Pictures of Kris

Rating:
Summary: Excellent continuation of Three
Review: Chronicling three years of a young man's life in photographic images, Howard Roffman's "Pictures of Kris" is a remarkably achievement in male erotic photography. Kris will be familiar to many Roffman fans as one of the beautiful young men who appeared in his previous photo book "Three."

It is easy to see why Roffman chose Kris as the sole subject of an entire oeuvre. He is captivating, with his warm smile, his obvious physical attributes, and his tremendous lack of self-consciousness when being photographed. But there is more of Kris that also is evident in these pictures - a strong personality, the presence of intelligence, and certainly a lot of heart seem to define this young man.

Done in entirely black and white photography (Roffman is a true master of the art), this book contains a few images of the subjects of "Three" that were previously unpublished, plus some that were shot more recently in South Africa. The passage of time in Kris's life is evident by the changes in his face and body (and hairstyles), and in a certain confidence he exudes in the later shots that comes only from a certain level of emotional maturity. In all of them, Kris has a certain natural sexual heat that permeates the work.

As for Roffman's work in general, it continues to be amazingly, starkly intimate - particularly when he focuses his lens on subjects he knows well personally, as in this case. The finest shots in this collection, for me, are the ones that show Kris unabashedly romping on a beach with his dog, wearing only a tattered New Mexico State Aggies T-shirt. Both the T-shirt and the dog (as a puppy) appear in some of the earlier photographs, giving a sense of history and continuity to the collection.

Rating:
Summary: Good, pleasing but not quite his best.
Review: I like Roffman's work. I like his models and his style.

Pictures of Kris, "with the highly tuned intimacy for which Roffman's pictures are known, gives us a glimpse into Kris's life over a period of three years. Kris, one of the Three from Roffman's collection of pictures of the same name, matures from a rather shy youth to a confident young man, whose clear gaze and natural eroticism have already bewitched many an observer".

His previous book of Johan Paulik was slightly better than this, perhaps because it contained solo photographs but nonetheless, Pictures of Kris is a worthy addition to your coffee table or bookshelf. (And let's face it, if you're not into muscle-men, you're not likely to turn this young man from your front door on a cold and wet spring evening).

Rating:
Summary: Good, pleasing but not quite his best.
Review: I like Roffman's work. I like his models and his style.

Pictures of Kris, "with the highly tuned intimacy for which Roffman's pictures are known, gives us a glimpse into Kris's life over a period of three years. Kris, one of the Three from Roffman's collection of pictures of the same name, matures from a rather shy youth to a confident young man, whose clear gaze and natural eroticism have already bewitched many an observer".

His previous book of Johan Paulik was slightly better than this, perhaps because it contained solo photographs but nonetheless, Pictures of Kris is a worthy addition to your coffee table or bookshelf. (And let's face it, if you're not into muscle-men, you're not likely to turn this young man from your front door on a cold and wet spring evening).

Rating:
Summary: Kris, Kris, and More Kris!!
Review: There's not very much you can say about this beautiful book of photographs, it speaks for itself. If you enjoyed Kris's images in Roffman's book "Three", you will love this tribute to him and glimpse we get into Kris's life. These very intimate pictures show Kris over a period of three years, as he matures from a rather shy young man to the handsome, confident, young man he is now. This blond Adonis has the ability to hold anyone's gaze just by being himself and displaying his natural good-looks, and eroticism. Only a talented photographer like Roffman could bring the natural beauty of this youth to these 80 pages of black and white photos in such a sensitive way. Roffman is the author of six best selling books of photographs, and this is one of his best! This book of nude-images will be a lasting addition to any collector's library! Enjoy.

Joe Hanssen

Rating:
Summary: Kris, Kris, and More Kris!!
Review: There's not very much you can say about this beautiful book of photographs, it speaks for itself. If you enjoyed Kris's images in Roffman's book "Three", you will love this tribute to him and glimpse we get into Kris's life. These very intimate pictures show Kris over a period of three years, as he matures from a rather shy young man to the handsome, confident, young man he is now. This blond Adonis has the ability to hold anyone's gaze just by being himself and displaying his natural good-looks, and eroticism. Only a talented photographer like Roffman could bring the natural beauty of this youth to these 80 pages of black and white photos in such a sensitive way. Roffman is the author of six best selling books of photographs, and this is one of his best! This book of nude-images will be a lasting addition to any collector's library! Enjoy.

Joe Hanssen