To my readers......

SITE UPDATE NOTICE

Thanks for visiting mitchmen, home of Mitchell's Gay Art

The Caps and Collars/ Flat Cap Gang story at Google Groups is on a summer break until July. (see Group News for link)

Message updated 25th June 2023

Wednesday 30 November 2011

Bound Gods Favourites - 2


2. Medical Assessment 
Jeof Pierson plays a fresh faced recruit, straight out of basic training, undergoing an Army Physical for Special Service. Hes is subjected to a series of painful tests by Dr Nick Moretti. Joel is perfect for this, a picture of youthful innocence, he is by turns puzzled, bewildered, then horrified as the tests escalate in an increasingly intrusive and painful way.



In this segment, he is strapped to a birthing chair which is quite often used in gay medical scenarios, but it works really well here. With Jeof's wrists strapped back at shoulder level and legs held wide open, it's totally humiliating already and he shows his dismay beautifully as Nick grinds a three-ball, hook dildo inside him, coaxing him into a terrific glistening erection.



The dildo is replaced by a butt plug, wired up to transmit electrical impulses. Dr Nick fiddles ostentatiously with the controls, selecting the programme and intensity levels while Jeof watches him closely, his face a picture of questioning, dread and pleading. Then the realisation that something is beginning to happen down there and it's not very nice. There's a nice shot of Nick's chest in this picture, I'd have liked him to keep his trousers on for this scene as a sop to authenticity, but I guess it is a porn film!



Dr Nick is still not satisfied and now produces a wand to administer shocks to the poor private's inner thighs making him writhe and dance with pain. A terrific performance by Joel, it really looks like it is hurting and the butt plug looks great nestling between his wide-open cheeks. 

This scene is bookended by a mummification (which looks better in the video than the stills) and a 'suspend and thrash' scene which is a relatively ordinary. A disappointing ending unless you've got into Jeof's plight.
 
Ref: Bound Gods Brutal Army Physical 12727

Sunday 27 November 2011

Bound Gods Favourites - 1

1 The Water Tank



Rusty Stevens appears as Derek Diamond's 'lab rat' 
struggling under water, he's naked and tightly bound, hand and foot.



The water tank is one of Bound Gods simpler but scarier props 
With the help of clever lighting it produces fantastic immersion images.



These amazing pictures are not just about danger and helplessness, there's also something highly erotic about viewing a nude body immersed in water. Rusty's a great looking subject and, for added effect, his heroic build is restrained in a mesh of complex ropework, I love the look of natural fibre ropes but of course they will tighten up in water making them - and the lethal predicament - almost impossible to escape. For me this type of bondage is more erotic than the captive being tied to an object like a chair or spread between posts.


The tank as a container suggests a second layer of captivity, like a cage or display case. Unfortunately, there's not a lot more you can do with it and I imagine there are not many models able to cope with this situation as well as Rusty does so we probably won't be seeing it used too often. 
 
Ref: Bound Gods 7153 Lab Rat Revenge

Saturday 26 November 2011

A Tribute To Bound Gods


Alex Lemonde as a Cop tied in shirt and jockstrap

It was in 2004 that 'Bondo Gods' first appeared with high quality images 
showing muscular, good looking men all tightly tied up with ropes in the Japanese style.


Bruce Marasco Tied Naked To A Chair

These images and films certainly made a great impact on me then and their work continues to inspire me now. It amazes me how Van Darkholme continues to come up with original, sexy imagery.



I don't plan to become one of those blogs that constantly post from Bound Gods but I would like to pay tribute to the prolific creativity of Mr Van Darkholme by posting a small selection of my favourite inspiring scenarios from the site.


Link:- Bound Gods

Thursday 24 November 2011

Ministry of Silly Hats - 1 The Commodore

Ales Hanak in Maritime Gear

Oh dear! I'm all for humiliation scenarios, but only if the victim ends up looking sexy.
This isn't even a proper naval cap.

The picture below, from the same series (courtesy of Freshmen magazine)
 is at the other end of the scale.
Ales looks bemused at being asked to plant himself in a bunch of daisies.
As well he might, it's not exactly a setting redolent of masculinity is it?

Humiliation? Tick!
Sexy? Tick!

Ales Hanak in the Daisies

But, the resulting picture captures a marvellous combination of boyish bashful charm and the physique of a young adult. It's visually interesting too - that swirl of daisies is like a bow wave, seemingly cradling, supporting Ales body.

Pictures like this fire my imagination. You'd have thought this was a million miles from fetish but just imagine the daisies as an alien anemone engulfing the careless hiker - or the unsuspecting model!

Sunday 20 November 2011

Mitchell - The Whipping of Squaddie Steve

Mitchell - The Sting Of The Whip

This is a picture from my story, 'Squaddie Steve', it's a scene where Steve is severely tested by the evil Sergeant Tarrant in the Regimental Chapel. The full story with illustrations can be downloaded (free of charge!) as a PDF from my Yahoo! Group - see sidebar to join. My military punishment images of course owe a lot to Royale Studio's and 'Guys in Uniform' pictures from the 60's and 70's but more recently inspiration has flowed freely from the Bound Gods studio.

Friday 18 November 2011

Tom Of Finland - Tailors and Hidden Eroticism

In my review of Royale Studio's Soldier-Sailor set, picture 11, I remarked how Tom of Finland used the 'man and his kneeling dresser' theme in pictures produced about the same time. The picture I was thinking of is shown below, it was produced in 1959.

Tom of Finland - At The Tailor's

Inside leg measurement is a classic subject for corny innuendo, Tom's young tailor has a good fistful at the top end of the tape but the young man seems completely oblivious of it. Like Royale, Tom plays down the erotic intent. But this picture is relevant to Royale in another way, as it also contains disguised sexual content like Royale's pictures did. If you don't know the piece already, look at the image on the back cover of the fat man's magazine and you will discover exactly what he thinks of the young man being fitted out. I can't recall any other picture by Tom that has a hidden explicit message like this - but perhaps I've just not spotted them yet.

Tom of Finland - Fine Adjustments
The second 'dresser' picture is from 1963 and, together with the previous picture from 1959, brackets the Royale era quite neatly. This time it's a modelling theme and exploits the idea of a hunk being 'adjusted' by a lesser mortal. Tom uses the clothing in a much more adventurous way. The G-string is extremely revealing and it's unconventional strap made from chain, plunges down between the model's buttocks creating a sexy rear view which even today gives a bit of a jolt. Note how Tom uses the mirror in exactly the same way as Royale did to provide this second viewpoint. The dresser's adjustments are less intimate this time, but as he bends in his ever-so-tight jeans, his backside seems to have caught the hunky model's eye.

Tom of Finland - Measuring Up
Picture 3 is less well known, a locker room scene whose date I can't discover, but the frontal nudity fixes it later. The fashion looks circa 1970. This picture captures the 'kneeling dresser' pose in classic form and the drawing of this particular young man is rather nice. Tom used submissive kneeling quite a lot around this time in a variety of situations. In the best ones, like 'the careless motorcyclist', the victim is being forced down.
This image is a curious mixture of the explicit and the coy. The spectator's cock is rather substantial but points downwards - at one point in the crazy world of censorship this was a genuine yardstick of acceptability. It doesn't really add a lot to the picture but did represent a statement of liberation to it's audience at the time.
The proximity of the dresser's face to the jocks equipment is another fairly obvious erotic feature, but what exactly is the dresser measuring? Inches count in this area! What is he doing with his hidden left hand? Probably up to no good judging by the various facial expressions.
The tape measure is quite a useful accessory here, visually highlighting the jocks backside and providing a sense of his being temporarily captured while his 'vital statistics' are assessed.

I have a recollection that there is another picture by Tom on this theme but I haven't been able to find it. It shows a kneeling shop assistant assisting a young man into a very revealing new outfit but in this picture the assistant is very obviously embarrassed. If anyone can help with this, please get in touch with me via the comments feature or the e-mail link on my profile.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Men Sharing Clothes 8 - Brothers Spanked in Underwear

In previous items in this series I played with the idea of models unwittingly or knowingly sharing clothes worn by another man. This group from Captured Guys gets 2 brothers, Hunter and Zack, to pose in the same underwear for bondage and then spanking.


 
 
Hunter gets to go first. The Hanes briefs don't seem to be a very good fit, maybe they belong to his brother, which would explain why he looks so unhappy wearing them. Sisters are noted for swapping clothes, but not brothers. Not like this. Fortunately, once he's bent over the looseness in the pants disappears and he is about to be given other things to think about. In fact, I think he is already thinking about it!

Hunter spanked at 'Captured Guys'

 ~
 
Now brother Zack gets put his privates into the pouch warmed by his brother's gear - and by the spanker's hand behind of course.



He seems quite resigned to his fate, but let's face it, that tape gag means business. Underneath his mouth is wide open and stuffed with something you'd rather not have in there. Still, at least it's not his brother's pants.

Zack spanked at 'Captured Guys'

The boy's are sharing the same spanker's hand as well!

Finally here are the two boys presenting their results so we can compare them. They seem to have got off quite lightly this time.
Two for the family album.

For other articles in this series click on the 'sharing' label below.

Monday 14 November 2011

Royale Studios 17 - The Soldier-Sailor Set (FJSS) - 9

The FJSS series of 21 pictures reviewed in previous articles covers a lot of ground and it feels as though there must have been many more images produced during the shoot. Maybe they were discarded for reasons of quality or content. Perhaps they were simply kept back for lack of publication space. It's tantalising to think there might be some around today.

Fred Collins (L) and John Skilling (R) Wrestling by Royale Studio

In modern times we expect a series of pictures to end with the men naked and grappling with each other, but the best I can do is to add this one of John and Fred wrestling, not quite nude but nearly. Geeks like me will notice the Royale code FJWR = Fred-John-WRestling.


Fred Collins and Tibor Urgay by Royale Studio

This picture (right) of Fred from a set with Tibor Urgay shows Royale could do upper body shots - and what a body Fred has! We barely glimpsed it in the FJSS set. I suspect the demands of creating special 'hidden' erotic effects with shadows got in the way of highlighting muscularity. Or perhaps the uniforms were thought sufficient by themselves. By the way, I suspect the G-strings here have been 'sanitised' .


John Skilling by Royale Studio 

Here is John Skilling, truly naked and lying on the same wrestling mat as picture 1 above. It's a classic 50's/60's glamour pose, but rather risque without clothes on. 
He looks very cute and urchin-like with those dirty feet. 
.
John Skilling, nude by Royale Studio 

Finally another picture of John nude, more classically posed for safety,
but showing off his 'wasp' waist and succulent bottom extremely well.

These pictures give us a glimpse of what is missing from the uniform sets.
I would love to see them recreated by a skilled modern photographer
unfettered by constraints on nudity and eroticism.


For earlier articles in this series click on the GIU/Royale label below

If anyone has better copies of these pictures which they are willing to share 
I would be very pleased to hear from them

Friday 11 November 2011

Royale Studios 17 - The Soldier-Sailor Set (FJSS) - 8


Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor 20

In the aftermath of the fight, both men are strung up by one wrist suggesting a punishment for their brawling. They look at each other in a humorous Oliver Hardy moment - 'another fine mess.....etc.' I like the way the ropes create continuity through these final pictures. Bondage was strictly a taboo subject in the UK at this time, but this picture is not so much about immobilisation but about securing the boys so they don't get into any more mischief. 

Some eroticism derives from their being tethered together, their bodies could be touching but Royale didn't risk that. A modern day photographer free from their constraints could create seriously erotic images from this idea. Sadly once again here Royale pass up the chance to highlight the upper body definition of the models.

Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor 21

The final picture No 21 shows the pair working together to free themselves and this situation allows them to actually touch, entwine even! Fred's knee is positioned just above the sailor's groin casting a shadow which highlights his bulge. His own groin is being lifted towards the sailors face providing plenty of suggestive material. Sailor John's pose in this picture is sexy and appealing to me for a reason I can't really explain, his low key, natural posing in this set is a subtle delight. 
 ~
This last picture in the Soldier-Sailor set brings me back to my opening speculations about connections with the 'Unapproved' set. Compare the pictures, above, from that series with those below.



Royale Studios - two pictures from 'Unapproved'.


 The same uniforms of course with amazing shots of tight shorts. The two men are also tethered wrist to wrist again, with handcuffs in this case. They climb upwards seeking to escape punishment. The similarity of this idea with No 21 is remarkable. If they aren't directly connected they surely must have sprung from the same source. The FJSS storyline of squabbling and punishment would also provide a neat prequel to 'Unapproved' whose opening scenes are shrouded in some mystery. But that's another story!


Read my article on "Unapproved"

For earlier articles in this series, featuring vintage erotic 'men in uniform' photos, click on the GIU/Royale label below


If anyone has better copies of these pictures which they are willing to share I would be very pleased to hear from them

Thursday 10 November 2011

Royale Studios 17 - The Soldier-Sailor Set (FJSS) - 7


Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor 18

In No 18 the drum is brought forward and it looks as if the sailor has lost the fight, his head is bowed and submissive whereas Fred's open pose is more dominant and his right arm is threateningly poised, suggestive of holding a whip or stick. The sailor appears to be reaching for the rope on top of the drum. Even so, the well-known punishment scene in No 19 comes as something of a surprise. 

 Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor 19


The complete submission of the sailor in these two pictures has a subtle eroticism for those who enjoy such things (like me!) but there's no disguising the sexual message behind the belting of the his upturned bottom. Spanking images may have been commonplace in the early 60's but not in this sort of context with grown, half naked men.

For physique fans No 19 showcases Fred's chunky body and legs splendidly and for once his posing is spot on. The shadow on the wall behind adds a second viewpoint in a distinctly menacing form. 

The accessories get more than a walk-on part in this picture, the strap in Fred's hand appears to have come from the drum in No 18. Notice that the ropes have also become separated from the drum and now look as though they might even be wound around the sailor's wrists, flirting with another UK taboo - bondage. 

For earlier articles in this series click on the GIU/Royale label below

If anyone has better copies of these pictures which they are willing to share I would be very pleased to hear from them

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Royale Studios 17 - The Soldier-Sailor Set (FJSS) - 6


Royale Studios - Soldier Sailor 16 

The confrontation hinted at in the last images (14 & 15) develops in these pictures 16 and 17, Fred's smile suggests it's a fairly mild disagreement. The sailor's left hand, arguably miming a cock-pumping action, may offer a clue. Fred's riposte is a pointing finger poised as though to penetrate the sailor's ring of fingers. You can interpret this as an exchange of insults (along the lines of wanker - bummer) or as a more suggestive exchange, but in any event a fight develops in No 17.

 Royale Studios - Soldier Sailor 16

The fighting is purely symbolic. This is the era of AMG whose films and photo stories usually employed amateurish wrestling sequences, partly to camouflage the sexy flesh on flesh images, but also to combat the public perceptions of universal effeminacy amongst homosexuals. Royale's uniforms are intended to create a similar, manly effect and there's usually some male-male conflict in the form of a fight and/or punishment scene.

These are not the best pictures in the set due to the stilted posing and Fred's over-acting but you get a decent view of their outfits in these print quality images and for me the sailor still represents real eye candy in No 16. Royale's lighting here doesn't do justice to his lean upper body muscularity but just look at how it showcases Fred's thighs! The introduction of a military drum adds authenticity to the scene.

For earlier articles in this series click on the GIU/Royale label below
If anyone has better copies of these pictures which they are willing to share I would be very pleased to hear from them

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Royale Studios 17 - The Soldier-Sailor Set (FJSS) - 5

Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor 14 & 15

I have expressed before my admiration for pictures 14 and 15 which show the two models shot from between the other's legs. The sailor has now ditched the full length trousers for white shorts which suit him admirably, this is a feast of chunky legs! The low viewpoint enhances this no end of course and the boys have hitched up their hemlines for good measure. The headgear also works well in this image.

The soldier's pose in these pictures is quite aggressive, arms folded or hands on hips (in 15), spoilt only by the slight inward bowing of his legs. The sailor by comparison seems wary, almost fearful - very sexy. The wall shadows, framing the far figure add drama and menace to the scene as well. 

These compositions are so dramatic and arty that you almost miss the 'hidden' sexual ingredients - there are ambiguous highlights on Fred's shorts in No 14. On the sailor's shorts in No 15, a mysterious balloon-shaped shadow created by the multiple lighting (from Fred's head?) suggests the shape of a curving penis. More explicitly, the enticing cleft between the buttocks in both pictures, well defined and perfectly aligned with the other model's head perhaps hinting at fellatio. 

But if you stand back from the detail and just look at the 'shapes' in these pictures, there's another much more subtle erotic message at work in the overall composition which everyone sees subconsciously, and yet without seeing it. The open legs of the models form a strong triangle, overtly suggesting masculinity and solidity of course, but also creating visually a sense of upwards 'thrust'. Placing a figure between the legs creates a dildo-like illusion with the other model's anus directly above at the apex of the triangle, rendered all the more 'vulnerable' by the open-legged stance.

By the time you've got this far, the shape of the beret on Fred's head (left) becomes almost indecent! You can read equally suggestive meanings into the horizontal lines of the sailors cap and his chunky build compared to Fred's more slender outline. I've no idea whether the photographer worked all this out, how much was intuitive, how much accidental, but I think it gives an understanding of how these photographs worked on their audience who were not distracted as we are by the barrage of internet imagery and had time to study the pictures and fantasise. 

This is why they still have the power to intrigue us today, if we take the time to look. 

There's a better copy of picture 15 in an earlier article in this thread.
For earlier articles in this series click on the GIU/Royale label below
If anyone has better copies of these pictures which they are willing to share I would be very pleased to hear from them

Sunday 6 November 2011

Royale Studios 17 - The Soldier-Sailor Set (FJSS) - 4

In picture 11 the direction of the plot becomes clear, the two models have swapped clothes.
At one point I wondered if the EX2 designation on the Catalogue page for this set referred to exchanging clothes but I suspect it may just mean Example 2.

Men swapping their clothes is in itself an erotic idea which has quite complex associations to do with shared intimacy, borrowing identities and displaying oneself in a new way. I have a separate series which showcases this theme, click on the 'sharing' tag below for more.

Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor - 11

John the sailor looks just as good in Fred's shorts as he did in sailor's whites and the submissive kneeling pose is very erotic. He appears to be conducting a close quarters examination of Fred's groin area, hands on waist, poised to pull him closer and perhaps to release the flap. Funnily enough, Fred looks rather nervous!

As an aside, around this time Tom of Finland also picked up on the erotic potential of this 'dressing' theme in a couple of pictures in which a kneeling tailor assists a muscular stud into new clothes (see my later post on this). It's interesting to speculate whether one inspired the other although this is the era when having trousers custom fitted was more usual than buying off-the-peg.


Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor - 12
In 12 we see the models from the rear. John the sailor's tapered torso is highlighted by the high waist on the shorts, but exaggerated by freak shadowing on his right side as the photographer strives to highlight Fred's rather interesting frontal bulge in the sailor's pants. It's a tight fit, his generous backside is very well displayed. It's interesting to compare this image with No 5 and to see how different the two body/clothing combinations appear

The theme of men swapping one set of clothes for another crops up more than once in Royale's uniform sets, usually in the context of a recruitment storyline (i.e. civilian to military). It's a good excuse for showing flesh but is partly inspired by the National Service era in the UK when all able bodied young men were called up for a period of service in the armed forces. Of course, once you introduce homosexual overtones, recruitment into an all-male service takes on a whole new flavour.

Royale Studios - Soldier-Sailor - 13

In the final picture of this group the boys are undressing again and the shot of the sailor opening the flies on his shorts (which are to be unbuttoned of course not unzipped) would grace any modern photo set. Even in this fuzzy image the definition of his six pack and the curve of the stomach are very sexy. Sailor Fred's packet is indistinct here but would have been interesting in the full print. The naturalistic posing around the drum centrepiece makes a nice composition and it captures an innocent, shared intimacy which many of us will remember from our own early experiences with other men. 

For earlier articles in this series click on the GIU/Royale label below
If anyone has better copies of these pictures which they are willing to share I would be very pleased to hear from them