Adam Bouska: “Exposed” Beauty & Fashion PHOTOGRAPHER

It’s night in West Hollywood, California. Life is full excitement in the West Coast. Great looking guys and gals walk around showing their bodies in hope they may chosen to be in photo shoot or even on the cover of a magazine. They are just hoping to be discovered by a famous photographer.

In the meantime someone in his studio is looking at photo and editing the best taken. He was a model too, so he knows what he wants to get from the models he works with. It’s not as easy as it may seem however, especially when you have a bunch of beautiful men or women in front of your eyes constantly. Anyway that is what he loves, to capture other’s beauty. I know we would all like to be the eyes of Adam Bouska.

At only 25 years-old, Adam is enjoying the accomplishments of his artwork and living the successful life of an American fashion photographer, which he began by being in front of the camera. When you look at Adam, you see the cuteness of a gorgeous man: a candy pop.

Every since he was a young man, he has always desired to express himself creatively.  But, there were many times he thought, but how many things you can do when are gay and living in a small, conservative town like Decatur, Illinois? Not a lot for sure! That is why he moved to Los Angeles where everything can happen.

As soon he got enough money to purchase his first camera Adam modeling because he found his true love was came from his creative side.  So his fashion vision started to emerge, and so did his passion for male portraits. That was reason enough for him to head to the big city and become part of something he wanted to explore as part of his gay life. “My first shoot was in Chicago. The model was a good friend, (soon to be boyfriend then ex, and then back to being a good friend.” What a mess…but sometimes that’s how relationships are, or not?

All a photographer needs is vision to put their thoughts in perspective.  Adam started to shoot living subjects, but he would also tend to wander the beach and photograph landscapes, objects, and whatever he could find. Photography is a whole field to experiment and learn like from the masters who influence his work.  Photographers such as Herb Ritts, David LaChapelle or Andy Warhol. “I was always a fan of surrealism and pop art. I’ve been able to gain many influences from different parts of my life while living in Chicago and its artists. You learn a lot from observation. Upon moving to Palm Springs and working at a fine art gallery, my work took more of an edgier approach.”

Living in LA can be like having a vacation all the time. Nice weather and nice atmosphere and of course those gorgeous boys and girls. Everyone has ambitions and some higher than others. Adam smiles and stared at me when I ask him if his blond ambition was to be an icon photographer of pop culture. I was surprised he never thought about, maybe because even when being around a fashion world Adam is a down to earth guy. According to him “I would love to inspire the world of art as much as they have, that would be a dream for me while keeping my work tasteful, classy, and respectful. I want to inspire others, as they’ve inspired me. A huge goal of mine would be to compile a book of my work thus far. I have such a massive collection, many unshared waiting for their day .” We are waiting so badly.

For many of us, coming out is one of the most difficult part of our life, but there came a point in Adam’s life where he was determined to live his own life because no one can remain happy keeping their feelings and emotions inside. And as it could not be in another way,  LA gave Adam a huge motivation to express himslef freely as he experienced amazing diversity amongst LA’s people. Luckily Adam had a supportive family that “has always been my rock & my escape from my crazy lifestyle. I’ve had my share of good and bad friends. Family is always there for me. I’m still learning. It’s all about being yourself regardless of gay or straight. It’s finding confidence and inner peace with you.”

With time, you learn to gain self confidence.  We tend to bad times behind us.  Especially time we have experienced homophobia, which Adam is no stranger to. “I’ve been jumped, chased down during photo shoots, yelled at in public. It exists everyday, everywhere even in liberal California where prop 8 got passed! Every situation was different, but it typically ended with me calling 911. I never considered myself an activisit but I do think it’s important to be involved in your community and to do what you can. I’ve been fortunate to be given a choice, so I tend to use, besides the community has done so much for me.”

Many fashion photographers are gay and Adam is one, he doesn’t mind it because “it’s a big part of who I am, but it’s not all I am but definitely I’m not afraid to show it, you can see my work screams it at times. I don’t feel I should have to sacrifice that to appease others. I express my vision, perspective how I see things. Photography becomes art when it’s filled with emotion, and tells a story.”

For Adam, the concept of the ideal physique is hard to put into words, although he does try to capture that and express it in his photos. “Beauty is a desire & visual attraction. Each and every persons definition for beauty is different, but for me is a passion I try to convey in every photo and the model is comfortable knowing I’m not a pervert ”.

Adam works with gay and straight models but he tends to find that gay models are more comfortable with themselves and posing, whereas straight men tend to be a bit more uptight. “Gay or straight it is all in how you handle yourself and how comfortable and trusting you are. I’ve worked with some very trusting and amazing straight models haha”

His calendar, “Exposed“ is already published with gay friendly sponsors such as Absolute Vodka, Patron, and Bacardi and more.  Each month of the calendar was sponsored by a different liquor company.  Adam is ready to make a more exposed calendar.

It’s night in LA yet and Adam gets back to his work, maybe later the phone will ring and he will need to prepare for a new photo session.  Perhaps for DNA or Refresh Magazine. I am pleased to look for a while in the eyes of a rising superstar photographer and for a night that is enough.