Customer Reviews

Outback Currawong Creek

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Paul Freeman is the best photographer of the nude male in Australia, and possibly anywhere. His latest work - Outback Currawong Creek - may well be his finest work. No one surpasses Mr Freeman at capturing the essence of the Australian male - physically powerful, emotionally cryptic, and intrinsically bonded to his mates. Unlike models in other photographic works, Mr Freeman's models are entirely natural - no manscaped, waxed entities here - and all the more beautiful for it. The diverse range of models captured is breathtaking and they are captured in full frontal glory. Not only will one gain a deep understanding of the models in this work, but the Australian landscape they inhabit. Rarely has outback Australia appeared so beautiful. Anyone interested in nude male photography should definitely own a copy of Outback Currawong Creek.

Paul Freeman's photographic art grows in stature and sophistication with every new book and OUTBACK CURRAWONG CREEK is an excellent example. His previous tour of the outback of Australia, simply titled OUTBACK, savoured the flavor of the wildness of the countryside of Australia, giving the hauntingly beautiful serenity of this land just the right amount of interest with the population of men at work. In this even more impressive volume of both black and white, color and near sepia toned images, Freeman seems to have found the core of his poetic view of a land where 'civilization' has yet to blight.

Currawong Creek is a crumbling, disinherited sheep station in the outback of Australia. There are sturdy but much used barns, houses, and dilapidated sheds that all seem to be seasonal habitats used at sheep shearing time. Into this setting Freeman has placed his models, men so ruggedly masculine that they seem as though they actually are sheepherders, drovers, and cowboys. These are not at all the usual posed models of many other photographic monographs: these men, both in levis and torn shirts and at times free of clothing altogether, seem wholly involved in the work at hand. But this is where Freeman is unique among artists emphasizing the male model. As ordinary as a work day these men doff their clothes for a swim or a nap in the shorn wool, on hay bales and by bodies of water - men at rest from hard labor. Instead of the shaved and oiled muscle man tropes, the men of Currawong Creek are at times covered with dust and dirt, and far from being shaved these men are naturally hairy! The mood of the book is one of camaraderie of men away from the eyes of society, men at work, at rest, and at play.

Some of the very large pages of this volume hold four photographs, images that seem like casual conversation snapshots, while other pages wax poetic as in the double page spread of a contemporary Narcissus observing his reflection in the water. This collection contains some particularly beautiful portraits where Freeman engages the eye of the model (such as the man on the cover), transmitting unspoken conversations that bring the viewer into the rugged majesty of the atmosphere of the outback. If ever there were a frozen moment in history, a moment when nature and man were in a friendly confrontation without the noise of the future, the city, then this is what Paul Freeman has captured. OUTBACK CURRAWONG CREEK is a tribute to masculinity - raw, rough, working, playing, dreaming, enjoying life fully - and it packs a mighty visual wallop! Grady Harp, October 09

Paul Freeman's photography is beautiful and full of life and spirit. The sepia tones and the sense of gritty living is evident in the way he captures his models in gesture and grace. Manly and uninhibited in the adventure of the moment. I think this work is brilliant. It emotes life, energy and almost breathes on you as the observer.

Originally these comments had been attached, in slightly different form, to Grady Harp's beautfully expressed customer review for Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, praising the aptly poetic cast of some of his reflections about this hauntingly evocative book. It deserves them!

As Grady Harp made clear, there is no emphasis on full-frontal/genitals-exposed-in-full-view photographs. In this case, the beautiful but natural-looking men, candidly and nicely intimately shot, do not even need that photographic asset. Their hirsute chests are appealing; these are not all pretty-boy, full-shaved dandies, but, rather, undeniably masculine rural workmen in the Outback of "down under". The men are so naturally sexy, in their mostly outdoor, rugged Australian environments, that they do not need all the professional posing of buff, hairless studio models.

The full-frontal nudity (the men's genitals often in full view) of Freeman's related book of Australian male erotic photography, "Outback", is more explicitly erotic than this book is, but not necessarily to the disadvantage of "Outback Currawong Creek". Even partially dressed as they appear in the latter book (the one here under review), their generative "family jewels" tucked in their trousers (even if at times only barely and unheedingly partially concealed, with some pubic hair tantalisingly in view above the buckling line), or, even when they are naked, their genitals just barely out of camera's view, the men are arousingly beautiful (the more so since not making an effort, or at least not obviously, to excite the viewer with intentional eroticism), and, also, very touchingly, candidly human.

Whether Paul Freeman really succeeded in finding such manual labourers in the rural Outback whom he persuaded to pose so seemingly naturally, or whether he used models, posing and positioning them with consummate skill to look so ruggedly at ease or otherwise unmindful of him, the resulting photographs are splendidly, seemingly off-handedly successful in conveying masculity at its most robustly unmanicured and uncultivated state. Freeman's work here is and example of what rightly is called the "art that conceals art". The 16 customer-supplied views (counted as of early March 2010) of photos from the book included in the Amazon.com entry for the book attest to all of this wordlessly but ever so effectively.

It can be fun to fall into erotic revery, with or without visual photographic stimulant, after reading a sexy short story, or a passage from a novella, novel, or other gay-oriented book, with photo(s) in view for erectile arousal. One that works well with these evocative photos, given the Australian content, are two collections of gay fiction by Australian writer, Rusty Winter, "Aussie Hot" and "Aussie Boys", many of the stories (or the 84 pages long novella, "Lyndhurst Downs" included in the latter book) are set in the Australian Outback. Whatever is the aspect of the book from which one approaches it, this book offers much pleasure for lovers of comely men and of fine photography.

I love male photography books, but often I find that some of them find their way on the shelf, never to be seen again. Not the case with this book. The book is filled with evocative imagery bringing the viewer to the sultry setting of the Australian outback. The photos do not cut corners on being artistic and equally sexy. The men seem to appear in a natural setting, which we are able to view into. A beautiful book in every way.

I'm so glad I bought this book, the photos are sexy, beautiful, and excellent quality.
Every image shows men at very masculine,sexy, interesting situations, the frontal nude ones are very nice and wonderfully taken.
The combination of nature and the beauty of the male body is extraordinary.

I want to congratulate Paul for the wonderful job done in OUTBACK
Just gave the book to my boyfriend as a Christmas present and I've never seen him so intrigued going through the pages of an art photography book
Thank you Paul for making people happy and experience the joy of photography with your job.
I will certainly become a fan and follow your future projects
Vlad

Lovely book, lovely men. And not a shaved body in the batch. Who could ask for more? ;-)