Like Konstantine of Spartan of Hollywood (of whom you can learn more by jumping to this post on the blog), the man behind Les Demi Dieux remains nearly a complete mystery. He photographed models in and around Brooklyn, New York in the early 1960's. His images appeared in the magazines, Young Physique and The Demi-Gods. And that's about all anyone knows about him.
Similar to other photographers who began taking images of male nudes in the 1960's, this mystery man eshewed the Greek and Roman costumes and props of the previous two decades to photograph his nudes in more natural settings.
His images are strikingly modern in their settings and photographic techniques.
He is best known for his male nudes, like the one in this post of Orest Daszo seated on a bed.
I find his photographs of Brooklyn street toughs to have an arresting beauty. The often shirtless men and teenagers in these images project a longing comparable to Judy Garland's while she sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It's as if in the lightning-quick flicker of the camera shutter, these real-life street toughs glimpse a moment of themselves living the lives they dream of.
It is long overdue for me to thank you for this amazing collection of Vintage Male Physique Photography! I happened to find this link, which offers some very interesting information about the photographer known as Les Demi-Dieux. Until now, I didn't know that his name was Danny Fitzgerald, and that he did a lot of his work in Brooklyn. The link will tell you a lot more. https://lesdemidieux.com/
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