Ruven Afanador: Not only a Fashion Photographer

Ruven Afanador is born and raised in Colombia and owes very much to Italian cinema and the glamour of Italian fashion catwalks in Milan. A very appreciated fashion photographer, in 2000 he received the title of "Best Photographer of the Year" in Paris.

Ruven Afanador is considered one of the leading photographers working in celebrity and fashion photography. His work appears in most major fashion magazines in the world as well as in The New Yorker. His commercial clients include Arista, Cacharel, Christian Dior, Elektra et al.


Noel Pardo, Bogota, Colombia


Noel Pardo, Bogota, Colombia

( Torero by Ruven Afanador )

In the fall of 2001, a decade after his work first began attracting widespread attention, he published his first book, Torero. Within a year Torero sold out and became a collector’s item within the fashion world. Even if I'm not so fond of bullfight and any other "sport" where an animal dies, I can't deny that there is poetry in Afanador's pictures.

Amazon: Torero





( Sombra by Ruven Afanador )

Sombra, a collection of male nudes inspired by still life tableaus, was published by Merrell in 2004.

Amazon: Sombra


Ursula Lopez Lopez, "Cantera", Outside of Sevilla, Spain

( Mil Besos by Ruven Afanador )

Mil Besos (1000 Kisses), his latest photobook, was released in 2009.

Amazon: Mil Besos: 1000 Kisses

http://www.art-dept.com/artists/afanador/

More Photographers at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art

Chasing Victory by Tory Temple

Probably from a novel set in the Race Cars Circuit you expect it to be more glamour, more “under the spotlight”, and obviously, being not exactly a gay friendly environment, you expect the usual trouble from a relationship that has to remain in the closet. But instead Chasing Victory has more a “homey” feeling. It’s strange, maybe the reason is that, after all, the Stock Car Racing is more a like a small town in comparison to a metropolis, it has its fans, but the money around it are less than the bigger international circuits. And so, also the drivers are more small town boy than big shot international champion.

At 35 years old Mitchell is in the middle: he is too young to retire but he is not more the young prodigy that makes the media talk. But since Mitchell is there not for the media, but for the joy he has from racing, it’s not that he is questioning: racing has lost its fascination on Mitchell, he is probably tired to be always in motion, to not have a really home and someone to go back to. Mitchell has an old father and nice home in Georgia, but both are getting old, and Mitchell is always too far away to be with them.

One thing that I like is that Mitchell doesn’t make a drama of his need to be discreet; Mitchell is gay and he knows that it’s not good for sponsors and all, and so he lives his relationship always far from the spotlight. I didn’t feel like Mitchell is denying himself, it’s not that he craves male companionship since he was deprived of it for too long, Mitchell wants a relationship since, I believe, he is ready for it. When he meets Pacey on the circuit (he is an ER doctor), it’s only natural for them to live the relationship with the timing of the Car Racing circuit. Pacey seems also to understand the need to be discreet.

The relationship between them is nice and quite, they are good together and they know that. Mitchell is always really open, taking Pacey to meet his family almost from moment one, and not playing the “scared in the closet” gay man with his friends. Again, Mitchell is not making a public statement, but he is not even denying his lover.

Everything actually has a “comfort zone” feeling in this novel, there are no excesses, even when Mitchell brings Pacey in Paris for a short trip, a situation that usually is described in “big words” in most of the books, here is like they are having a week-end trip on the neighbourhood town, yes, it’s nice, but nothing special. It’s strange, but in the end, I have the feeling that this is almost a family story, and that Mitchell and Pacey will have a good life together, an happily ever after without firecrackers, but for sure with high chances to be a forever type of thing.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2186

Amazon: Chasing Victory

Amazon Kindle: Chasing Victory

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading_list&view=elisa.rolle

Chasing Victory by Tory Temple

Probably from a novel set in the Race Cars Circuit you expect it to be more glamour, more “under the spotlight”, and obviously, being not exactly a gay friendly environment, you expect the usual trouble from a relationship that has to remain in the closet. But instead Chasing Victory has more a “homey” feeling. It’s strange, maybe the reason is that, after all, the Stock Car Racing is more a like a small town in comparison to a metropolis, it has its fans, but the money around it are less than the bigger international circuits. And so, also the drivers are more small town boy than big shot international champion.

At 35 years old Mitchell is in the middle: he is too young to retire but he is not more the young prodigy that makes the media talk. But since Mitchell is there not for the media, but for the joy he has from racing, it’s not that he is questioning: racing has lost its fascination on Mitchell, he is probably tired to be always in motion, to not have a really home and someone to go back to. Mitchell has an old father and nice home in Georgia, but both are getting old, and Mitchell is always too far away to be with them.

One thing that I like is that Mitchell doesn’t make a drama of his need to be discreet; Mitchell is gay and he knows that it’s not good for sponsors and all, and so he lives his relationship always far from the spotlight. I didn’t feel like Mitchell is denying himself, it’s not that he craves male companionship since he was deprived of it for too long, Mitchell wants a relationship since, I believe, he is ready for it. When he meets Pacey on the circuit (he is an ER doctor), it’s only natural for them to live the relationship with the timing of the Car Racing circuit. Pacey seems also to understand the need to be discreet.

The relationship between them is nice and quite, they are good together and they know that. Mitchell is always really open, taking Pacey to meet his family almost from moment one, and not playing the “scared in the closet” gay man with his friends. Again, Mitchell is not making a public statement, but he is not even denying his lover.

Everything actually has a “comfort zone” feeling in this novel, there are no excesses, even when Mitchell brings Pacey in Paris for a short trip, a situation that usually is described in “big words” in most of the books, here is like they are having a week-end trip on the neighbourhood town, yes, it’s nice, but nothing special. It’s strange, but in the end, I have the feeling that this is almost a family story, and that Mitchell and Pacey will have a good life together, an happily ever after without firecrackers, but for sure with high chances to be a forever type of thing.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2186

Amazon: Chasing Victory

Amazon Kindle: Chasing Victory

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading_list&view=elisa.rolle

Bad Blood (Spirits of Abaddon 1) by Mychael Black

I think that, for the first time, instead of speaking of the main characters, I will speak of their enemies… I have the feeling that Mychael Black changed his mind in the middle of writing this novella, or maybe, as often is, the villains were more interesting than the good people.

Jesse and Gabriel met in the prequel of this book, the story of Jason and Julian; even if it seems a contradiction in terms, Jason and Julian’s story is an “ordinary” one, an almost classic vampire story, where the cute and young man, Jason, falls in love for the fascinating ancient vampire, Julian. Jesse is Jason’s friend, and when Julian needed help, Gabriel, Julian’s sire, came to help. It was quite clear that there was something between Jesse and Gabriel, and so it was natural that the next story was their own. But already from the classification, as Spirits of Abaddon book 1, we understand that something changed, this is not a sequel of the Blood & Fire series, and this is an entirely new one. And so, we discover that Gabriel is not exactly a vampire, and that he has great enemies, and one of them, Lazarus, has even the help of Gabriel’s renegade brother, Semoriel.

Lazarus and Semoriel are the villains, but as I said, I had the feeling that Mychael Black liked them better than Jesse and Gabriel. Little by little Lazarus steals the scene to Gabriel, and even if Jesse is a good guy, Semoriel is for sure a more interesting bad guy. They are the bad guys, but the reader finds himself cheering for them, and a clear sign that the author is on the same line is that, the last scene is devoted to them.

Spirits of Abaddon shifts the series from a paranormal environment to a demons and ancient legends one, something the author well know. It’s different from what the reader was expecting, especially if he read the previous two books, but it’s probably more fascinating like that.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1294

Series: Blood & Fire
1) Blood & Fire: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/649436.html
2) Blood Curse: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/833419.html
Spirits of Abaddon
1) Bad Blood

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading_list&view=elisa.rolle

Bad Blood (Spirits of Abaddon 1) by Mychael Black

I think that, for the first time, instead of speaking of the main characters, I will speak of their enemies… I have the feeling that Mychael Black changed his mind in the middle of writing this novella, or maybe, as often is, the villains were more interesting than the good people.

Jesse and Gabriel met in the prequel of this book, the story of Jason and Julian; even if it seems a contradiction in terms, Jason and Julian’s story is an “ordinary” one, an almost classic vampire story, where the cute and young man, Jason, falls in love for the fascinating ancient vampire, Julian. Jesse is Jason’s friend, and when Julian needed help, Gabriel, Julian’s sire, came to help. It was quite clear that there was something between Jesse and Gabriel, and so it was natural that the next story was their own. But already from the classification, as Spirits of Abaddon book 1, we understand that something changed, this is not a sequel of the Blood & Fire series, and this is an entirely new one. And so, we discover that Gabriel is not exactly a vampire, and that he has great enemies, and one of them, Lazarus, has even the help of Gabriel’s renegade brother, Semoriel.

Lazarus and Semoriel are the villains, but as I said, I had the feeling that Mychael Black liked them better than Jesse and Gabriel. Little by little Lazarus steals the scene to Gabriel, and even if Jesse is a good guy, Semoriel is for sure a more interesting bad guy. They are the bad guys, but the reader finds himself cheering for them, and a clear sign that the author is on the same line is that, the last scene is devoted to them.

Spirits of Abaddon shifts the series from a paranormal environment to a demons and ancient legends one, something the author well know. It’s different from what the reader was expecting, especially if he read the previous two books, but it’s probably more fascinating like that.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1294

Series: Blood & Fire
1) Blood & Fire: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/649436.html
2) Blood Curse: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/833419.html
Spirits of Abaddon
1) Bad Blood

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading_list&view=elisa.rolle