Luke Kraman

Queer Intimacies

QUEER INTIMACIES is an ongoing portrait project originated in the fall of 2020 as a means of connection with the Bay Area queer community. The work explores the intersection between the queer experience and the vulnerability of portraiture. My use of composition, color and balance creates a calm, focused setting. This contrasts with and draws focus to the intimate and open demeanor the subjects arrive at through the shoot. The ease between the organized form and the intimate effect invites the viewer in as a confidant. My hope is for the subject to walk away with some growth and the viewer with some stillness, beauty, and a peak into queer identity. The subjects shown here are friends, strangers, dominatrixes, artists, DJs and drag queens.

Photographer

Luke Kraman

Luke Kraman is a San Francisco based emerging queer artist working primarily in medium format analog photography. He received his BA from the University of Southern California where he studied film production, multimedia literacy and sculpture. His Brooklyn, New York upbringing and his grandparents' analog cameras inspired his fascination with people, composition and captured moments. Luke's photographs reflect a careful eye that is both highly subjective and matter of fact. This quality developed with his earlier work in landscapes and multiple exposures. Today his interests still lie in that contrast as he photographs his queer community through portraiture, exploring the intersection between the expansive nature of queerness and the vulnerability of authentic visibility. He resides in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco and counts himself lucky to have a such a vibrant and inspiring queer community to call home.

He recently had one of his portraits shortlisted and published in the British Journal of Photography's "Portrait of Humanity Vol. 5".

This user account status is Approved