Men, Just Men in the Eyes of Photographer Jim Wilkinson
I met Jim Wilkinson a while back and grew to enjoy his photography of sexy models. I even got to be a model for him myself. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to share his artistry with my BateWorld community.
JR: How did you get into photographing men?
JW: I first picked up my camera in late 1999 after my divorce. My first Seattle show was of European architecture. Since I had a huge collection of mid-century male photography (the posing strap stuff), I decided to re-create some of those images of men in posing straps, using my friends as models. Then a rep for the Seattle Quake gay rugby team saw my work and asked me to shoot their calendar for 2005. That made me “legit” and I started photographing hundreds of men in the Seattle area. The rest is history. My old Jim Wilkinson Images Flickr account had almost eight million hits in just three years.
JR: I can tell that you enjoy photographing a wide variety of guys, not just “Adonises”, is there any intention behind who you photograph?
JW: Absolutely! I love to photograph “real, normal, everyday” men and to capture the beauty that I see in them. I tend to shy away from guys with perfect everything. My goal is to capture the essence of each man. One of my favorite things is when I have a man who may not see himself the way others may see him (We’re all our own best critics). I do the shoot and then I show the man what I see through my eyes. It’s great when he looks at the images and then says something like “Whoa- I’d do me”! Bingo. And my viewers love to see these real, beautiful, imperfect men because they say to themselves: “That could be me” or “I could be with him”.
JR: As I have investigated your various sites online, it seems your work spans from natural outdoor nudes to some pretty explicit content. What has been your evolution in photographing sexier experiences?
JW: I’m not saying it happens all of the time, but sometimes the sexual energy gets so intense during a shoot, that you could cut the air with a knife. I used a former partner to stand in as a compliment to a model when I wanted to portray a “couples “shoot. We started calling him “prop cock”. And sometimes we’d relax with the model afterward and jerk off together. I kept going to the next level in my work, and I then had some models and couples request erotic shoots. Then I moved to Palm Springs (land of my naked pool parties). Last year a friend asked me if he could shoot porn for a few studios at my home for a week. I did it so I could learn about the biz and then the next month, I shot a pretty racy 15 minute porn video with a couple of my friends. I’ve also done some short interview type videos of some porn stars and other men. All nude, of course! My favorite thing about men is that I’ve found penises are like snowflakes. No two are alike!
JR: I’ve had the honor of being photographed by you, and you made me feel very comfortable at being myself before the camera. What’s your strategy to put a model at ease, especially if it’s their first time getting naked?
JW: In my twenty years of doing this, I’ve found that it’s pretty normal for a potential model to have two conflicting thoughts bouncing around in his head: 1. He’s always wanted to do a nude shoot and he really wants to do it now with me shooting it. 2. He’s scared shitless to do a nude photo shoot. I think the key for me is that I genuinely love people and I want to help each man grow and expand in his experiences. I know that so many times, doing a nude shoot can be a very healing and liberating experience for a lot of men. I’m also in sales and I know how to make people comfortable. And I always try to have fun on my shoots. It’s worked so far!
“I think the key for me is that I genuinely love people and I want to help each man grow and expand in his experiences. I know that so many times, doing a nude shoot can be a very healing and liberating experience for a lot of men.”
JR: What’s the latest project you’ve been working on?
JW: Just finished my sixth photography book since Covid started. This last one is titled “COVID-19: Palm Springs Style” and it features nude men in every shape, age and ethnicity- all buck naked at their front doors wearing nothing but a smile under their Covid mask. It was a very fun project in a rather dark period in history. I’ve just started scheduling and shooting images for my next book, tentatively titled “A Dozen Daddies”.
JR: Where can people find your work?
JW: My website is the best place to start: www.menjustmen.com From there, there are links to my Instagram, Twitter, FaceBook and Only Fans accounts. And if you hit the “STORE” link, on my website, it connects you to three pages of my books (Most with previews of very naked men).
JR: Tell us some things about yourself that we may not know.
JW: I was the Men’s Minister in a large Seattle Church back in my former life (wife, three sons). And yes, I’m a real Daddy. LOL. Although I’m not formally trained, over the last 3 or 4 years, I’ve developed my own therapeutic/sensual/energy work massage. Guys seem to love it and typically each man leaves with a big smile on his face. They tell me I have very talented hands and touch, and it relaxes me as I connect with them in this intimate but casual setting.
Here are a few photos (cropped!) from Jim Wilkinsons latest book COVID-19: Palm Springs Style
Check out more explicit photos in Jallen’s (Hand2Rod) Bateworld album
Awesome interview, Jallen. Thanks for providing the piece. Jim Wilkinson’s work is really amazing, both artistic and erotic. I wish there were more questions on the aspect of masturbation though like what his thoughts are on masturbation, if he’s masturbated with his models during the photo shoots, if he’d consider doing a project focusing on men who call themselves exclusively or mostly masturbators and/or groups of men bonding through masturbation, etc. But overall, I enjoyed reading the interview.
This was a welcome diversion today and I miss both of you.
This is fun and sexy. Very cool interview