“PRIMARY” usually refers to what comes first or is most important. We come into this world without clothes and all the associations and signifiers they bring. It’s where we start. To be naked is often to be revealed, stripped down, raw and honest.

Followers of Blake Little’s male portraiture have long been asking him to make a book of nudes. Blake has never been interested in creating pornography or even overt erotica so he was reluctant to take this on. His focus has been on capturing his particular vision of gay men and the authenticity his models. Nudity is still a huge taboo in our society and many declined being photographed for fear of losing their jobs or shocking their family. The brave and bold men featured in Primary had many different personal reasons for choosing to let Blake shoot them without clothes. Many found freedom and catharsis from societal hangups by letting their shields (and pants) down. Blake found his way to make nudes into real and complex portraits, as sophisticated as the photos in his earlier books and just as rich in terms of settings and compositions.

Shot over four years, both in his studio and on locations around North America and Europe, this is his biggest and most ambitious book by far with 166 photographs in a large hardcover format, once again designed by the award-winning Sean Adams.