Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo
Kris Perry and Sandy Stier
On June 26th, 2013 California became Lucky 13 as Gays and Lesbians could once again get married in California. The annual Pride Parade became an extra special celebration this year as we celebrated our victory in getting Prop 8 overturned as well as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Check out the photos from the day as the LGBT community and our straight allies celebrated PRIDE! More photos…
The LGBT community and their allies celebrate Marriage Equality.
On June 26th, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional and that any couple legally married could not be denied the benefits of marriage. On this day, they also ruled that the plaintiffs to Proposition 8 had no legal standing to challenge the ruling by Judge Vaughan Walker. Thus, Prop 8 was finally declared unconstitutional. Gays and Lesbians could once again get married in California. California became lucky 13 in 2013. In the evening of the 26th, Castro street was closed and people gathered to celebrate the rulings by partying in the street.
Click on the photo to see the slide show
Sunday’s iconic LA PRIDE Parade featured roughly 130 entries including bag pipes, marching contingents and over-the-top floats all comprised of community groups, businesses and honorees. It was a very energetic Pride Parade with something for everybody. This was the 43rd year that Christopher Street West has produced the incredible LA PRIDE celebration. This year’s attendance numbers only reinforce the fact that the community and our straight allies were energized and excited to celebrate diversity and equality.
This past weekend’s Festival and Parade offered a diverse collection of experiences. LA PRIDE saw the return of many signature events, amazing performances and community partners and sponsors but there were also several “firsts” for attendees including active participation by the National Guard and LA PRIDE’s first-ever Super Bowl Champion.
Extra Host Maria Menounos was the Grand Marshal and was selected for her dedication to the LGBT community. Maria Menounos is passionate about various issues affecting the LGBT community including anti-bullying, HIV/AIDS and marriage equality. Through her public outreach, Menounos has brought more attention to these issues and has encouraged countless others to do the same.
In the photos of the parade, there are a number of the Andrew Christian Underwear models and who can blame me. They are super cute and very fun to watch. Several of my photos were featured on the Andrew Christian Facebook page. I hope that you enjoy the photos of the parade and that you will attend a pride celebration near you. It does still matter to be seen as out and proud!
With a reenergized vision that included a vibrant pool party, top name talent on two stages, 5 dance venues and the colorful Pride Parade, LA PRIDE for 2012 shattered attendance records with well over 400,000 in West Hollywood for the parade. Molly Ringwald was the Grand Marshall this year while The Trevor Project was selected as the 2012 Community Grand Marshal. With an army of volunteers across the country, The Trevor Project’s life-saving services, like the Trevor Lifeline are always there when a young person needs to talk live because they are facing a crisis or considering suicide. The organization also manages TrevorChat, a secure instant message service allowing young people to connect with a counselor online, and TrevorSpace, a social network specifically for LGBTQ teens and young adults with 32,000 members from 128 countries around the world. For photos of the parade and festival, click on the photo.
The Sonoma County Pride Parade and Celebration, “Gay By Nature” took place June 3rd in Guerneville and was well attended. The weather was perfect and the Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were divine. The Pride parade kicked off at about 11am down Main Street in Guerneville with the traditional Dykes on Bikes. Grand Marshalls this year were LGBT-friendly 5th District Supervisor, Efren Carrillo and Dr. Marshall Kubota, a Sonoma County AIDS health-care provider with a career dating back to the first infections in the county. The celebration was held on the beautiful grounds of the Guerneville Lodge. There was plenty of entertainment and Sister Femme Fatale was our mistress of ceremonies.
Click on the photo to see more from the Parade.
Xavier Caylor teaches Flagging at Gold’s Gym and with several friends and fans, put on this event to bring fellow flaggers together and to raise some money for the maintenance of the Aids Grove in Golden Gate Park. Xavier speaks of his flagging experiences as meditations and talks about how “you can be in a room with 1,000 or 2,000 people, yet spend time with just yourself.” Speaking to the dichotomy of the flagging experience, Xavier references how these “opposite experiences” are part of weaving the rich tapestry of this art form.
Whatever the experience, everyone had a great time and there were a number of “newbies” trying flagging for the first time with some patient help from the experts. All the many flags made for a beautiful kaleidoscope of changing patterns and colors and brightened a foggy day with the love and enthusiasm of the participants. More photos.
Hell Hole Contingent at Gay Pride San Francisco
Under sunny skies, the LGBT community and their friends turned out to see 200 contingents march down Market St in San Francisco in the 41st annual LGBT Pride Parade. Marching for the first time was Hell Hole SF, one of about 8 new contingents in the parade this year. Marching with the Leather Community, the Hell Hole guys were very visible in their red and their Model T Station Wagon from about 1927 was a big hit. They waved to the crowd as they went by and some of the onlookers “got it”, that the wave was really a sign of fisting. Everyone had a great time. More Photos.
Marching in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade is a whole lot of fun, but it does mean getting up early to be down in the assembly area, well before the parade starts. It also means you don’t get to see much of the parade, but the enthusiastic crowds more than make up for that.
This was my first time marching with the Leather Contingent and they are a great group to be with. While the mainstream media continues to ignore us, everyone else was very welcoming. From the cute girls giving free hugs to the hot guys giving a thumbs up, the crowds showed their love for Leather.
Thanks to everyone who came out to cheer on the marchers and also to those who took videos and posted them on YouTube. To see more photos of the Leather Contingent and a few photos at the festival, click here.
Pride, Power, Passion, Purpose – with these words, the LA Pride Parade kicked off with hundreds of contingents marching down Santa Monica Blvd., in West Hollywood. More photos of the parade>
Welcome to Some Men Photography.
One of the characters in Terrence McNally’s play “Some Men” says,
“If someone took our picture right now, I wonder if they would know we were gay men”.
Well, no matter what their “look”, this site shows us what out and proud gay men look like. Some of them would hit the gaydar while others might not, but just by being themselves, they are making a statement, fighting for equality and having fun doing it.
If you are interested in hiring me to photograph you or your event let me know by going to the Contact Us page.
This website replaces www.Som-men.blogspot.com.
Some Men 