[Signed] Michael Stokes (1963) - Alex Minsky
C-Druck
Numbered, No. 528/1886
Year 2015
Photo size: 27.5 x 21.5 cm
Very good condition
This is certificate od authencity for first edition of Kixkstarter Backer.
Hand signed and hand numbered by Michalel Stokes.

Michael Stokes (born 1963) is an American photographer, best known for his photographs of veterans who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and male figure photographs. He has published several coffee table books of his fine art nude photography and from his large collection of vintage photographs.

In 2012, Stokes published his first hardcover male figure study book, Masculinity, which included photographs of the late French singer, actor, and model Quentin Elias.

While working on Always Loyal, Stokes told The Huffington Post that his interest in war veterans came about after meeting United States Marine Corps veteran and amputee-turned-fitness model Alex Minsky. "I had already studied as many amputee photos that I could find. I noticed that most of them emphasized the lost limb, and that the mood was often sorrowful. That was not the vibe I was getting from him, so I decided to simply photograph him as if he were not an amputee, photograph him exactly the same way I would any of my fitness models."[3]

In 2014, a special signed limited edition printing of Bare Strength helped raise $20,000 for the Semper Fi Fund, a charity that assists injured veterans and their families.

For over a decade, Michael Stokes had been gathering a vast collection of over 500 vintage photographs of military men, mostly nude, when he signed a contract with editor Dian Hanson to have them published in 2014 under the title My Buddy – World War II Laid Bare. In 2020, Stokes published My Naked Soldier: A Study of Nudity in the Armed Forces WWI – WWII with more vintage photographs.

In 2016, Stokes released Invictus, in which his sexy photographs of 15 amputee veterans "flaunt[ed] prosthetics and rock-hard abs in a bold celebration of their post-war bodies."