Karlo

Karlo, 21, lives in a small town in south-central Slovakia and is very close friends with Lucius. They consider themselves brothers. I had been hoping to photograph Lucius again, but it took a couple of years for it to finally happen. Several times, it felt like we were close to arranging it, but then Lucius would stop communicating.

Eventually, he brought up his “brother” Karlo and said they would come together. (Lucius wasn’t comfortable traveling or doing the photoshoot alone—last time, he came with Mike.) For a long while, though, it felt like he was just teasing me, and I began to doubt whether I’d ever see them. But finally, we managed to meet. After spending some time together at a game parlor in Bratislava, both of them seemed comfortable and reassured. Soon afterward, we set a date for the photoshoot.

Karlo is actually a bit more laid-back and confident than Lucius, but they’re both great guys. I was especially pleased with how comfortable they were posing in front of each other and, later, together in some shots involving body contact. The photoshoot was nothing like their usual routine, and I imagine it served as a brief escape from their daily need to conform.