The last few weeks I have been working on my usual night time hours, where there is silence and darkness outside and around me. I have spent the entire day working on printing up my own set of color proof on my Canon Pro-1, using a semi-gloss paper that I find very pleasing to my eye. This is all in preparation for tomorrow, where I will eventually be passing the PDF files to my printer.
I had previously announced that I was printing 100 pages, but the numbers have risen up to 112. It is primarily due a change in layout. In my initial design for 3.AM, I allowed for text to appear alongside the image, so that one could read something about the image more readily. This is not the same as in my first 2 books, where I placed the image descriptions at the back of the book. I decided in the end to follow the same format as my original books, so now the descriptions are at the back, taking up 7 pages.
I have also included several more models than in my campaign. Now I have a total of 41 models, making this the most ambitious book of the 3. And after printing out the proofs, it makes me feel very happy to see the images become alive and real, tangible in the form that it can be picked up, framed, or torn in half if one so desires. The image can now co-exist in another reality or dimension within the world we live.
Some people have asked me where they can pre-order the book. Unfortunately, I have not set up a site for pre-order at this time, apart from the Indiegogo campaign, which is now closed. The best time to get the book will be once I have the books physically printed, which should be within the next few weeks. It takes about 3 weeks for the entire process of files to actual delivery.
And as for the date of the book launch, it will be on Wednesday, August 13th, 2014, coming up very soon.
For me, receiving a postcard from a friend was one of the most exciting things to receive in the mail. If you think of it, an enormous amount of effort was required on the part of the sender to make it happen. You would first need to find a souvenir shop (okay, not so hard), that had postcards, and hopefully they had decent ones that didn’t look too tacky (usually, harder). Subsequently, you would need to buy stamps, write something of some significance on it, and then mail. But probably the most interesting thing is that you had to write something that could be shown to anyone to read. After all, it was sort going into the public domain. Post office staff could read it at their leisure. Now, now we have blogs and facebook to do all that without having to go through the trouble of buying a tangible item and then physically sending it. Quite honestly, I too myself haven’t purchased nor sent a Postcard in ages, but I did collect them in my university years, saving the really beautiful ones in a cardboard box that has now gone missing. Usually, those were the one that I purchased from museums or galleries. I would usually buy 2 of the same design, keeping one for myself and send the other to my friends.
One of my favourite postcards was the one shown above, which I just happened to find online. You can probably see where I got my early inspiration from. The male human body was in-grained from an early age.
So getting back to my 3.AM Asian Male postcards, I decided for slightly larger size, measuring 8.25 x 5.5 inches. They’re printed on a glossy 260gsm paper. Not too thick; not too thin.
So if you’re like me, they make a great item to collect. Right now, I have selected 4 of my favorite images from my 3.AM book: 1) Nono, 2) Ricky, 3) Monika and 4) Milkboy.
For those that contributed by purchasing a pre-order copy, you’ll be getting a few as part of the campaign. I’ll have these available for online purchase shortly. I’m going to see if any shop here in Hong Kong will carry these; however it might be a bit too much for the shops here. I remember one vendor that carried my 2.AM book and placed all the way in the back of the shop on the bottom tier. Grrrrr. Not surprisingly, they didn’t sell any copies.
I thought I would post a few images that are in my archives. Here are 3 photographs of Wei, which were taken back in 2006. With hardly a body to speak of but the willingness and spirit to let me photograph him during his budding youth, I was pleased to have him in front of the camera. The photograph of him that made it into the Asian Male – 1.AM book was the one below.
Cover to The Asian Male 3.AM – Photography by Norm Yip
Hardcover edition with Jacket 112 pages on 200gsm Art Matte Paper
The Asian Male – 3.AM. The 3rd edition will showcase the best photographs of guys in the past 7 years. The majority of the images are in black and white and shot mostly in my Hong Kong studio. The ethnic range includes Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Malay, Japanese, Cambodian and Chinese.
Bodies range from the super masculine and hard bodied men such as Vietnamese Jeremy Tang, to the softer and lyrical body of Nono, a young and exceptionally photogenic Filipino. Then there is Malaysian-Chinese Derek Chong, who I photographed several times both nude and with fashion accessories. The images celebrate and bring to the forefront the beauty of Asian men in a erotic and sensuous way.
There are semi-nudes to nudes in this book, but it is all photographed in a sensitive and sensual way. The men that appear come from all areas of life, including financial advisors, dancers and performers, professional models and more.
ORDERS DIRECTLY THROUGH ME WILL BE SIGNED ME, NORM YIP
All orders made directly through this website will be signed by Norm Yip. International orders will be shipped via Registered Air Mail. Hong Kong orders by local courier. Shipping cost included in the amount below.
It’s not every day that I have the opportunity to photograph a professional Asian male model for my collection of images, but here he is — Wilfred Wong. He’s got a superb beautiful smile and a personality that is sweet and sincere. The shoot went on for about 3 hours before we got the best shots, but here is a sampler of an image taken earlier during the session.
