Photographers - Part 12

Alvin Baltrop

Alvin Baltrop (1948-2004) was a black photographer whose work was virtually unknown during his lifetime.  This is Self-portrait looking away, which uses a mirror to show his face as well as the rear view. 

He took photographs while he was in the Navy, but he subsequently became fascinated in documenting the abandoned Hudson River piers that were taken over by gay men in the 1970s and early 1980s.  Some of his photos on the piers are similar to photographer Leonard Fink's work, which we have already seen, such as Baltrop's  The Piers (man looking in window), above.

Men hung out and sunbathed naked on the piers.  Above is The Piers (three men on dock)

But the piers were also a place to cruise.  This is The Piers (two men).

Unlike Leonard Fink, who photographed plenty of naked men on the piers, including himself,  but rarely photographed sexual encounters, Alvin Baltrop was a self-confessed voyeur, interested in what the cruising led to.  Perhaps a quick handjob (above) ...

Perhaps a blowjob ...

Perhaps making out and more.

Some of his photos showed sex at a great distance.  This is The piers (exterior with couple having sex).  Click on the photo for a larger view, but even then, the figures are tiny.

But Baltrop also produced a second version of that same photo, cropped and enlarged to show the action a bit better.

We'll end with another distant view of sex.  Baltrop's work became known in photography circles after his death.  This photo is now in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art.  What I like about this photo is its title at the Whitney Museum: The Piers (collapsed architecture, couple buttfucking).