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Tom Atwood photographed queer heroes for 15 years and the results are absolutely stunning

Photographer Tom Atwood’s second book is a feast for the eyes, propping up LGBTQ heroes who break the mold. Over the course of fifteen years, he documented these intriguing and eccentric personalities in their own homes for Kings & Queens in Their Castles.

After perusing local bookstores for gay photography collections, Atwood realized the vast majority of options consisted of highly sexualized, body-worship-type photography. He knew there was a bigger, more diverse queer story to tell through images.

He filmed 350 subjects, 160 of whom made it into the book. That includes nearly 100 celebrities like Meredith Baxter, Alan Cumming, Don Lemon, John Waters and George Takei.

Scroll down for a taste of the gorgeous series (it was a real challenge to just choose 20), and head here for more info on where to find the book, published by Damiani:

JOHN BERENDT, Author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The City of Falling Angels — New York, NY

DON LEMON, CNN anchor — New York, NY

ANTHONY BARRETO-NETO, Transgender deputy sheriff — Barton, VT

MEREDITH BAXTER, Actress from Family Ties, All the President’s Men, Glee, Family — Santa Monica, CA

JIM MCGREEVEY, Former New Jersey Governor — Plainfield, NJ

ALAN CUMMING, Tony-winning actor from Hamlet, Macbeth, Cabaret — New York, NY

MOTHER FLAWLESS SABRINA, Female impersonator — New York, N

DON BACHARDY, Acclaimed artist and former partner of Christopher Isherwood — Santa Monica, CA

JULIE MEHRETU & JESSICA RANKIN, Renowned artists — New York, NY

MICHAEL URIE, Actor from Ugly Betty, The Good Wife, Partners, Modern Family — New York, NY

ARI SHAPIRO, Co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered — Washington, D.C.

RANDAL KLEISER, Director of Grease, Grandview U.S.A., Big Top Pee-wee, The Blue Lagoon — Los Angeles, CA

DOUG SPEARMAN, Actor from Charmed, Star Trek Voyager, Noah’s Arc, Girlfriends — MARC ANTHONY SAMUEL (friend), Actor from Imperfect Sky, Avenged, Parenthood — Los Angeles, CA

DAVID LERNER, Dance essayist  — New York, NY

LYDIA BROWN, Georgetown student and disability activist — Washington, D.C.

GEORGE TAKEI, Actor from Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Star Wars, Heroes — Los Angeles, CA

RIA PELL, Chef from Top Chef and winner of Chopped — KIKI CARR, Web developer — Atlanta, GA

LESLIE JORDAN, Actor from The Help, Sordid Lives, Will & Grace, Boston Legal, Newhart — Los Angeles, CA

TED HAYKAL, Artist In his back yard fort —Pikes Island, ME

BILLY PORTER, Tony-winning actor from Kinky Boots, Jesus Christ Superstar — New York, NY

All photos: Tom Atwood via Facebook

 

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