Pairs Outdoors

1. Joe Cyr lifting Jim Giussi by Bob Mizer.

Moving outdoors but staying around the home changes the feeling again. The beach gives way to the backyard, the pool, the patio, the garden—the everyday spaces where friends or lovers might actually spend an afternoon together. It feels less like fantasy and more like a lazy Saturday.

2. Unknown models hosing off in the yard.

3. Unknown models in the garden by Wilhelm von Gloeden.

4. Brother, Jim (left) and Rick Collette (right) putting up their dukes in the back yard.

These photographs lean into companionship. The men lounge beside the pool, cool off in the water, share a conversation, or simply exist comfortably in each other's company. They're still beautifully composed for the camera, of course, but the interaction between them becomes the real subject.

5. Ray Kurtis (blonde; with pencil behind his ear) and Tom Carsley in Bob Mizer's patio in 1971.

6. Jess Long (left; aka Jeff Mason) and Quave Dalton (right) reclining on the patio. Same pair as #8 below.

7. Denny Lassiter (sitting; aka Harv) and Buddy (aka Rich Sternberger aka DiCiccio) against an exterior wall with a watermark on photo.

I've mentioned before how domestic settings make these photographs feel believable. Adding a second man turns that up another notch. You're no longer imagining one naked guy relaxing at home—you're imagining a relationship, however the viewer chooses to define it.

8. Jeff Mason (left; aka Jess Long) and Quave Dalton on diving board.

9. Mike Sterns (behind) and Everett Lee Jackson (aka Cherokee) on the patio.

10. Nino Scappa (left) and Gary Franklin face down in the pool.

Please leave thoughts, questions or corrections in the comments. I could use help IDing #2, they look so familiar.  Thank you. bns