The story behind the cover photo

By Glenn Gullickson

You won’t find the cover boy of this edition of Echo Magazine in the ring at the Road Runner Regional Rodeo, but model James Brimeyer might be at the event as an observer.

The cover image was created when Brimeyer posed as a cowboy for a shoot by photographer Marlen Adams. They did the photo session last fall at 3L Ranch near Walnut Grove north of Phoenix. “We wanted a ranch feeling,” Brimeyer said.

The men did the cowboy photo as part of a portfolio project. Brimeyer had a friend who boarded horses at the ranch and asked for permission to shoot there.

Brimeyer said his friend provided the chaps, saddle and hat, and the ranch owner helped show him how to hold the saddle for the shoot.

Brimeyer, 50, is an Iowa native who moved to Phoenix 22 years ago. He has worked in human resources at Honeywell Aerospace and America West Airlines.

While he hasn’t spent time on a horse, Brimeyer said he has attended a few rodeos. Bull-riding is his favorite event. “I like to watch people getting bucked off,” he said.

Brimeyer, who is out and single, keeps his 5-foot 11-inch, 170-pound frame in shape by watching his diet and working out at the gym six days a week, a routine that he said “has become a lifestyle.” He does free-weight workouts and avoids cardio.

As a part-time model, his portfolio of fashion, commercial and editorial photos includes everything from preppy to professional looks. The blue-eyed, blond has posed in underwear, athletic gear, sportswear, business suits and even a sexy Santa suit. He said the photo for Echo is his first magazine cover.

Photographer Adams said his trademark is combining reality and fantasy in an image. From the photo shoot at the ranch, Adams created a centaur by putting an image of Brimeyer’s head and torso on a horse’s body.

Adams said he enjoys a challenge, and the challenge of the shoot with Brimeyer was working with a horse for the first time.

“The more creative the subject is, the more wild and weird it is, the better for me,” Adams said.

Adams moved to Phoenix from Jacksonville, Fla., last year and works as a graphic artist and does business marketing.

As a photographer, he said his goal is to evoke an emotion from people who see his work. “It’s up to me to get that emotion out of you,” Adams said. “As long as you feel some kind of way about it, I’ve done my job.”

More on Brimeyer can be found at www.modelmayhem.com/jlb3.

More on Adams at is at www.modelmayhem.com/marlenadams.

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