[Photos] We went to Chicago to introduce you to some of the beautiful ordinary gay guys

Mark R

In my mind, there are two things that make Chicago incredible. The first is its skyline, which is without a doubt the most stunning in North America. The second is its pizza. And no, I don’t just mean deep-dish, which I don’t even really consider pizza, but Chicago-style thin crust, also known as tavern style pizza. I managed to combine both of these things with Mark.

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Usually when I shoot men for Elska, I do the indoor photographs in their own homes and then I do the outdoor photographs around their neighbourhood. As it turned out, none of the men I photographed lived downtown, meaning I’d miss the chance to capture Chicago’s spectacular skyline. But at the last minute, Mark asked if we could do his nude photos at my hotel instead, which was in The Loop. (He lived with his parents and decided it would be too awkward to shoot there.)

Although I love to capture a person in their own home, I of course agreed, which would give me the opportunity to capture Mark amongst the city’s iconic skyscrapers. This included the one-of-a-kind (or rather, two-of-a-kind) Marina City, the Trump Tower (which I tried to photograph without revealing its logo), and bridges along with Chicago River (where, beneath one of them, Mark decided to give a quick flash of his privates)!

As for the pizza part of our shoot, well, I only mean that I took one snap of him across the street from Pizzeria Uno, who many claim originated deep dish. However, I did make a date to see Mark again on my final night in Chicago. That would be for pizza, specifically to Lou Malnati’s, his favourite pizza place.

Timmy S

Over the past couple of years, I’ve tended to make each Elska issue without scouting in advance. I simply arrive in a city, open the various apps, and message local guys about whether they’d like to do a photoshoot and write a story for me. In Chicago, however, I didn’t need to do this at all.

Over the years, I’ve kept a list of men who’ve contacted us to ask to be in Elska if we ever decide to go to their city. In the case of Chicago, I had so many men from there on my list that every single one of my slots filled up before I left home. It certainly made my life easier, and it felt good to be in a place where there was so much enthusiasm for Elska.

Timmy was one of the men from that list. I’ll never forget seeing the row of Elska editions carefully arranged on his bookshelf when I arrived at his home. It was such a humbling moment to see someone support my work in such a real, tangible way. To be honest, most of the men I’ve photographed had never heard of Elska before I contacted them. But in Chicago, I kept finding people who already knew the magazine, which was both surreal and incredibly rewarding.

Jay N

Even though all my photoshoots were booked before I arrived in Chicago, I still had a few last-minute cancellations. One of them wasn’t really a cancellation at all — I was simply stood up. I arrived at 9am outside the guy’s apartment building, buzzing his doorbell, calling, and sending texts — all while it was −19°C (−2°F) outside — for twenty minutes before giving up. I headed back to the “L” station, and after boarding the train, I opened Insta so I could block the guy.

Before I clicked block, though, I noticed a photo of him with a rather gorgeous lad next to him. I tapped on the image, clicked on the man who was tagged there, and sent a message. That guy was Jay. And that message was to ask if he wanted to do a photoshoot. He agreed straight away and we met a few days later.

I never told Jay about being stood up by his friend. I suppose I didn’t want to sully the mood. Because our shoot was absolutely incredible — equal parts sensuous and hilarious. So even though I had that one truly awful morning, Jay more than made up for it.

Dylan B

Throughout my time in Chicago, I kept getting warnings about going to the South Side, an area covers much of the city. The first time I mentioned it was after doing a shoot earlier in the week in the North Side — as I was finishing up with my subject there, he asked where I was headed to next, and when I said that my next shoot was in Hyde Park, his looked genuinely alarmed. “Please be careful, and make sure you leave before it gets dark,” he warned. I’d long been aware of Chicago as a ‘segregated city’, but I didn’t realise how much fear went along with that.

I ended up photographing three men from the South Side, including Dylan. Before going to meet him, someone else warned me by saying, “You’ll probably be the only person on the bus who isn’t Black.” Indeed he was right, but the sentiment really annoyed me. Part of me felt quietly pleased with myself for photographing people on the South Side at all, as though simply going there proved I wasn’t prejudiced. However, my time with Dylan ended up revealing a different sort of prejudice.

Usually when I shoot in someone’s home, I make an effort to photograph their belongings so as to show pieces of their everyday life. Dylan was no exception — I shot a container of cookies he’d baked, a pile of plush toys in his bedroom, the “I’m a ray of f-ing sunshine” mug that he was drinking tea out of… But when it came time to sort through all my photos, I realised that I’d failed to photograph anything that revealed his Jewishness. There had been posters in Hebrew on the walls, a menorah on a windowsill, containers of Kosher food items scattered around the kitchen. As I noticed my omission, I even recalled that I’d moved some of these things out of the way, almost automatically.

Related: Anthony Rapp on why he’s quit New York City for Chicago

I’ve always been proud that Elska features people from so many different backgrounds and communities, but Dylan made me realise that I still have blind spots, and that I need to do better.

Noe M

There was another moment in Chicago where I was tempted to move an item from the scene during a home photoshoot. That was a poster that sat in Noe’s windowsill which read, “ICE out / Fuera ICE.” My concern wasn’t whether I agreed with the message. It was whether readers would assume I’d asked him to include it in the photograph, as though I were using his Mexican heritage to make a political statement.

Ultimately, I decided to keep the poster where it was, but when it came time to actually shoot Noe in that space, he did something that made me nervous all over again. He disappeared into his bedroom for a moment before returning with a sombrero and a red bandana (a paliacate). I was concerned that readers would assume I’d asked him to wear it. Again, I decided to let my fears go. Again, I decided to let my fears go. After all, if some people got angry about it, perhaps that anger would lead to a worthwhile conversation. I just wish I’d given Dylan the same opportunity.

By the way, a day after publishing Elska Chicago, I got an email from a customer who was ecstatic to reveal that he frequents the coffee shop where Noe works as a barista, and that the issue has made his crush on Noe even worse. I was absolutely happy to help with that!

The latest edition, ‘Elska Chicago‘, is now available in print and electronic formats. A companion e-zine called ‘Ekstra Chicago‘ is also available and contains hundreds of pages of bonus outtakes, behind-the-scenes tales, and one more Chicago guy.

Elska is a project centred on travelling the world, meeting local guys, and introducing readers to their cities and lives through honest photography and personal stories. Below, photographer Liam Campbell shares with GayCities an exclusive selection of photos and behind-the-scenes commentary about some of the men he met for the 60th Elska edition, shot in Chicago, Illinois.

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