Since San Francisco’s infamous Up Your Alley (this weekend) and Folsom Street Fair (September) are upon us, it’s a good time to get into the photographic spirit of leather, flesh, and all things BDSM. Who better to help out than a German photographer, in this case Peter Lichtreich?
“I call myself ‘body photographer’,” Lichtreich tells Queerty. “I take pictures of men with no restrictions.”
Lichtreich was born in Berlin and lives in Duesseldorf. He began working as a photographer in 2007 and has had exhibitions in Mannheim, Amsterdam, Rome, Israel and Monaco.
Lichtreich‘s models are often nude and bathed in shadow. There is a sense of seediness and sometimes even danger to his work, but it’s also very beautiful.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“My pictures are rather dark and gloomy and invite the viewer to look deeper beyond the flesh,” Lichtreich says. “They obscure and stimulate the imagination.”
Scroll down to see a sexy sampling of Lichtreich‘s work, and see more (including several nudes and NSFW images) on his website and Flickr page.
Published for one-time use only with permission from Peter Lichtreich. Photographs may not be saved, copied or republished on any other website.
sam27
Some very beautiful images but the neo nazi stuff? I mean really FFS!
lichtreich
@sam27
I am the photographer of the pictures. I am really astonished. The man on the picture is not a nazi!!! on his arm is a american cop sympbol. On his cap is not a german or nazi symbol!! why you thinking this is nazi stuff? in reason i am from germany and this man has a uniform? (this is by the way leather and the man is from poland).
I am not a BDSM photographer! My pictures are known for body artwork…many pictures i took in the nature…and one of my pictures is saled in Monaco (under the leadership of princess Stephanie from Monaco) for the AIDS-Helping-Organisation and shows in naked man in a tree….Greetings from germany…Peter Lichtreich
lichtreich
notice: Graham Gremore selected all pictures for this blog and not me. I am thankful to show here my art work, but its only a little part of all my pictures.
lichtreich
here a better view on my pictures from the last time…
http://www.lichtreich-foto.com/gallerie_new4.html
TommyTrojan
Hi Peter,
Thanks for posting the link to some of your other work. I love your photos–especially the frequent contrast between the clean, often smooth, naked male body and a dark, dirty industrial setting.
Thanks for sharing with us!
lichtreich
@TommyTrojan: Tommy…thank you so much…industrial places can be a good loaction, but its not easy to work with this type of locations. But i have also a lot of fun to work in other locations, also in the nature..
ingyaom
Love these photos… very arty.
Nice to hear from the photographer himself, too. “Body Photography” – I like it.
lichtreich
@ingyaom: kisses from germany…:-) thank you very much. “Body photography” I created this word (german: Körperfotografie), because it let open all kind of other possibilties (nude, art, sculpture, erotic, porn, pin up). I always say: my models are not “nude”..they are without clothes..:-)
Teeth
The photos of men being strangled with chain or rope are disgusting. If you like to be treated that way, then I have no need to fight for your equality.
lichtreich
@Teeth: this is not strangled!!! This bondage made on of my best friend Mia Cativa. She is master of Shibari (japanese bondage art).
She is not gay…and also not the model!
Teeth
The image is vulgar and revolting. The others are beautiful– celebrations of men.. but I am disgusted by those two. You can call it art– I see it for the dehumanizing garbage, and introjected self hate that it is. Again- most of the others are lovely.
lichtreich
@Teeth: “The image is vulgar and revolting…. I see it for the dehumanizing garbage, and introjected self hate that it is…”
great…i like that you see so much into this picture..The crazy thing is, that the same picture in an other context express something else. The problem here is, that Queerty.com titeld it “gay-erotic”…i am not happy with this. For you it is not erotic and i really understand it….and i like, that you have other “phanatsies” to this picture. For me its not important, if some body LIKE…For me ist more important, what people feel..and Art can also be quite uncomfortable.
lichtreich
sorry by the way for my english…its hard for me to explain in english….But i am really happy about the commentars…very hard (in europe i had never this kind of commentars) and shows me new sides of my pictures..great….But please, I am not answer anymore to this kind of commentars ilke the first one. that’s just insulting…
TVC 15
The man in the third photo is beautiful. I’m in love. 😉
Teeth
I’ll bet that there are some lovely skin lamp shades too.
lichtreich
@TVC 15: i agree…he is beautiful and a really lovely guy…
lichtreich
@Teeth: now I really understand your commentars…you are thinking “Germans are all Nazis”…Than I really hope, that you know, that we have a lot of children here, born in Germnay from afrika, turkey, amerika a.s.o….so they are also Nazis…To compare my pictures with nazi skin lamps shows me what you really thinking…You only have seen “german” in the text…and when germans make something what other people not like, than we are Nazis?…sorry…this shows me, that you thinking you are better, better human, with a better history, better opinion, better genes…but this was also the thinking of the nazis … and this was the last commentar to this theme here in the commentars..I really like to say something about my pictures..we can talk about feelings a.s.o…but every commentar about nazi shit have nothing to do with my pictures..only with your own bad thinking.
lichtreich
@Teeth: i have a link in facebook to this blog…to share all the commentars with my friends all over the world…
Teeth
@lichtreich: Not all germans are nazi, but it’s a fair bet that the ones who think it’s erotic to strangle a man are sympathizers.
lichtreich
@Teeth: Please …inform you in the BDSM szene…a lot of gays arround the world like BDSM…and believe me, many more in the hetero world. This has nothing to do with real pain what Nazis did. I would like you ask people in the BDSM szene about this. I am not a BDSM-photographer..I explained it here already! This kind of photography is only a little part. The headline is not from me in the artikel…and the interview with me and queerty.com was not about BDSM…and queerty.com selected this kind of pictures from all my pictures. BDSM is a big part in the gay szene..also fetish a.s.o….very big also in america. The biggest sexual organ is the phantasie…and my pictures let people see what they wonna see. You see a strangled man. This is your own phantasie to this picture. But in real the man shows a bondage..from a lady she really knows to do this…she is master of Shibari. The model is still alive (and really wondering about your commentar). Nobody sympathizes with criminals or nazis ..this is only your own thinking. Please…the artikel here is with the headline “soft BDSM”…so please infrom you and ask people from this szene. By the way: i am not into BDSM…but i have a lot of friends there..and many of them hetero…
lichtreich
@Teeth: and here the short version: the man is not strangled. And is not a picture about strangulation…all people in the BDSM scene they like Bondage or domination do it voluntarily..and this is the big different to criminals and nazis. But please, dont lets start a diskussion about perverts…if you not into BDSM, than please dont look at the pictures…the headline inform all visitors what kind of pictures they can see here. If this is not your kind of erotic, than it is okay..but it is not okay to put me in the same box with nazis, criminals or other subjects of crime. This is not nice…Queerty.com invited me to show some of my pictures here and they selceted all pictures. I am a guest here and you are can be a bit more hospitable ..it is not fair what you wrote (you know my english is not perfect). I am not here to fight…i was always polite…and i expect the same from the other here. The first commentar is about nazi stuff…this was the first time sice i take pictures that some body tell me this about one of my pictures…and i have many fans in flickr around the world and some exhibitions outside of germany (Israel for example). I have no problems that you not like some of my pictures…of course not. But waht you did is to compare my pictures with the same nazi shit…(nazi skin lamp a.s.o.)..i really was polite to explain what the picture really shows…but still you write something bad about people wich would like to be bondaged like this the would sympathize with this. I not sayed you MUST like this picture, but you still try to say something really bad to hurt me…I wrote that i understand you, that you not like the picture, but with no word you try to understand, that i not show a atrangeld man. Thats why i stop from now to comment on your commentars..or to comment to simular commentars…
DarkZephyr
I have actually been strangled by homophobes when I was younger, and I don’t see any image above that matches what I experienced. Yes, a couple of the images are slightly uncomfortable to look at, BUT most of them dazzle my eyes with their beauty and the ones that make me uncomfortable are still not BAD pictures. In fact I think that they are very successful because they create raw emotion within me. I think you have done an amazing job Peter. 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share your vision with us. 🙂
lichtreich
@DarkZephyr: wow…thank you very much…also thank you for your openness about what happened to you in the past. Homophobia has many faces…I think, we both could write a book about that. Beauty is more than only lightful and happy colours like the rainbow flag. In my opinion we recognize true beauty only when we let go of the myths about beauty, masculinity and accept ourselves as we are. I work with ordinary men. These are all no glossy models. To work with me is sometimes more than a photo session..its like a therapy…and of course with a lot of fun…than we should never forget to laugh…kisses Peter
DarkZephyr
@lichtreich: You are very welcome Peter. Yes, we could definitely write books! I agree with what you say about beauty and masculinity VERY much. In fact your words are quite beautiful and bring a tear to my eye. If you ever look at some of the debates I have gotten into on here about “masc” Vs. “fem” you would see that I am someone who no longer subscribes to the stereotypical concepts of masculinity. Its extremely lovely to hear your thoughts on the subject and I think that its wonderful that you can offer therapeutic experiences to those who model for you. Its a very beautiful thing that you do. 🙂 *hugs and kisses*
Raventhorn
@sam27: If you are referring to the Muir cap in picture 5. I think you’ll find it comes from the biker culture of the 50s, and not anything to do with WWII Germany. Do you see a Swastika on there? I see an eagle; in fact, it’s an eagle holding arrows and olive branches AKA the seal of the USA.