{"id":406781,"date":"2026-02-04T04:31:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/406781\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T04:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:31:22","slug":"max-kessells-photo-series-magazine-dreams-finds-a-sense-of-belonging-in-bodybuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/406781\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Kessell\u2019s photo series Magazine Dreams finds a sense of belonging in bodybuilding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-block-key=\"kgn07\">Over time, Magazine Dreams materialised into a character-driven series. Dedication and belonging are both personal motivations, so what better than to focus on these bodybuilders one-on-one. Each figure stands tall, mythological in pose and stature. Max\u2019s stylistic choices of monochrome and a harsh flash takes you back to the bold physical forms of bodybuilding\u2019s 1970s golden era, all topped off with \u201cflamboyancy and pantomime\u201d, as Max puts it. \u201cIt\u2019s all one big grandiose performance that I found really intriguing and impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"a7d09\">This effect is all achieved with a Fujifilm GFX, lit with a single Godox DP600III-V (bare bulb or with a small reflector depending on the background). \u201cI barely direct people \u2013 these guys are professionals,\u201d says Max, who kept the scene as simple as possible and let the bodybuilders do their thing. The photos are finished off with monochrome conversion, upping the contrast, and a touch of grain.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"5pmt4\">Currently, Max is drawn to projects floating in style between documentary and portraiture, and is open to collaborations and commissions, with plans to follow the thread of curiosity: \u201cI\u2019m always looking for interesting, sometimes bizarre, but always honest, stories and communities to photograph,\u201d the photographer ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over time, Magazine Dreams materialised into a character-driven series. Dedication and belonging are both personal motivations, so what&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-406781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}