Cult of Boys

Photos of boys are nice and unique

Toyin Ibidapo is a much better photographer than this book suggests. In her mid-thirties, of Nigerian descent and living in London she is a well respected fashion photographer and has made many music videos. This book is obviously a labour of love for her and some 250 photos are presented in scrapbook style, heavily annotated with her personal recollections.But for me the vast majority of the photos are too rough, too primitive to be truly memorable. And yet I do find this collection more interesting and far more challenging than the sanitised and deodorised shots emanating from Howard Roffman and the Bel Ami fun crowd.In stark contract to the rough and ready snapshots in the main body of the book, some of which go back 15 years or more, is the "Ode to ..." section at the back of the book, in which Ms Ibidapo has chosen a portrait of each of eight models for whom she has the most affection, and provided a background to her relationship with the model. Here we find an Ode to Dominic Brider, a remarkably attractive model who features on the cover of the book. It is clear that Ms Ibidapo regards many of the young men featured in this book as family and is anxious to keep in touch with them. This book is devoted to all the young men and women who feature in it, and their names are all listed in an appendix.The book is remarkably chaste and none of the boys are photographed nude, presumably because many of them were under 18 years of age at the time. There is a photo of a young man touching himself, but his hand has been taped over and the photo is annotated "too sexy for this book."So I think this book is a labour of love for the photographer, but the photos are in the main too scrappy andunsophisticated to hold the interest of the reader for very long.

I started to buy this book, than I read some reviews. The reviews had this book with photos of young people. No Nudity. Well, I was not interested in a book with young people and no nudity. I decided not to buy the book, then I read something somewhere that the book was done in very good taste. After going back and forth with the reviews I decide to buy and I am glad I did. There is really no nudity in the book, There may be one or two pictures that may be down right nude. At this point I am glad I did buy this book. Some of the kids are really good looking (Cute - for a guy who likes young guys). I would look at this book time and again. If anyone is interested and has the money. I would say look into looking into finding a physical copy and look at and decide. I sure would buy this book.

I love how it was put together, scrapbook style. And I just overall really enjoy this book. As a 23 year old fan of swooshy haired boys, I'm a huge fan. And Toyin is so honest and it is so evident that she poured her heart and soul into this. The photography is wonderful. The photos are vibrant and her commentary is so honest. For the price, the quality is amazing. The pages are so thick, I'm always checking twice to see if there are two stuck together. And it's a lengthy one too.

I would never have purchased a book like this, if I had known what it was. If I could, I would give it no stars at all!

I should have read the description better. Or perhaps it should be titled "Cult of Young Men." I was hoping for younger boys playing soccer, little league baseball, fishing, just boys being boys. The type of photography was not at all pleasant. Almost blurry or faded. And they were definitely NOT boys! I was very disappointed, and to make matters worse, I was sent two hoof them, and charged for two. I have not yet been able to print my return shipping label, as it is grayed out. A very expensive mistake!!

Crisp and creative artwork

I love art, especially photography. My passion has resulted in a vast collection of/addiction to coffee table books. However, in this digital age, I often wonder if collecting photography books is even worth it, since so many images are readily available on the internet. Then along comes an extraordinary book like Cult of Boys that captivates not only because of its images, but because the entire book itself is like a work of art--a true source of beauty and inspiration.For those not familiar with Toyin Ibidapo's photography, her work celebrates the beauty and innocence of youth, and has been featured in several magazines such as Dazed & Confused and ads for Alexander McQueen. She has also photographed up-and-coming celebrities such as Ben Whishaw (from Bright Star), Dominic Cooper (from An Education), etc. This book sharing her predilection for young andro-Adonises (young long-haired waif-like androgynous males and a handful of andro-girls in there too) has been a long time coming.The subject matter of Cult of Boys is not necessarily new. However, the entire layout of the book makes it unique and worth flipping through. Unlike most photography books, it doesn't just showcase "clean" final images probably already featured in magazines and other printed matter. Instead, this book actually showcases her personal work like an art journal. It's an intimate diary about youthful beauty.Several pages look like Polaroid transfers collaged with actual prints and adorned with a lacey overlay of writing. Some are just collages of photos (both in color and in B&W). Overall the book may seem like an obsession with an ideal young male, but in the end, there is an entire section of "odes" to her models/friends where you realize it's not just the ideal image of youth that she was trying to hold on to, but the fleeting feelings that they embodied of who they are and who they are to become (as well as who the artist was and who the artist was to become). It makes you wonder if taking a picture, really does make it all last longer.From her beautiful images to her handwritten thoughts, Toyin Ibidapo's work captures not only the softness in her young muses' faces before they become more defined, but also the softness nostalgia gives to actual experience. She makes poetry not only with the lighting, but also with the grit of reality.With its scrapbook layout, Toyin Ibidapo's book is an overall masterpiece that is vulnerable, yet at the same time powerful. After all, as Ibidapo once stated, "taking a photograph is like falling in love."The book also has a wonderful handwritten foreword by Tim Walker, one of my favorite photographers.

The photos are decent, the boys are boys. The images and models are worth 4 or 5 stars (no nudity), but I was bothered by the contradiction in what the photographer wrote. She felt she truly captured the personalities of each subject in the photo, which I think is great. But she goes on to tell us that all the models are…paid models. I was disappointed by this, it ruined any idea of authenticity in the image. Models act, that’s how they make money. Maybe I missed something here, but I couldn’t look at the images the same way knowing they were composed.

Tiene un estilo de edición extraño, como si fuera un álbum de fotos que iban pegándose conforme se tomaban. Ninguna de las fotos me parece muy interesante, llama más la de la portada y la cual considero la mejor. No es algo que recomendaría

I love the intimacy of this scrap book. the cute boys « au naturel ». Like raw salmon. Thanks.

Interessanter Bildband. Besonders das Vorwort der Fotografin macht deutlich, dass es um weit mehr geht als "halbnackte" junge Männer; nämlich das Festhalten jugendlicher androgyner Schönheit und Verletzlichkeit, meist in einer Art Schnappschussform. Die Nähe und Authentizität die dadurch erzeugt wird lässt so leicht nicht mehr los. Irgendwie erinnern die Fotos auch an die eigene Jugend (besonders wenn man selbst zu besagter Zeit jung war) und deren Vergänglichkeit. Mitreißend und melancholisch gleichermaßen. Viele der Models, die von der Fotografin über die Jahre mehrfach aufgenommen wurden, bestechen durch das "gewisse etwas" , wie Daniel Tighe oder Dominic Brider. Würde es definitiv wieder kaufen.

Book arrived with a dent. Not off to a good start. The photography is ok, much of what you’d find on tumblr. Not impressed. Don’t recommend