Saaxiib Qurux Badan

I spent today with my friend Adnan, who, as I’ve mentioned previously, is somewhat of a muse for my creative outlet of photography, specifically my photographing of male beauty. I’ve photographed other male friends before, but Adnan has something about him that to my eyes – and my heart – conveys something very special. He is, among other things, my saaxiib qurux badan, “beautiful friend” in Somali.

My photography is inspired, in part, by the work of Liam Campbell, founder, editor, and chief photographer of Elska, a bi-monthly male photography, culture and travel magazine. I appreciate how Campbell describes the images of his subjects as “natural, un-airbrushed and spontaneous,” and his subjects’ stories as “personal tales rather than regurgitated press releases.”

Although Adnan’s “personal tale” is not mine to share here, I like to think that the spirit that inspires Campbell’s words (and thus his art) also inspires and is reflected in my portraits of Adnan, whom I’ve been photographing on a regular basis since early 2019.

Left: Pictured with Adnan in St. Paul, MN – October 2023.

Above and below: Adnan in my attic abode in south Minneapolis – Saturday, October 12, 2024.

See also the related Wild Reed posts:
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – October 8, 2024
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – September 21, 2024
• Summer’s End
• Ghosts
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – June 27, 2024
• Undeniably Real
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – March 1, 2024
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – February 21, 2024
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – February 7, 2024
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – December 3, 2023
• October Afternoon
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – October 1, 2023
• September Garden
• Like a Lotus Flower
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – June 4, 2023
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – February 14, 2023
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – January 16, 2023
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – January 4, 2023
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – August 25, 2022
• In the Stillness and Silence of This Present Moment
• I Need Do Nothing . . . I Am Open to the Living Light
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – November 25, 2021
• Blue Yonder
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – June 29, 2021
• What We Crave
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – January 30, 2021
• November Musings
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – November 18, 2020
• The Landscape Is a Mirror
• Adnan in Morning Light
• Somalia Bound
• Adnan . . . Amidst Mississippi Reflections and Forest Green
• Adnan . . . with Sunset Reflections and Jet Trail
• In This In-Between Time of Both Loss and Promise
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – April 16, 2019
• Saaxiib Qurux Badan – March 29, 2019

Image: Saaxiib Qurux Badan (“Beautiful Friend”), Minneapolis, MN – Michael J. Bayly (10/12/24).