Dillon(2)-275 Dillon(2)-83 Dillon was new to modeling when we first worked with him this summer. 

We'd never met, but we knew him.  It's was though Dillon James Thomas had just stepped off a big screen.  Except for his very Anglo-Saxon sounding name, this native New Yorker seemed to embody just about every stereotype of the street-smart, Italian-American from Brooklyn.  

With a confident swagger, this dude radiates the machismo and bravado that we all recognize in big-screen heartbreakers and alpha men from Saturday Night Fever to The Godfather and The Sopranos. 

Dillon may have been new to modeling, but he was not new to the gym.  He has a toned and trim physique that speaks to hours pumping iron and years paying attention to diet and exercise.  His hard work places him at the forefront of the scores of models and bodybuilders that have stood before our cameras.  And while I will confess to not being a fan of tattoos in general, Dillon has one stunning piece of art on his chest. Dillon(2)-411   Dillon(2)-55 The bold lion's head is among the best ink on any of the studio's 200+ models.

We worked with Dillon twice over the summer, garnering enough content to fill a robust photo essay of images of the model taken in the studio. Giving credit, Tayler Edwards wielded the second camera at Dillon's initial session. Additional images at Dillon's second shoot were captured by Alex Bustamante, the studio's long-time assistant and model. The new photo essay, Dillon, features 44 of our favorite images from the 2 sessions.

While this may be Dillon's first appearance on the blog, such is not the case for Alex (shown here). Alex has been a regular feature on the blog and in the studio for over 10 years, starting with the blog's second entry in 2014.  With this blog entry, we mark an inevitable passage of time.  While this may not mark his last appearance on the blog, we note that Dillon's session was Alex's last as an employee of the studio. After a decade of lending his talents and personality to the studio's photo sessions, life and circumstances have taken Alex out of New York. But Alex isn't going to just silently fade away.  Before his departure we captured one last photo session with the studio's long-time muse. Stay tuned. It will appear before the end of the year.

Click here to Enter Dillon's Online Gallery

Click here to preview DILLON, the photo essay