THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS IS ALSO KNOWN TO BE THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST, AND TO HONOR THAT VERY SPECIAL POSITION THE CITY RAISED A HUGE MONUMENT CALLED THE GATEWAY ARCH BACK IN 1965. THE ARCH IS AN ICONIC ELEMENT OF THE MISSOURI CITY AND GIVES IT’S SKYLINE A CURVED IMAGE. BUT ST. LOUIS ALSO KNOWS SOME VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF CURVES.
Besides the already mentioned Gateway Arch, St. Louis has another cultural thing to be proud of: its cuisine. It is said that the people of St. Louis are obsessed with food, and it is true that you can find something good to eat in pretty much every neighborhood. The flavors of Asian, Indian, African and European cuisines have found a comfortable place next to the traditional Southern classics and the Cajun and Creole culinary cultures. So besides curvy, St. Louis is also a most savory place. And all those good things of St. Louis are combined in Matt Schiermeier.
Matt Schiermeier is a 32 year old model from St. Louis, Missouri, who started his modeling career as a good way to pay his way though college. But his well curved body and strong masculine look have landed him more than just a temporary modeling career. Matt has developed himself into a well sought after international male model, who guarantees striking and strong images with an intense energy that shines through his piercing eyes. No wonder everyone wants to work with Matt. Empyrean Photography’s Andre Deloach happened to be one of the lucky ones which resulted in an exclusive BeautifulMag series that encompassed so many stunning photographs that Andre and Matt placed us for the difficult but delightful task of shifting through them in order to present you a nice portfolio. Just remember, there is a lot more where this came from. All you have to do is ask. But anyway, to get to the point. As always when savoring a good dish, you ask yourself about the ingredients. So why not ask the chef. And thus we talked to Andre DeLoach.
Andre, how did you come to photograph Matt?
Andre: The inititative actually came from Matt himself. Through a mutual contact he expressed his interest in working with me as well as the wish to do something for BeautifulMag. Because I was – and still am – inspired by his looks, I saw this as an excellent opportunity to premier some of my new work with you guys. All of these photographs that I have submits featuring Matt have not been published anywhere else.
Wow, that makes us feel very special Andre. But what is it that makes Matt so special for you?
Andre: Well first of all he has this incredible physique. He has developed a body that strikes an excellent balance between muscle mass and definition. It makes him such a great model. I could throw my camera at him and still have a fantastic picture. Second, Matt has a type of face that I thoroughly enjoy photographing. There is this structural beauty about his face that gives him that distinctive handsome look. But most importantly, Matt came to the shoot prepared to do his best and had a complete trust in my vision for the images. Because of this, I was allowed to concentrate fully on creating outstanding portraits.
What was your goal for the overall photo shoot?
Andre: Plain and simple, I intended to create a set of images that allowed me to savor Matt’s beauty. I want those who see the work to savor his beauty as well. One of the best compliments anyone can give to me is to say that they found themselves returning to one of my photographs to drink it in. In addition I set out to make images that not only captured Matt’s sexy ‘heroic’ look, but also offered a more sensuous and emotional aspect of him.
Can you tell us where you found your inspiration for this shoot?
Andre: In general I’m currently finding a lot of inspiration from a sustained study of vintage physique photography magazines, like Physique Pictorial, Body Beautiful, Adonis and others. Though my inspiration is certainly being sparkled by some graceful poses of the models, the greater gift I am receiving is seeing my love and thirst for muscular male beauty reflected back to me in such an unashamed way in the ground-breaking, liberating work of Bob Mizer, Lon of New York, Bruce of LosAngeles, Vulcan, Alan B. Stone and many others. My re-exposure to this body of work, this history, has really touched me in an emotional way.
How is that?
Andre: I have realized that I am part of a long tradition of male photographers with whom I share a core set of aesthetic and erotic values, despite the fact that our styles are, in many ways, vastly different. I recently had the opportunity to personally express my debt and appreciation to Martin Reid, one of the physique models of the French-Canadian photographer Alan B. Stone. Martin is also a physique photographer and manages L’Archives Gaies du Quebec, a great visual resource for vintage physique photography. Without the courage and loving work of these men, I doubt that I would enjoy the same level of freedom and expression in my own work today. The freedom and expression that shows in the work with Matt.
What can you tell us about the direction your photography is taking these days?
Andre: I’m re-dedicating a significant part of my photography to the visual exploration and celebration of the muscular male body. What does this mean for my photography, given that I already shoot muscle men? It means that a majority of my future work will be intensely focused on visually answering the question: In what new ways can I express the boundless beauty of the muscular body. And again I can point out the work with Matt Schiermeier.
Do you, besides Matt, have other work that goes in this direction?
Andre, Yes, I have made definite strides in this direction with a current book project, entitles The Pleasure of Looking at TJ. In it, I joyously explore and linger my gaze on parts of porn star TJ Cumming’s ripped body, like the bunched up muscles of his neck and back, his lean butt and anus, and the fibrous muscles of his quad. A preview can already by found on my website. The book is scheduled to be released by year’s end. It will be one of my activities in sharing my work with those men for whom the muscular male body is a passion and for whom savoring physique photography is an essential source of pleasure. –B-
Empyrean Photography is among the talented artists featured in BeautifulMag’s photo book, BeautifulVision, The Men of BeautifulMag.eu.
EMPYREAN PHOTOGRAPHY | BEAUTIFULMAG
MATT SCHIERMEIER | BEAUTIFULMAG
Absolutely stunningly beautiful.
Posted by: Glen | October 21, 2009 at 02:24 PM
Superbly conceived and exquisitely crafted, these memorable images are Andre DeLoach at his finest. Bob Mizer, Lon, and Bruce would be proud!!
Mark
Posted by: Mark Henderson | October 21, 2009 at 06:21 PM
...totally perfect! words fail me, just stunning! x
Posted by: James | October 21, 2009 at 08:05 PM
Yes, Yes, Yes! Your work here with Matt is visually stunning as well as inspiring. If your goal was to create images that the viewer would "drink in" you have most definitely achieved your goal. And yet I am thirsty for more. Bravo Andre and Matt!
Posted by: Rodney | October 21, 2009 at 11:39 PM
Incrivelmente lindo..òtimo trabalho..Parabens!
Posted by: weber | October 22, 2009 at 06:39 AM
It is not often that I am left speechless. But like James, words fail me here. I don't know the vocabulary to adequately describe the beauty you have presented to us. The masterful photography of Andre, the masculine perfection of Matt, and the great grooming skills of Manny have combined together to create the ultimate savory dish of a male paragon for all of us to savor.
Posted by: Steve | October 22, 2009 at 07:35 AM
great body, except he's all waxed. very last decade.
Posted by: Antny | October 22, 2009 at 10:49 PM
OMFG!!! this guy Matt is perfection! MORE, MORE, MORE PLEASE!!! Great work, great eye Andre. I especially love the pic where you can catch a glimpse of Matt's penis head in the shadows.
Posted by: Neil | October 23, 2009 at 02:16 AM
This guy is perfect : hot and beautiful.
Posted by: Julien | October 24, 2009 at 04:25 PM
Matt is so ... HOT !
Posted by: JG | November 12, 2009 at 09:30 PM
IM CHEKCING IS SO HOT SO HOT WONDER IF YOU NOW...ON MY RADAR,ON MY RADAR!!I GOT YOU ON MY RADAR!!!
Posted by: Lucas_Spears | December 02, 2009 at 09:13 PM
I want to kiss his ass
Posted by: jj | March 11, 2010 at 09:24 AM
What an interesting world. Most go through life unnoticed and then there are a very very few like Matt who just astonish us. The up side is obvious, but what of the down side?
Posted by: Marco | October 27, 2011 at 05:54 AM