Dictionary.com defines a man cave as: "A room or other area in a home that is primarily a male sanctuary, designed and furnished to accommodate the man's recreational activities, hobbies, etc. "
They have always been around. The man cave has been part of family life since families lived in actual caves. Think about it. Your father probably had a study, den, basement, garage, or workshop to go to. Who knows what they did out there, in there, down there, or wherever their sanctuary was located. A guy has got to have a place to go...ummm...think. A place to keep manly things like tools, really powerful power tools, guns, sharp sticks, gas and oil, cigars, wide screen televisions, Chinese food and liquid refreshments.
I used to be so jealous of my neighbor because he had a separate refrigerator in his den, just for his own stuff like drinks, watermelon, week old Chinese food etc... I loved the concept, but with young daughters, a small house, and no garage or basement, I was out of luck for a while.
Well man caves are all the rage now. There are shows on HGTV dedicated to them. I have even heard the term "mom cave" used recently, so the ladies are getting in on the action too. Sometimes my wife thinks the whole house is a little too much man cave, at least I now have a place to go if I need to sit and think, or smoke a cigar and eat leftover Chinese food.
Here are a few photos that I have taken that I think would be good decorating the walls of a real man cave.
Click on any picture for a larger image.
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I call this one "Smokes". This is actually a selection of fine hand rolled cigars from my humidor. The key with a shot like this is directional light to enhance the shadows, a dark background, and a nice tight crop.
Shaken or stirred, nothing says suave and classy more than a James Bond inspired Martini. This is just one light aimed directly down at the bottles.
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The rumble of a motorcycle with straight pipes. You can almost hear the testosterone flowing. This shoot was for a contest and a buddy loaned me his bike for the afternoon. This is a multi-light setup. Two remote flashes behind the bike with orange gels on the background. One diffused flash on the bike with no gel.
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Guitars, rock and roll, tours, stadiums, fans, adulation... What guy doesn't want to be a rock star? One light setup, pretty much straight down. Shallow depth of field.
Click on any picture for a larger image.
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You knew the Chinese food would show up sooner or later. This was actually shot on my dining room table with 2 remote flashes diffused camera right and left. By the way it's chicken wings, lo mein, beef and broccoli and an egg roll.
So if you are a man...stake your claim. Take what is rightfully yours. Mark your territory for all to see and don't take any guff from the females in the house. You work hard, you deserve a man cave.
If you are the lady of the house...give your guy a break. All he wants is a quiet place to eat his egg roll.
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