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Friday, November 6, 2026

Etienne Jules Marey


Today we look at some more work by Etienne Jules Marey, a French scientist and photographer 
whose motion studies were instrumental in the development of modern movies.  Although not 
as prolific as Muybridge, he took a somewhat more scientific approach.  The commemorative
 relief above was sculpted by Paul Richer, a photographer and artist who knew 
Mr. Marey and whose work has been featured here many times.

 

Running Man I


This is the first of two images showing a sequence of a man running.
Note how well we can see the musculature.



 

Richard Sheldon


My source says this is American 1900 Olympic athlete Richard Sheldon, 
and that Mr. Marey was assisted in producing the sequence by Lucien Bull.

 

Jump


The model here is fully clothed, but I find the image to be charming for some reason.

 

Swing


I posted another image from this sequence in my last Marey series, but this one is different.
And once again, the capture of the musculature is exceptional.  I will be posting a GIF 
of the entire sequence in a future series.  Disclosure:  I removed yellowing.

 


 Here's a second running man, only this time the runner
 begins in an athletic starting position at right.

Pole Vault


I find this pole vaulter sequence interesting because it not only show the full range of motion from start to finish, but it also shows the outdoor shed used by Mr. Marey to do his work.  This is very similar to the arrangement that Eadweard Muybridge used in Philadephia.

 

GIF II


Here's another GIF.  The ball isn't the only thing that bounces.

 

Movie Clip


Here's a movie clip that I call,  "One, two, cha cha cha."

 

Georges Demeny


Georges Demeny was an associate and assistant of E.J. Marey who did some good solo work 
as well.  The gymnast on the horizontal bar was recorded by Mr. Demeny in 1906.

 

Thursday, November 5, 2026

Coming attractions


Just a heads up about some upcoming series y'all might be interested in.  Over the next month, we will have series on Douglas of Detroit, a very different Veterans Day, streakers,  models named Mike, boxers, bears, Denny Denfield, and a whole week of mature models.  Stay tuned!

 

Nudist Games


Our theme today is nudist games that aren't volleyball, and we begin
with a fellow taking a badminton stretch shot at Glen Eden Resort.

 

Shuffleboard I


In the first of two shuffleboard photos today, we see a happy player.  I think
that nudist resorts, old type cruise ships, and senior citizen centers have
traditionally been the main venues for this game.

 

Conditioning


Conditioning can improve anyone's efforts at physical activities.



 

Horseshoes


This guy looks puzzled about what to do with that horseshoe.  
I cropped out the female who seemed to be helping him.

 

Cricket and Beer


A cricket bat, beer, and those hats tell us these fellows are Australian.

 

Rope Work


Our gym teacher in high school made us climb and spin on ropes, but it was indoors.
It's a miracle that none of us ever managed to break his neck.

 

Bowling


Our second Australian photo of the day features a handsome bowler.

 

Shuffleboard II


Here's another shuffleboard photo, only with a duo this time.

 

Tetherball


I always thought tetherball was a children's activity, but I looked
 it up, and there has long been an adult version.

 

Badminton II


And we end where we started, with badminton.

 

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Kris Quarterly


Kris Studio has come to the top of my classic era physique photographer quarterly rotation, so let's start the show with a "new" photo of Ron Rector and Mike Bradburn that I came across recently.

 

Richard Mazure


Here's one I borrowed from the lamentably dormant blog, Bob's Naked Guys.
The model is Richard Mazure.

 

David Selhime

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Bill Ferguson

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Seaton and Menendez


These two are John Seaton (left) and John Menendez.

 

Sig Ulmanis


Here we see Sig Ulmanis with some modernist furniture.

 

Gene Davis


They gave Gene Davis a short, but flowery, description on this magazine page.

 

George O'Mara


Chuck Renslow took a classic bodybuilder photo approach for this shot of George O'Mara.

 

Don and Kip


Two of my favorite models, Don Fuller and Kip Behar, appear in this Kris photo.

 

Ralph Kleiner


Our closing photo is Ralph Kleiner.