[PHOTOS] Meet the men of Salt Lake City. Utah may be conservative, but they’re definitely not.

Elska is a project centered on traveling the world, meeting a selection of everyday local guys, and introducing their city and lives to readers through honest photography and personal stories. Below, photographer Liam Campbell shares exclusively with GayCities a selection of photos and behind-the-scenes commentary about some of the men he met in Salt Lake City for the latest edition.

Jay E

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There was one person in particular who convinced me to make an edition of Elska in Salt Lake City, and that was Jay. A few years ago, he discovered Elska in a queer bookshop while on holiday. He got in touch to say how much he loved it and that he’d be up for participating in a future issue if we ever came to his city. I kept his details on file, and then, in the summer of 2024, for some mysterious reason, he came to mind. I got in touch, and he confirmed he was still up for it, so he became the first person I met in Salt Lake City. 

In most cities I visit, I like to shoot in urban areas and avoid parks and other natural surroundings. That’s because I fear a bit of green and trees can look like anywhere. However, Utah’s nature is rather special, very beautiful, and a key aspect of Utah life. Nevertheless, when Jay suggested we do our shoot in a canyon, I resorted to my usual habits and tried to change his mind. Then I realized that I was here in Utah because of Jay, so I should give him what he wanted. 

Ultimately, I couldn’t have been happier that Jay had led me in a natural direction. First, I quickly discovered that his real motivation for a shoot in the woods was because he fancied doing some outdoor scenes in the buff; keeping this guy’s clothes on was hard! Second, he led me to turn nature into a theme for this book. Most of the men I met here I shot in nature, and they all went au naturel as well!

Daniel R

Salt Lake City has been on my wishlist for potential Elska cities since I began the publication in 2015, but it took me until the 49th edition to come here finally. The reason I kept hesitating was because of Utah’s conservative reputation. As the worldwide headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I feared that if I came here, I wouldn’t find anyone willing to participate in my project. I would quickly discover that this city is a queer beacon in one of America’s most conservative states.

Although I was aware of the popularity of Mormon-themed adult media, this intimidated me rather than encouraged me. Assuming readers would expect that kind of imagery from my work, I avoided Utah for fear of disappointing them. As things turned out, I had no trouble meeting men here, and they were rather keen to express Mormonism in their photoshoots and stories. For example, when Daniel R offered to wear his old missionary outfit, I jumped at the chance. And when he unzipped his trousers and let everything hang out whilst still wearing that uniform, I was ecstatic.

Kaz I

Almost every single person I met here was born and bred in Utah. Kaz, however, is originally from Japan. However, It was clear that his time in America greatly changed him. He was very different from anyone I met when I made an edition of Elska in Japan. The book I made there featured some of the most reserved and cautious people I found anywhere.

Kaz was super bold, though, opting to bare all for his photos, whereas, in my Japanese edition, none of the men went so far. Kaz also was bold in other ways. He had picked up the American and un-Japanese habit of not wearing his shoes indoors. I almost gasped when he stepped into my hotel room for the indoor part of our shoot and didn’t remove his shoes. He explained how free he feels in the USA and that many Japanese habits have disappeared. Kaz is in his final year of university and is waiting for confirmation from the government about whether his visa will be renewed. If not, he’ll return to Japan; I wonder if he will hold on to his Americanness there.

Goldin F

Shortly after booking my flight to Salt Lake City, I recalled that I had photographed two Mormons (or maybe ex-Mormons) before. Both of them were in the Elska San Francisco book. So, I contacted them to ask if they had any Utah connections. One of them, Tal M, told me he was originally from Montana; the other, Kramer E, told me he was from Utah. He gave me two names, Scott and Goldin, whom I met in Salt Lake City.

Goldin instantly reminded me of Kramer. They had a similar stature and style, and it was obvious that they would be friends. As Goldin told me, however, they used to be much more than friends. Funnily enough, Kramer is one of the most thirsted-after men I’ve ever featured in Elska, and Goldin seems to be gaining a lot of fans quickly. It makes me wonder if one day I can shoot them together. That is, if they’re up for it and if we can find a new city to meet in. 

Evan J

One thing I noticed about Salt Lake City is how, despite its large size, everybody knows everybody, at least in the LGBTQ+ community. This led me to Evan J. Multiple people I met here asked, “Hey, are you going to shoot Evan?” The first time I heard this, I said, “Hmm, no, never heard of him.” But after the third time, I changed it to, “Who’s Evan? Everybody’s talking about Evan.” I decided to seek him out and pop him a message, and immediately, he agreed to meet up and do a photoshoot.

My session with Evan almost didn’t happen. People kept mentioning him to me because he’s been getting rather active in the modeling circuit; the next day after I was going shoot him, he had a flight to LA to be in some films. I don’t know what kind of films these were, but I have an idea. Anyway, if I was learning that Salt Lake City wasn’t as conservative as I expected, that stereotype was getting blown away with Evan.

By the way, I learned from Evan that Salt Lake City has a rather queer local nickname. It’s based on the initials for ‘Salt Lake’ plus the first two letters of ‘Utah’. That is: ‘SL,UT.’

Jasper P

My final session in Utah came via Evan. Jasper is Evan’s boyfriend, and I met him when I was shooting Evan. Initially, I thought Jasper was there to tag along, but it seemed he was actually there to keep us on a strict timetable. That night, he had dinner plans with his parents and Evan. It was going to be the first time Evan met his folks. Anyway, at the end of the shoot, I asked if Jasper would like to be in Elska as well, and we agreed to meet on my final day in town. 

After a week of doing so many scenes in nature, I wanted a change for my final shoot. So I took Jasper to an industrial part of the city and photographed him near some work yards and railway lines. Then, on the drive back to Jasper’s place, I noticed a sign that said ‘Hell Canyon.’ I couldn’t resist pulling in and checking it out, and there we did our final scene. I think it’s rather fitting that my shoot trip in Salt Lake City, a city known for religion, culminated in Hell!

The new made-in-Utah issue, ‘Elska Salt Lakle City’, is available in a print format and an electronic version. A companion e-zine called ‘Elska Ekstra Melbourne‘ is also available and contains hundreds of pages of bonus outtakes, behind-the-scenes tales, and even more local boys and local stories.

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