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Hello All,
Some of you may have noticed I'm posting less in the last few months. There are a couple of reasons for this. Mainly, good quality vintage photographs of naked men are getting harder to come by. eBay was my main source for the six and a half years I've been running this blog, and for those years before when I had several iterations of Tumblr blogs. eBay no longer allows most male nudes to be posted uncensored. I really enjoyed finding scans of the original prints of the great early male nude photographers, especially Bob Mizer, Bruce of LA, Lon, Milo, Douglas of Detroit and others of that era, and in most cases digitally removing dust and fingerprints etc., cleaning them up and adjusting the image tones. The images were large and sharp, and I loved bringing out the hidden detail. I know I've been successful because my meddled-with pictures tend to pop up all over the net, which is great. I've really no interest in posting well-recirculated or low-quality images, or new images of guys who shave and tattoo their whole bodies.
Also, the jpeg format is slowly being replaced by other types of files which require more effort to capture and edit, and the quality and clarity is often lacking. As it says on the blog I do this mostly to amuse myself, (and hopefully others in the process.) If it's work it's no fun.
There are currently 3,465 posts on this blog, many with multiple images. Over the life of the blog there have been a lot of visits here, according to Blogger statistics:
United States-2.81 million
France-309 K
United Kingdom-272 K
Germany-251 K
Canada-221 K
Australia-158 K
Singapore-112 K
Russia-101 K
Spain-95.2 K
Netherlands-78 K
Brazil-74.5 K
Italy-68.7 K
Mexico-40.5 K
Finland-37.4 K
Hong Kong-36.9 K
South Africa-26.7 K
Belgium-24.9 K
Poland-21.1 K
Argentina-21.1 K
Other-595 K - Including China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Israel, Belarus, etc.
It was sad to see views from Ukraine diminish and then disappear in the past couple of years.
Age verification is coming and may kill all adult blogs. I've started getting occasional email notices from Google that a post or two have been put behind an adult warning label, which is silly because they already are. The notices are quite random.
I don't know what the future of this blog looks like right now. If I come across an image I feel like sharing I will, but I'm focused on other things. You all have been remarkably kind and supportive and I'm grateful for your enthusiasm and invaluable contributions of knowledge and photos. I'm not the best at names and faces, so thanks for that especially.
Bob
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to You don't post enough and farewell? And no apology for your insulting comment? Bye now.
DeleteIt's your blog ! Do with it as YOU wish. Don't let the haters get to you. Just know hundreds of thousands of us have enjoyed your posts in silence 😀
DeleteThank you, love the user name.
DeleteAnom 5:18, comment osez-vous insulter le créateur de cet excellent blog !
DeleteBNG merci beaucoup pour ton beau blog :)
-Beau Mec
Bob, thank you for the years of pleasure your posts have provided and I, for one, will miss viewing your efforts. These are trying times and you are wished nothing but the best. I'll check in on occasion to see if there is anything new, or just to reacquaint myself with past pleasures. Take care and thank you, again.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, and do check in when you get the notion. There's a lot here - I like to search my own blog!
DeleteWell I enjoyed reading your report on your current home situation, and I've always enjoyed your blog. The posts were always excellent and I was never bothered if there weren't new ones every day. What does bother me is the incredible rudeness you've had to endure. People should really just learn to scream their nasty insults into a paper bag and then toss them out, rather than making a cruel spectacle of themselves. Thank you again, good luck with the gas company, be well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. The heavy equipment is at work right now!
DeleteI typed a longer comment but it disappeared. Just a thank you for your great blog, good luck with the gas company, and just ignore the commenter making a cruel spectacle of himself.
ReplyDeleteComments need to be approved first. Thanks again.
DeleteI like your blog so much and really proud to show my pics! I'll be always here!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your contributions Cris! The pics will be around a while, I hope.
DeleteThis has been an incredible blog. I love it and steal from it. I appreciate whatever you do in the future, as I appreciate what you have done so far. Good luck and best wishes. And thank you for the photo of Lewis Williams and Charles Foster from this past Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThanks Leroy. Glad you enjoyed those two handsome fellows.
DeleteThank you for your work. We have enjoyed your collection over the years!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words.
DeleteOh, do I ever understand your frustration! As a fellow vintage blogger, I have experienced just about all the discouraging online situations you describe, including bickering and questionable comments by viewers. I have resorted to foreign websites and image search engines to find "new" material with ever diminishing results. Fortunately, I amassed such a huge collection of images during the good old days of freedom that I could probably post for the rest of my life without running out. The quality, however, would decline over time, so I continue to search.
ReplyDeletePlease hang in there and do what your are able. And feel free to use anything I have ever posted if it suits your taste. I really respect your work here and wish you the best.
Jerry at Vintage Muscle Men
Thank you Jerry, I've been a longtime admirer of your vintage blog also, and the way you present the photos with themes and your witty commentary. Always entertaining. I'll be checking in.
DeleteThis country, especially, is really getting bad. I have enjoyed your blog since I discovered it several years ago. I also garden, but just edibles. Here in Alaska we are somewhat limited. If someone doesn't like your blog, the answer should be simple.....just don't look it up! I certainly will keep checking here. I'm wishing you good luck. Oh, those utility companies can really be a constant problem, they have lost the idea of what their mission should be, and have lost the goal of being of service to the public.
ReplyDeleteGerald, thank you for your many appreciative comments. I enjoy seeing the pictures through your eyes as you have often seemed to be discovering an appreciation of naked male fellowship for the first time through them. Cheers!
DeleteBob, I have to add my voice here too. I appreciate all your efforts and always look forward to new finds from you. I concur with other commenters that there is absolutely no need for people to be rude or get offended (what tosh!). Thank you for sharing your biographical detail. It's always nice to find out about the person(s) behind a blog. Keep up the good work, be it here or in your garden. Brian.
ReplyDeleteBrian you are a wealth of knowledge and a class act. Bob.
DeleteThanks for all your thoughtful (and entertaining!) posts. Yes, the world is changing in not so great ways, but I continue to believe in basic goodness, AND freedom for all. I hope your blog remains as both a resource and record!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI really hope you can keep up this blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm leaving it up, I'll be around.
DeleteAnother voice in the affirmative for you. Never let Trolls dictate your work. Especially when it's freely given.
ReplyDeleteThank you. This was not so much a troll as a regular commenter who flipped out when I didn't post for a week, insulted another contributor, and announced his own departure. I don't respond well at all to scenes, and honestly after all these years it was starting to feel like an obligation anyway.
DeleteThe internet is getting pushed into censorship by reactionary hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteIt seems another great blog is shut down like Retro Studs or the blogger gives up in frustration with the censorious bs.
And so it goes. -Rj
Bob,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the blog, I hope you will come back someday. Health is priority, be well!
Thanks!
Thanks for all you've done over the years. Hope you find a way back.
ReplyDeleteSo cool that you chose to share all of this about yourself. It's a fantastic blog!
ReplyDeleteSo well done and very highly regarded. Thank you!!
Thank you. It's been a great ride and the pictures are all still there.
DeleteThank you for what you do here.
ReplyDeleteReally do enjoy your collection of pictures both vintage and modern. Thank you for bring them to the net. Enjoy the next chapter of your lift but know that we will always highly regard your efforts.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to say also..keep on fighting with your stupid government...Trump is the worst president in the story of US
ReplyDeleteYour site is enjoyable, and appreciated. It would be a shame and loss if it were to go the way of Deak Wooten's on Flickr or Miss Magnolia Thunderpussy on Ipernity.
ReplyDeleteJust found you today, sorry that you won´t be able to keep going. Fantastic photos!
ReplyDeleteHello, I have been getting those same warnings emailed to me about my blog posts too. The started about 3 years ago, and caused me to stop blogging for 2 years, out of frustration. I started back up in May of this year, and almost immediately the warnings resumed (even on posts that I made years ago, if I happened to make an edit to them now).
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought Google was blocking them, but I recently realized that they still get views, so it's just a warning message viewers get (which is silly, because as you said, the entire blog is behind an adult blog warning, so WTF?)
Sorry to hear of this. Only recently discovered this blog. Hope your able to continue
ReplyDelete