Annie Leibovitz Mermaid Shoot Found

Speaking of Michael Phelps....I've been looking everywhere for this one.

After seeing some tantalizing lo-rez images in various places from the Michael Phelps-Julianne Moore-Disney-sponsored 'Little Mermaid' shoot, I'd been hoping to find a large-scale version of the key image by Annie Leibovitz.

Well, SCAQ found it and posted it back in April. And I've posted the PRNewswire-released 1800 x 1191 version SCAQ links to below. (Note: the original release has been deleted from PRNewswire.)

Disney recently hired photographer Annie Leibovitz to realize live-action fantasy moments from their movies, called the 'Disney Dream Portrait Series.' Michael Phelps, Rowdy Gaines, Cullen Jones, Janet Evans and Brendan Hansen all became mermen and a mermaid surrounding Julianne Moore as Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid' in this now famous photo below.

Other top talent who appeared in this series were Tina Fey, Jenifer Lopez, Jessica Biel, Gisele Bundchen, Mikhail Baryshinikov, Scarlett Johansson, Beyoncé and David Beckham, among others.

Janet Evans Meets #4 - More Jammers & Tights

Seemed appropriate to do a bookend posting to start the blog over again after a long trip. Thanks to everyone for waiting for me to get back, and then to get over a bit of post-journey flu.

Here's some more images from Outsports.com's Janet Evans Meets galleries, featuring photos by Brent Mullins.

Janet Evans Meets #3 - Jammers & Tights

Update (4-10-08): I noticed tonight as I ws about to make another posting that one of the photos (#6) in my last post was not a 'jammer' image (he was wearing board shorts; they were just so dark it was hard to tell). I've made a modified version of that image, just for fun, and even a wallpaper of it, and substituted those for the originally posted image. No board shorts in this blog!

Am going to be on the road for the next few days, but before I head out, thought I would whet your palettes with a few more favorite pix from Outsports.com's Janet Evans Meets galleries, featuring photos by Brent Mullins.

The previous Janet Evans meets sets are here and here. Be back soon.

Tugging at Tiny Blue Asics

A number of photos of this very handsome Asian swimmer in blue and orange Asics speedos have appeared lately, including most recently a somewhat mischievous modified version of a close-up shot of him tugging at his suit. I've included all of the ones I've found so far in this set.

How Tiny is Your Speedo #4

Oh, Those Photoshop-ping Bloggers ...!

The tiny speedo fanatics are at it again.

Two photos just posted on Joe Janis' Mensuas Swimwear and Underwear Blog here on Blogger reminded me that I had posted comparisons on November 27 of swimmer pix that had been modified to make the swimsuits tinier. Joe' s latest post provides us with two more wonderful examples of tiny speedo obsessiveness. Thank you anonymous retouch artists (and thank you, Joe).

Here are the befores and afters.

The first photo of a Cal (UC Berkeley) waterpolo player was probably (I wouldn't guarantee it though) taken by CulverPC. He posts his professional sports photos on Flickr.





This second photo was taken by Finneye for Outsports.com at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Helsinki, Finland, in December 2006.





Of course, it doesn't seem even possible that the swimmer on the left (in the photo above) could have really been wearing such a miniscule string bikini at an international swim meet, but take a look at the one he was actually wearing in the real (first) photo. It wasn't so much larger than the retouched speedo at that.

Just imagine what they might be wearing at swim meets in another 10 years....

How Tiny is Your Speedo #3

Guys have become so obsessed with shrinking the waistline on speedos that they have even taken to creating tiny where none existed. Witness these two recent examples of Photoshop manipulation of widely circulated swimming images by bloggers. Even leggings have shrinking waistlines these days.

How Tiny is Your Speedo #2

I say, thank the Japanese for inventing the tiny speedo. More to come....