OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE HAD TALKED TO MANY ARTISTS. SEVERAL OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS RESULTED IN INTERVIEW THAT WE SHARED WITH YOU. BUT SOME OF THOSE TALENTS, THAT WE HAVE COME TO KNOW SO WELL THAT WE DARE TO CALL THEM FRIENDS, NEVER MADE IT TO APPEAR IN INTERVIEW FORM ON BEAUTIFULMAG. THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT.
We met Dylan Rosser years ago and over the years we have featured him and his models on many occasions. In fact, I dare to say Dylan is one of the most featured photographers on BeautifulMag including many Beautiful Thursday’s and a large number of cover articles.. During these years we came to know Dylan as a man of great integrity and talent, modest and kind. We have had many conversations with him but at the somehow it never came to do an official interview with the London based photographer. Because it simply never was the right time. But now it is. So after all these years, here it finally is. The long anticipated interview with Dylan Rosser.
Dylan, how did a guy from South Africa end up living and working in London?
Dylan: Most of my family had already moved to London, and then one of my close friends got a job transfer there as well, so I decided to quit my job and follow her. It was a big decision as I had a good job and my own apartment back in Cape Town. I had to suddenly start from scratch and was sleeping on my cousin’s sofa and trying to find work. It was worth it in the end though.
You started as a graphic designer with a focus on editorial design. What brought about the switch to photography?
Dylan: I was working as a designer at a weekly magazine and people there knew that I had an interest in photography, so when the company launched a new magazine they asked if I would be interested in shooting the still life images for them. At the same time I had been shooting guys for their Gaydar profile pics as a way to teach myself. Eventually as my work improved I started shooting male escorts. They usually had great bodies and so the images began to improve as well. So on the one hand I was shooting naked men and the other a bottle of perfume or a pair of shoes. Then gradually I went from working 5 days a week at the magazine, to 4 days, then to 3 days, and then I quit and decided to try make a living solely from the photography.
Full time photographer now for several years, you recently published your own online magazine, TMF. An irresistible longing to the old graphic design days?
Dylan: Definitely. I hate bad design and typography. I mean it is all subjective but there were some online magazines coming out that had good content but looked like they had been thrown together by a “words” person, and not a designer. Anyone can put a picture on page, type in a headline, flow in some text and call it a layout. I like to think the reader wants a bit more thought put into it.
What are you hoping to achieve with TMF?
Dylan: I would like it to be a magazine that models and photographer WANT to be in. It will be hard to build up that kind of brand but I will give it a go. I am not sure where else photographers can show their full frontal portfolios and where models that are comfortable being nude can be featured. Now that I have writer and editor Tye Briggs on board, the magazine will have a much stronger editorial feel. However the emphasis still needs to be the images.
Your online portfolio now holds galleries of more than 150 models, and you doubtless have even more unedited getting ready to be published. How do you keep yourself motivated to shoot more?
Dylan: It did get to the point where I had to shoot for the sake of it, as I had to keep TheMaleForm.net updated every week. I have now introduced other photographers’ work to the site so I can focus on other things. It would be nice to shoot just for the fun of it but unless I win the lottery that’s not gonna happen. It is still just a job to me but I have a lot more freedom than most.
Being surrounded with nude and semi nude men pretty much all the time, in different stages of arousal, how does this effect your own sensitivity to such beauty?
Dylan: Once the model is naked in front of me, for the first few seconds its kinda exciting. I’m getting to see this beautiful person naked and in a way it is a privilege. But after that initial thrill I really forget about the nudity and focus on getting good images. There are so many gorgeous guys out there and I want to see them all naked so I will never get bored of that. I was always the skinny, shy kid at school and I was never going to be a part of the “cool crowd”. Nothing much has changed but at least now I get to see the “cool crowd” naked.
It cannot always be easy for models to strip down in front of a photographer, specially for those without experience. It requires quite some trust and confidence. Would you ever consider doing it yourself?
Dylan: (smiling) What can I say, a picture says more than a thousand words…
Your recently started to feature guest photographers on TheMaleForm.net. We have seen Thomas Synnamon, Ethan James, Marlen Boro, Simon Barnes… What drove you to the decision to showcase the ‘competition’?
Dylan: I don’t feel that photographers shooting nudes are that competitive. We all do our own thing. Maybe if I was more interested in shooting fashion or underwear campaigns then I would be more competitive to try get those paying gigs. Also for the website I think it is good to have a mix of photographers and styles.
After X-posed and Red, two photobooks published by Bruno Gmünder, and 100, your self published anniversary book, you are now back with the German publishing house for a 3rd volume: NAKED. Even though the title seems to say it all, what can you tell us about Naked. What makes this book different from the others?
Dylan: I will be honest, NAKED, is not the book I originally wanted to do. I had more of a theme book in mind but the publishers were not convinced. So NAKED is part of the original concept mixed in with other stuff. I can see now why the original idea might have become boring after a while so the final product is a much better one. There are a lot more images that were shot away from my studio. Hotels, apartments, warehouses, etc. I am slowly trying to move away from shooting in studio and hopefully one day I will do a book that is all shot outside. It’s just hard to find places to shoot naked guys outdoors.
Is NAKED a compilation of known work or is it all new, never before published material?
Dylan: I have been shooting specifically for this book for the last 2 years. Every model that I photographed for my website I would also make sure I did some extra shots for the book. While I was in LA and NYC a few months ago, I also shot some more models specifically for the book. So none of it has been seen before.
Let’s get a bit more personal Dylan:
London, New York or Los Angeles, and why?
Dylan: My dream is to live in Los Angeles. I have made some good friends there and the lifestyle suites me. The warm weather and relaxed vibe. But my home, friends and family are in London so it would be hard to leave. I love NYC but I would not be able to deal with the cold in winter or the heat in summer.
Current ringtone?
Dylan: The standard iPhone one.
Favorite color?
Dylan: Grey.
Favorite food?
Dylan: Pasta or a big sharing platter of cold meats, roasted peppers and cheeses (but NO OLIVES).
Professional taste in men?
Dylan: Short, athletic, tanned and defined, with a sprinkling of body hair in the right places. Short guys generally have better proportions for physique photography. I won’t shoot guys that shave off all their pubic hair.
Personal taste in men?
Dylan: A geeky guy with ripped body that works in an Apple Store.
Any pets?
Dylan: My cat Lukas.
What do you wear when you are at home?
Dylan: Baggy gym type clothes. Something comfortable as I am sitting in front of my computer most of the time.
What do you wear when you are in bed?
Dylan: Nothing.
Relationship?
Dylan: Single about 5 years now!
Top three of your wish list of men to shoot?
Dylan: Joseph Sayers, Josh Kloss and Tarik Kaljanac.
Dylan, having worked with so many different models, what comes to mind as the most memorable, funny thing that happened while doing a photo shoot?
Dylan: I was on vacation and I bumped in to this gorgeous model one night at a bar. The friend I was with convinced the guy to come round the next morning to shoot with me. He was stunning but he said he would not do full frontal shots. That morning he called to say he had been “partying” all night and had an erection that would not go down. I assumed he was gonna say he had to cancel the shoot and go to the hospital but he wanted to do the shoot quickly before he went to the hospital. So there I was with this most gorgeous model standing fully nude and erect in front of me for the next hour coming up with poses that would cover his large erection. We shot swimwear too and his dick was poking out all over the place. It took quite a bit of Photoshop to hide it all. That was a fun morning.
After having created a successful web platform, a digital magazine, 4 qualitative photo books and solid partnerships with other renowned photographers… what is the next thing for Dylan Rosser?
Dylan: All of those things don’t allow much time for anything else. I have no assistants and do it all myself. The shoots, the editing, the website, the promotion, etc. Next year is my 40th so I would like to take some time to relax and also shoot more outdoor stuff. And of course I’m always searching for new guys to get naked. –BM-
BeautifulMag archive for Dylan Rosser: Beautiful introduces Dylan Rosser | Dylan Rosser's Don Lando [BT] | Dylan Rosser X-posed | Dylan Rosser's Rule | Chris, Ryno and Dylan Rosser | Zach Burns [BT] | Dylan Rosser's French-English Connection | One to Tango [BT] | Eye-Candy from Man-Candy | Candy Man Candy 1 | Candy Man Candy 2 | Candy Man Candy 3 | A Saturday in New York 1 | A Saturday in New York 2 | Dirty Boys Preview | Dylan Rosser's Dirty Boys [CS] | MaleStock | The Secrets of Scott Andrew Taylor | Vince's Five Reasons to Believe [BT] | Something Old, Something New | DR-NYC1 | DR-NYC2 | DR-NYC3 | DR-NYC4 | DR-NYC5: The Final [CS] | Dylan Rosser X-Posed | Dylan Rosser 'Does' Ludovic Canot | Getting Rusty at Blacks Beach [BT] | Tony and Clint, Together as One | Splish Splash Damon Danilo | Dylan Rosser's New Friends | Veni, Vidi, Vici [CS] | Everybody Comes to Hollywood | Dylan Rosser Relaunched | Marcel in the Morning | RED | I am…Rick Kun [CS] | Dylan Rosser’s Meatpacking Adventure | Rafael | Gettin' Wet with Alan Valdez | RED is The New Dylan Rosser | Dylan Rosser's Indian Summer [CS] | Marco Blaze: Blaze of Glory | Dylan Rosser Unframed | The Original Sin | Return to Eden [CS] | Dylan Rosser's 100, or Rick And More [CS] | Do I Know You from Somewhere? [CS] | Adam Killian's Male Form | Going Esat [CS] | Dylan Rosser's Ménage à Trois | Living the Dream | A Touch of Basil [CS] | Electrifying Liam.
Visit Dylan Rosser’s The Maleform to learn more and purchase his latest photobook NAKED.
DYLAN ROSSER | BEAUTIFULMAG
simply amazing work
Posted by: Sergey Paseshnikov | September 30, 2011 at 02:57 AM
One of the best features yet, and that's saying a lot! There's just no one even close to Rosser's work. Stunning!
Posted by: DeeperStill | September 30, 2011 at 11:16 AM
of all your photogs Dylan is by far my favorite. His models and his use of light is par none
Posted by: Tom R | September 30, 2011 at 02:15 PM
I have always loved his work, nice to see that he is as hot as the pictures that he takes.
Posted by: TSandayu | September 30, 2011 at 08:04 PM
Agreed, beautiful exposures of male form, a photographer on top of his game. However, for me, despite the photographer's technical ability, the works leave me bored. For some reason, he's unable to capture any emotional content in the models, and the settings/poses are uninspired. Maybe time to step up the game?
Posted by: Justaguy | September 30, 2011 at 10:41 PM
...great interview! Surprised that Dylan had previously thought he was not part of the "in crowd" as his decision to feature his own photo proves he is as worthy in front of the camera as behind it!
Posted by: RJ | October 01, 2011 at 04:45 PM
LOVE HIS WORK!
Posted by: thegaytekeeper | October 17, 2011 at 05:16 PM
Dylan Rosser is a MASTER of making the erotic artistic. Love his work.
Posted by: Sean (rSEANd PHOTOGRAPHY) | October 18, 2011 at 07:56 PM