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Probably for the first time Elska editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell had his work cut out when he landed in Athens the capital of Greece. When he started the casting process of finding a diverse assortment of local gay men to photograph they tended to have a lot of worries about how much they should reveal and who might find out about their participation.
Campbell told Queerguru “Athens is an ancient city full of iconic sites, history, and tradition, but this comes accompanied by a certain about of traditionalism that makes it not so easy to be gay and open here. Those who think of Greece as a hedonistic queer paradise are probably confusing it with holidays on islands like Mykonos and the antics of tourists. But for a local living in the Greek capital, things can be rather more conservative”
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But you can see from the images on this page that with a combination of Campbell’s charm and the locals being able to tap into some of that ‘island spirit’ the result is a charming and intimate look at 11 Athenians. The personal stories they shared are both revealing and humbling enough that may tempt you to go see for yourself.
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Elska Athens’ 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 EkstraAthens’, containing two more Athenian men for whom there weren’t enough pages in the mainmag, plus behind-the-scenes tales and bonus outtakes. The list of stockists and details of the subscription service can also be found on the Elska website: www.elskamagazine.com.
