Mark I Chester
@sfphotou.bsky.social
76 year old gay ‘radical sex’ photographer who has documented his life in San Francisco’s South of Market sexual underground since the late 1970s. Authentic. Provocative. VERY sex positive. Also a guerrilla gallery, gay sketch group and rope enthusiast.
Racial Portraits by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social Book release Fri 9/25, 6-9pm 1229 Folsom St, SF Open Sun 9/27, 1-6pm during the Folsom St Fair Provocative political portraits & collaborations w/queer men of color. Authentic, beautiful and challenging images. Text Mark 415-613-0369
Racial Portraits by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social Book release Fri 9/25, 7-10 pm 1229 Folsom St, SF Open Sun 9/27, 11am-6pm during Folsom St Fair Provocative political portraits & collaborations w/queer men of color. Authenticity led to beautifully challenging images Text Mark 415-613-0369
Happy Dore! Portrait of @pantoja.rody /IG ©️ Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social from a session yesterday. This is the magic of photography; the unknown. What might happen. It’s just us, the light and a backdrop. It suggests that even on the darkest days that one can be golden. Thanks Rody!
Zink ©️ Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social 1982. We planned to do erotic photos of him on his bike but when we opened the garage there was this huge cross like setup. Our mouths fell open. When the universe sends you a gift, how can you say no? I love the title Zink is not amused by Christianity
Photo of Charles on his bike in the alleyways of South of Market in the late 1970s ©️ Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social I started photographing in my bedroom and the alleyways of South of Market. There was a lot of fantasy about leathermen but most of it was fantasy. I wanted the reality.
Photo ©️ Mark I Chester, @sfphotou.bsky.social , late 1970s. I always thought that this image was monumental. Love the vein in the shape of a swimmer/diver. And the super sensual almost translucent foreskin. Plus, the dick came out a beautiful shade of silver. From Between a Rock & a Hard Place, 1981
Maybe I’m feeling nostalgic for being young and sexual and believing that anything was possible. The first show was titled ‘Feeling Good on the Edge of Madness #1’ and that was 1980, just before the AIDS epidemic emerged. The 2nd show was shortly after the devastating Folsom St Fire - July 1981.
Another beauty from @thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social who modeled for @gaymenssketch.bsky.social 2/24 I think it’s time to invite @thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social to do a Hot Draw! 🍆 🔥🥵
Thicc Virtual Boy@thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social · 7mo agoHave you gooned with a live studio audience yet? #fcf #showoff #nudemodel 📸 @sfphotou.bsky.social @gaymenssketch.bsky.social
Photo of @selfiegeneratorstudio /IG ©️ Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social 10/25. Jeffrey is a great model. Handsome. Sexy. Beautifully built. Open to my madcap ideas for photos/drawing poses. A lot of fun. I’m seriously jealous of the great photographers who are working with him now. 😉🤪 📷📷📷
Photo of Enzo from 12/25 ©️Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social Another photo of the enchanting Enzo. If you follow gonaked online magazine, there is a whole gallery of images of Enzo from our session. This is one of the photos that both Enzo and I really liked.
From a recent photo shoot with @thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social. I rarely take videos in photo sessions, but I thought I couldn’t pass this one up. 😉😈😱 Plus it was a “spontaneous utterance” as they say on cop shows. ;)
Thicc Virtual Boy@thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social · 10mo agoWho needs another round of stuffing? #fcf 📸 @sfphotou.bsky.social
From a recent photo shoot with @thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social His first shoot in a photo studio. He did great. No longer a photoshoot virgin. 😉 The shoot resulted in a lot of good images and thicc… was a lot of fun to work with. Thicc and handsome!
Thicc Virtual Boy@thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social · 11mo agoHappy Friday everyone #fcf
Peter @classicalhunk.bsky.social by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️2025. Almost too normal of a shot. 😉 But he is so fine here. Like many gay men, Peter had to create his own identity because who he was instinctively didn’t match the community that he was born into. Classical hunk indeed!
Photo of @jessiepegasis.bsky.social by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️2025 for my Racial Portraits project. Photo retouching by @shanesasaki /IG There are no easy answers. It challenges each viewer. When we see a face, our first two instinctual responses are to gender and skin color.
An outtake from a 2016 shoot w/Corey and Guy for Racial Portraits by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️2016. While Diaper Don, running for prez, was ranting and raving about black people, I was in my studio photographing interracial queer men. Love is our super power. Love for our fellow man. 🫂❤️
Photos of Enzo by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️2025 for inclusion in my Racial Portraits project. I love these pix of this sweet sensual man. He was afraid that he didn’t belong. He deserves to be on the wall and in the book. Which one do you like? They are similar but also very different.
Photo of Pablo @tiddiesdeloser.bsky.social by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️2025. From a shoot for my Racial Portraits project. A portrait before we took images for the project. Let’s just say that the chosen image probably can’t be shown on IG, but maybe on bsky. Papi chulo mio! 🥊🩸🥊 ❤️🫂❤️
Photo of @selfiegeneratorstudio /IG by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️2025 from a recent shoot. A beautiful, sensual shot of Jeffrey, capturing his hard work in developing his physique. He is really rocking it and looking great! I’m always looking for models for sketching or photographs.
From my recent shoot with @thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social. His first time in a pro photo shoot. I was surprised. TVB is handsome, truly thicc and very hot! And a great guy!
Thicc Virtual Boy@thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social · 12mo agoHope you had a relaxing Sunday 😘 📸 @sfphotou.bsky.social
Photo of Jeffrey @selfiegeneratorstudio /IG by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️10/25 Jeffrey has grown and evolved. With a new trainer, his physique is smoking’ hot. I’m just trying to use light to sculpt the body; to reveal and inspire. We need all the hope and beauty we can find right now
Another shot of @thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️ 2015. OMFG!!!!!!!! Thicc indeed but his shape and proportions are fantastic. Sadly, I was on my best behavior!!!! 😝🤣
Photo of @thiccvirtualboy.bsky.social by Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social ©️ 10/11/25. I found Mark on bsky and asked him to model for @gaymenssketch.bsky.social. One pose really hit me, so I asked to photo him. When I’m photographing a beautiful man (all men are beautiful…) I feel alive. 1/2
Grrrrrrrrr!!!! My chat icons have disappeared from all my accounts. I don’t remember updating Bluesky, but when I go to the App Store it just says open rather than update. Any ideas? Have chat icons disappeared for others?
Rosebud Gallery is doing a show celebrating queer Latin voices. My photo of Al Lujan was accepted. With every passing day, in a country attacking brown skinned people, this image and its outrage gets stronger. No one is safe. Everyone except straight white Christian males are in danger and at risk.
So this happened. 40 fucking years of photographing/drawing men! 1985-2025. In cement outside my front door. Thanks to the SF Leather/GLBT Cultural District @sfleatherdist for this honor. The promise of gay lib was to come out of the closet and live full open, authentic lives without shame. 1/4
Photo of Steven @steven336.bsky.social ©️ Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social Steven sex he never sees his butt, so here is a little butt action.
Photo of Jack Mance © Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social titled ‘jack encounters x, y and z’ from the series Lost on a Sea of Desire, 1983. The times were dark. Deaths piled up. Like some sort of evil lottery, no one knew who would be next. In fact, no one knew anything. We were all afraid. 1/4
Photo of Steven @steven336.bsky.social © Mark I Chester @sfphotou.bsky.social from our shoot 7/12/25. Steven also likes this image. It is sexy and sensual, suggestive yet discrete. I love the touch of leather. There is so much here to think about. The dedication required for a tattoo body suit!
