Summer Souvenirs Hardcover – August 1, 2013

If you're looking for BEL AMI-style erotic photos of young men, this is NOT your book. Most of the photos look like ads for underwear or swimwear; and the sexiest photo in the book (of a boy fully clothed in underwear) covers two pages and therefore has a large crease through the length of the picture. But at least two of the photos are "of such stuff as dreams are made on."

Most of the photos are of great resolution when printed big. However, there are a few that seemed to be of lower resolution. Overall, this is an excellent book for getting inspired

GORGEOUS!!!

It didn't meet my expectations.

Exellent

Fabulous!!!

Fred Goudin has had many very successful photography monographs emphasizing the male figure - AQUA, VIRILITY, CINQ, SUNDAY MORNING, BEDTIME STORIES - and now SUMMER SOUVENIRS, images he has captured in this numerous trips through Europe and the United States all in the suggestion of the heat and languid beauty of summer heat. Many of the images are very pensive, quiet moments of repose and Goudon is able to capture that whether it be by the pool, in the sand, or in fields or by water. He emphasizes portraits of these perfect specimens of the male species in many head and shoulder photographs, managing to let the faces - eyes, lips, facial muscles - offer as sensual an appeal as when he elects to frame the entire body, clothed or no. His use of color is vibrantly sunlit when the situation calls for that or muted, near pastel when the light competes with the shadows. He allows the elements of joy, of shyness, of vulnerability, and of pure animal sensuality to hover on the page in the artwork he has created in tandem with his models.Leafing through this classy book one is struck by the lack of need to show complete frontal nudity - not usually the case in books of this genre. And at book's close it is apparent why Goudon elected to make this exception: these naturally handsome and virile men are all the more sensuous because of what is not said, what is not seen, what is left to the imagination.There is a brief comment by Caroline Vasserot in the pages of this book that bears quoting: `It's a regular summer day. The sun is up in a deep blue sky, warming the air and stroking your skin in a light burn that you've been waiting for all winter. You decide to go to the beach, seeking a gentle breeze that will allow you to take that heat. You lay your bath towel on the sand, your feet sinking into it, and reveal your tanless body. The ocean is right in front of you, and that familiar salty coolness that emanates from it soothes you. And you finally breathe. Then suddenly you see him. He's that young, tall hand- some guy with a naughty angel face that you thought only existed in dreams. And yet he's right next to you, in a lifeguard booth, wearing the required red swim suit, with abs to die for, casting his eyes over the sea. Sometimes life really is that kind. And as you look over him, your mind starts to wander, helped by the sweatiness of the season. This is his beach. He's a lifeguard there. He spends his days covering it, and his skin gets darker as the summer goes along. This is his summer job,, and it develops the muscles of his already perfect body During his off days, he sails on his boat. He can spend hours barefoot on the deck, checking the rigging with nothing in sight except the horizon.You picture yourself with him, climbing at the stern after a dive in the frisky ocean. The sun is about to heat up your shivering skin, the last sunbeams of the day playing on the shadowy hair, smiles, and eyes of both of you. And you can't help but fantasize about that kiss with a savory taste that's fortunately going to happen. Can you imagine that? Because this--this summer dream that's coming back to you with all its reminiscences--is exactly what you're about to dive into as you open up Fred Goudon's book. In each and every one of his photos, you'll feel that heat, that beauty, that sweetness, that sensuality that only summer can offer you. All those summer souvenirs sublimated by Fred.' That summary says it all! Grady Harp, July 13

Understandable that this book is not really exciting. His photography has not changed much since his first publication. An interesting addition to the collection.