four times. It contributes to the creation of the face of an adorable young girl.

Hansen: The Provocateur Calendar won the Industry Award for 2007 and features your photography. Can we expect another calendar for 2008 and if yes, how can our readers get a copy?

Coiled Dominance

JD: I had wanted to take a break from publishing calendars for 2008 and built more inventory of imagery, but the fine people at 10percent products had other ideas. I did a calendar of Black men in 2006 and 2007. And I am delighted to say that there is a 2008 "Black" calendar. It will go on sale soon. It’s available around the world or you can order it from these links:

10percent.com: Calendars:

http://www.10percent.com/

shopping_cart/products/index.cfm?category

_id=2&subcategory

_id=252&product

_id=105023&adult_verification=1

Amazon: Calendars:

http://www.amazon.com/

Provocateur-Black-2008-Calendar-Draga/

dp/1934525111/

ref=sr_1_3/103-8393332-8715047?ie

=UTF8&s=books&qid

=1179445269&sr=8-3

Hansen: Are there any current or upcoming exhibits around the country where people can see your work?

Mirror Mirror

JD: This has already been a busy year for me. I showed and won in Harrisburg and a few months ago I returned from a show in Vienna , Austria . The Austrian show was all pre-sold and the exhibit still hangs until the end of June. The way I work is one year I show and one year I shoot. For the rest of 2007, I plan to shoot. I am always looking for bright good-looking men.

Over the next few months I am entering shows in Georgia and LA so who knows… I enjoy the process of being juried into a show since in a sense it qualifies your work as an artist, even if the jurying process is subjective. That said, I am about due for another one man show!

Hansen: What advice would you have for someone who is interested in a career in photography? And where did you study your craft?

JD: As a career in photography, I assume you mean as a photographer, not a model. As your readers know, there are many types of photography from commercial, to photo journalism to sports photography to nature photography and of course wedding photography. I am a fine art photographer by trade. I studied traditional wet darkroom technique and gelatin silver print making at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota , Florida . I had some excellent instructors who are also fine art photographers.

Concealed Weapon

My darkroom instructor asked us to do a homework assignment involving photographic genres covering a wide variety of photographic types. She told us to do sports photography, portraiture, landscapes, architecture, and so on. Her reason was brilliantly precise. She told us that if we defined ourselves as fine art photographers, we needed to find our voice. This one element makes you a serous artist and not just a hobbyist. A friend of mine said he would pose nude for the portrait shots. When my instructor reviewed our homework results, she immediately identified the male nudes as my strong suite. This should not have come as a surprise, since I photographed my first male nude photograph in 1973!

Once you decide to make photography your life’s pursuit, you need to fully embrace the techniques of art marketing. It is the only way you will get noticed and hopefully succeed. Without a doubt, this one course in marketing gave me an edge and the road map to excel.

Hansen: So what’s next for you JD? And is there anyone who you would like to photograph but haven’t got up the nerve to ask them to sit for you?

Protected Creek

JD: I have a whole host of new models. Actually more than I have time to photograph. Since I print all of my work by hand, alone, it takes me a great deal of time to edit and print selections from any given shoot. The Devon shoot is finally complete with all 99 of my work prints printed. It has taken me almost a year to get this done. But I look forward to the next group of talent: Wade H., Eddie N., and Neftaly and his partner Shawn, my first duo!

And there is a monumental project on the horizon, but it will require a great deal of funding to be realized.

I do not follow celebrity, but if I could make a wish to photograph a famous guy it would be Vin Diesel, Earl Simmons or James Todd Smith III (not necessarily all at once). They are all men with great presence and vision. They are great models. But for now, I am quite satisfied finding everyday guys, with great bodies and hearts. Many of my models were never photographed prior to modeling for me. That makes me feel quite special.

Hansen: JD, thank you for sharing this time with us. You have a gift that will be treasured by all who have the opportunity to experience it. Your photography speaks volumes to my soul and I’m sure it will stir a passion in my readers and move them to cherish every moment they have to appreciate the beauty that lives within our fellow Nubian brothers. I salute you. Stay blessed, bold and lovely.