One of the thematic approaches that I use when posing models is the idea of 'the body in antogonistic tension' and we can see the benefit of that approach in an image like this. The pose is strong and helped by simple props and a strong gaze from the model. The cropping has further enhanced the tension in the image as has the B&W conversion here. A much grittier conversion than other images. When we use the body in tension to define our poses it is always interesting to see the shapes and shadows formed by the musculature and skeletal structures of the body.
I think that the natural wood grain of the floor and backdrop help to emphasise the 'natural' feel to the image and the fundamental naturalism of the nude figure. This is, I think a crucial idea in representing the nude - that of the nude being a thoroughly natural way of being without the hang-ups of our current mores!
When in the photoshoot I think that Bert and his husband were both a little skeptical of some of the poses, but they did always work out and gave great images. Neither Bert nor Gunther were models and so did not really know what to expect of the images as they were posing, but they did have great trust in me to ensure that we got great images and I am particularly pleased with this image.