International Mr. Leather is a yearly conference that takes place in May in Chicago, Illinois, to recognize and celebrate the leather community and hosts a contest for the title of International Mister Leather among leathermen participants.
However, due to Coronavirus, a lot of events with large crowds were cancelled, including this one. In honor of that event and for leathermen everywhere, this Furry Friday features a collection of bearded men clad in leather.
Vote for your favorites!
-Noah
When Daddy Bear wanted to do a Furry Friday that featured the photography of Jean-Baptiste Huong, he had quite a collection to go through and narrow down to get around 10 to 15 to vote for. It was a difficult task to only pick so few out of so many so we decided to split it up, a part one that featured solo men and today’s part two which features two (or more) men.
Last week’s Furry Friday seemed to be very popular so we hope you enjoy this part 2 of Jean-Haptiste Huong’s wonderful photographs of beautiful, bearded men. Vote for your favorites!
-Noah
The first time I saw Jean-Baptiste Huong’s work, I was quite simply blown away. It helps that we have very similar taste in men, but just his eye and talent and…it was love at first sight!
Jean-Baptiste is very precise when it comes to staging his photographs: he likes to set a scene, usually in natural decors, with his models being true characters … and even if he likes to feature partially or fully naked men, he does so with a sense of poetry and sensibility.
Born in Saigon, Jean-Baptiste is a director, editor and image designer based in Paris… “…I believe that the best frames are a perfect balance between the right people and the right setting. It’s the same thing in life : sometimes, it takes a special someone to make a special moment, in a special place.”
“As a photographer, I’m always looking to showcase a sense–my sense–of beauty; but then again, beauty can be found everywhere, in a diversity of bodies and spaces. “When you get that perfect combination, the result seems unreal … a ‘fortunate happenstance.’“
Jean-Baptiste has a book of his photography, Secret Places, which is sadly sold out–there were only 1000 copies. But he does have a website and an Instagram.
But wait! There’s more!! You can buy his short movie, Because You’re Mine, on Vimeo, for only a dollar from now until the end of May.
I hope you love his work (I think you will). Check it out, vote for your favorites, and if you want, check out the links I’ve provided.
Avec amour,
BG “Ben” Thomas
And since we have Disney+, why not watch a Star Wars film? And why not the last one? The very worst of the final trilogy is far better than the very best of the first (chronological) trilogy. My biggest problem is the guy that took over for episode VIII, The Last Jedi, didn’t carry through with what Abrams set up with episode VII, and The Force Awakens. So when Abrams took over for the last episode, The Rise of Skywalker, the set up wasn’t there. He didn’t have time to answer every single question. I’d guess authorized novelizations and comic book stuff answers those questions (can any SW geeks–and I use the term with honor–tell me if that is true?). I just don’t read Star Wars novels and comic books anymore. I haven’t in at least 25 years or more.
It will be a nice morning before having to go back to work tomorrow. I will always and forever be a Trekker over a…Warser (?) but SW fills my youth with wonder and I will always be happy with that. And besides, the first Star Wars film is on a passel of “Best Films Ever Made” lists for a reason!.
And we’re having a wonderful little Beltane feast and we all prepared part of the meal! Pork roast made with fresh rosemary and real minced garlic, twice baked potatoes, veggie stuffed green peppers, baked bread and fresh strawberries with orange and honey. And ginger cookies for dessert. Yummy and Blessed Be!
Today is Beltane! For those Pagan friends of mine, Blessed Be! And here it is also Furry Friday. When the first two Pagan holidays fell so close to Furry Friday, Noah and I went with that as our theme. Could we resist when it fell right on the holiday this time? I think not!
About ten years or more ago, while on my continuing Spiritual Quest, some friends challenged me to celebrate the eight Pagan Holidays with them. These holidays observe the turning seasons and the revolving Great Wheel of the Year. It turned out to not only be incredibly informative and I really began to appreciate life and nature in a way I never had before. It was intimate and rewarding as well. The year I suggested to my family we give it a try and to my excitement, they agreed! So this year the Three Bears are following suite and we’ve already learned and experienced a lot.
Beltane is the Gaelic May Day festival most commonly it is held on 1 May, or about halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Beltane is a Fire Festival. The word ‘Beltane’ originates from the Celtic God ‘Bel’, meaning ‘the bright one’ and the Gaelic word ‘teine’ meaning fire. Together they make ‘Bright Fire’, or ‘Goodly Fire’ and traditionally bonfires were lit to honor the Sun and encourage the support of Bel and the Sun’s light to nurture the emerging future harvest and protect the community. Traditionally all fires in the community were put out and a special fire was kindled for Beltane. People jumped the fire to purify, cleanse and to bring fertility. Abundant fertility, on all levels, is the central theme.
The symbol of Beltane is the ancient Green Man, to be found all over the country in the most unlikely of places. Many churches have green men hidden in ceiling bosses or peering down from dark corners. When Christianity superseded paganism in Europe, the image of the Green Man was impossible to eradicate as it represented such a powerful force – that of virility and growth.
Beltane honors Life. It represents the peak of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. All of life is bursting with potent fertility and at this point in the Wheel of the Year, the potential becomes conception. On May Eve the sexuality of life and the earth is at its peak.
So today’s Bearded Men were picked with Beltane in mind. In fact, quite a few of them were celebrating Beltane. It’s all about nature and the Green Man and fertility and Spring and new growth. I hope I did well!
Happy Beltane
Happy Furry Friday
and Blessed Be!
BG “Ben” Thomas Continue reading
