Back in 2015, Creator LIam Campbell founded ELSKA Magazine as a project dedicated to sharing the bodies and voices of a diverse cross-section of men from LGBTQ communities around the world, presented through honest photography and personal storytelling.  In the early days Campbell,  chief photographer, and editor-in-chief focused on ‘less obvious queer cities”

When Elska went to Japan it was not to Tokyo but to Yokohama.  Likewise, on their first trip to Israel, Cambell made a beeline for Haifa instead of Tel Aviv.  Now 8 years down the line, Elska has started including cities that are considered gay Meccas like San Francisco where he discovers so many of the local LGBTQ+ population share the same aspirations and dreams as the rest of us.  Although they may have more opportunities given the city’s long history of encompassing gay culture. 

Each of the gay men Campbell met was photographed in their own neighborhoods and in their own homes, revealing some of their city and their intimate environment; and wearing their own clothes, revealing their style, or sometimes not dressed at all, revealing their bodies and facing all vulnerabilities. The photography provides a most honest way to get to know a slice of real SF queer life, which is then taken further by the inclusion of personal stories penned by each of the participants

Elska San Francisco is  196 pages and is available from a select group of shops around the world as well as for order online from the Elska website. Also available is a companion zine called ‘Elska Ekstra San Francisco’, containing four more men and their stories plus hundreds of pages of outtakes and behind-the-scenes tales. The list of stockists and details https://www.elskamagazine.com/