If you’re looking to spruce up your coffee table with some beautiful, intimate photography, then you’ll be pleased to know that the latest edition of Elska Magazine has hit the stalls – and this time around, the subject is the queer men of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
This edition is the 57th in the Elska series, and the magazine’s 12th outing to Asia. However, it is the first to feature the men of Vietnam, a fact that “almost shocked” editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell.
“I’m beyond glad to have finally made it though, and I’m glad I chose to focus the issue on Saigon,” Campbell said. “This is a city of contradictions — electric and intimate, relentlessly busy and yet somehow unhurried, modern and deeply traditional — and that tension runs through every chapter of this issue.”
The photographer added that the men featured in this edition were “some of the most open men” he has encountered while shooting the Elska project, but also “some of the most nervous and shy guys”.
As always, Elska Magazine is not just a photobook; it’s about storytelling too, with personal, intimate narratives weaving the images together. As the magazine hits the shelves of bookstores, Campbell recalled a few of the individual stories that stood out most to him.
“In terms of the storytelling, there are some very candid and illuminating pieces… like Harry, who speaks openly about his HIV-positive status and how it’s triggered a string of positive changes in his life; or like Jesse, whose exceptional confidence plays against a yearning to find love and finally lose his virginity; or like Tin, who offers a plethora of wisdom that seems to pin down what Vietnamese communism is supposed to be all about,” he said.
“And in terms of the photography, symbols of Saigon abound — the coffee shops, the monsoon rains, the mopeds, the humidity, and of course the nude portraits of Saigonese men… Everything comes together in a way that makes me kick myself for not having come to Vietnam sooner.”
You can order the latest edition of Elska Magazine shot in Ho Chi Minh City from the publication’s website.
© 2026 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN is a free, vital resource for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity - Charity Number: 20034580.
GCN relies on the generous support of the community and allies to sustain the crucial work that we do. Producing GCN is costly, and, in an industry which has been hugely impacted by rising costs, we need your support to help sustain and grow this vital resource.
Supporting GCN for as little as €1.99 per month will help us continue our work as Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.