It seems appropriate to debut our work with Renn on Leap Year's Day.  It was a Leap Year when we worked with him in the hills above Santa Cruz.  More candidly, it was four years ago and there's a long, pointless story about why it has taken this long to finish processing his folder.  Suffice it to say, we are glad, finally, to be sharing this stunning California teenager in his natural State.

Renn was a popular model in Northern California's Bay Area in the mid-teens.  Lacking serious modeling ambitions, he was encouraged to give male modeling a try by a girlfriend who apparently understood the monetary value of his exhibitionist instincts.  He worked with a limited number of photographers, always to acclaim, but was notoriously difficult to schedule.

We had attempted to schedule a session with Renn on a prior trip to California but, not working through his agent (the GF), we had failed to lock down more than an "interest" in working with us before time ran out.  It was through the intervention of our good friends, Mark and Mike, who had previously worked with the model, that we succeeded in landing a session with him last Leap Year.  We thank them also for the spectacular shooting venue they provided for the session.

Renn had been dropped off by a friend, another athletic California dude, who politely turned down our offer to model and couldn't turn his car around fast enough in leaving.  Renn, thankfully, was all-business and an amiable and conscientious model.  His goal was to please. 

Lanky and projecting a very contemporary California teen-ager's look and vibe, he was a natural model.  From the apple orchard, to the pool, to the couch, he hugged trees, towels and took things in hand with a cool, confident gaze and occasional smoldering smile.  It was understandable why he was so popular and in-demand.

As with many models with whom we've worked, we parted agreeing to shoot a second time.  It never happened.  The model changed "agents" shortly thereafter and ceased modeling.  To our understanding, this was the final day this young man modeled before retiring at the age of 19.  He left behind him a small but remarkable canon of work with several California photographers.

We are happy to finally add to that canon by publishing the model's final (public) modeling session.  Renn, the studio's newest photo essay, features 32 images taken of Renn on a late summer day a couple of months before his 20th birthday.  The publication is available as a hard copy magazine or as an instantly-downloadable PDF.  A gallery of work from that session can be found online.

•  RENN, New Manhattan Studios Photo Essay
•  Renn's Gallery at NMS

We acknowledge our debt to our hosts and encourage fans interested in seeing more of Renn to check out the outstanding work of Mark Grantham and Mike Tossy.

Renn is one of a dozen photo essays published by the studio featuring work from special sessions or with individual models.  Find all photo essays and other studio publications here.