Atlas Men ONE - Art of the Beefcake

For seven years starting in 2006 photographer MJ Atlas posted a new picture every day on his photoblog AtlasMen.com. His masculine portraits helped define beefcake photography of the pre-Instagram world and can be found in the book "Atlas Men ONE".

In the early 1990s MJ Atlas met a man named Peter McWilliams while picking up his mail in Hollywood, California. Peter was an author and a photographer and he had just received a box filled with copies of his new book of photographic portraits. Although MJ had never taken a serious photograph in his life, he mentioned that photography might be something that he might like to try some day. Peter insisted that they go immediately to the camera store where Peter bought MJ his first film camera and 85mm portrait lens.

That chance encounter and random act of kindness began MJ's life-long interest in photography. He was soon practicing his craft by taking photos of his friends, many of whom were bodybuilders.

MJ moved from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2005. He wanted to start taking more pictures and figured it might also be a good way to meet people in his new city. MJ started by taking some photos of his friend, Larry, who was from Los Angeles and staying with him over the holidays. On January 5, 2006 Larry became the first official Atlas Man and the logo.

AtlasMen.com was born. MJ challenged himself to post a new photo on his photoblog each day and the site quickly grew a following.

The men MJ photographed were not models, they were friends or guys from the neighborhood. It wasn't long before people who were visiting Fort Lauderdale would contact MJ to schedule a photo shoot. MJ made it a rule to photograph anybody who requested a session. He enjoyed the challenge of taking great photos of regular guys, to capture the sexy spark that he saw in them, even if they could not see it in themselves.

Many of the guys MJ photographed were at a point of transition in their lives. They were bodybuilders who just competed in a show and wanted to record their physique, or guys who were fresh out of their relationships and wanted a good picture for their dating profiles. More than one had terminal health issues and just wanted a great photo for posterity. For MJ, that's what AtlasMen was all about, creating beautiful images of people and giving them the gift of seeing themselves with fresh eyes.

My wish is that the men I shoot be able to see themselves, even for a moment, the way I see them - as beautiful, living works of art.

Atlas Men portraits have a distinct and origial look. Most photographers learn to shoot portraits by shooting women beautiful, almost seductive style or headshots in a clinically neutral style. MJ's photos are different. His photos have a bold, masculine, graphic style. Some men chose to pose nude, but the emphasis of the photo is to be sexy, not salacious. It's easy to shoot porn. It's much more difficult to create an artistic, sexy image.

Over the next few years AtlasMen photos would appear on the cover of magazines, in advertising postes, and calendars. He even had a gallery show of his prints at a fine art photography gallery in Wilton Manors, Florida.

In 2012 MJ compiled many of his portraits into the book "Atlas Men ONE". The pages of the book are filled with photographs of friends who were kind enough to agree to pose and men who became friends through their shoots. The book is dedicated to Peter McWilliams whose act of kindness started it all.