PHOTOS: Finding Your Body & Soul

After more than 30 years in graphic design, Bob Burkhardt began working as a photographer in 2000, initially focusing his lens primarily on landscapes, flowers, and architecture. Although he had dabbled in portraiture, Burkhardt didn't seriously pursue that interest until a modeling agency approached him with a commission. After only one session he was hooked.

Now the results of his newly found talent is his first book, Body & Soul. The 54-page hardbound, coffee-table book features images that range from stylized and dramatic, to warm, intimate, and frankly sexy. Featuring models Andre Avery, AK Brown, Denerick Lindsey, Chris Rich, Martell Todd, and XL, Burkhardt's work doesn't merely portray the male form but reveals a relationship between model and artist -- a collaboration.

"My graphic design background draws me to create clean, crisp imagery," Burkhardt says of his work. "Light, and the way it interacts with a subject, fascinates me. My focus is on details, whether capturing a mood or following that alluring trace of light as it disappears sensuously down a subject's back."

Although he never received professional training in photography, he sees his experience in design, and in working with other artists through his and his partner's pb&j gallery, as a marvelous education in composition and light.

For more about Burkhardt, visit his website, and go to Blurb for more info on the book.

Andre Avery

AK Brown

XL

Martell Todd

Martell Todd

Denerick Lindsey

Chris Rich

Denerick Lindsey

XL

Denerick Lindsey

XL