Nasty guys are — and always will be — dynamite queerbait: The fuck-you stances, the big-armed tattoos, the strutting in-your-face dickyness. Capturing the dangerous aura of testosterone that envelopes these men is a tricky business, but Michael Alago, a music producer only recently turned photographer, has done just that in his new self-published monograph rough gods.
Here we are shown the hustlers, porn-stars and bodybuilders Alago has approached in the street or met online. 
Though these are posed shots, the camera pulls out of the subjects exactly the raw quality that makes them such fetishy turn-ons. That, as well as an unexpected, non-intrusive beauty.
The cool window light on porn-star Colton Ford, above, for instance, plays against the warm lamplight of a, perhaps, hotel bedroom, the scornful bird-flipping contradicted — eclipsed really — by the very real, very excited hard-on. This is the sort of ying-yang dynamic that often runs under the radar throughout these photos. Cold and warm, light and dark, fuck you and fuck me.
"I like to play visuals off each other," says Alago referring to the montage of jockstrap and Coney Island roller coaster, left. "The word hustler in itself conjures up visuals of late-night street corners and money and what the do’s and don’ts of the encounter are. The jockstrap was left on a stairs in Provincetown. The way it was left behind makes you want to smell it and hope that it was used and that the aroma was of sweat and cum." The two images are collaged together in this photo, he says, because they have an inner psychological connection.
Even the two-page spreads in rough gods are meant to be viewed as single images. Typically, they might feature flowering bushes on one side and something boldly masculine — a muscular turned neck — on the other. "I think my images are about strength and seduction," says the photographer. "I love the flowers coupled with the men. It has a masculine-feminine vibe going on. Also on a purely visual level, viewing the book as a diptych — left image in a conversation with the right image — is an arresting way to present the photos."
Another marked feature of the book is that many of its hottest men are over 40. "I never wanted rough gods to have a homogenized look so I purposefully avoided going to agencies for models. Most of the men I shoot are in their 30′s and 40′s — I love this age group, especially when a mature man has a big hulky body and a daddy-like quality. These men exude sex. They have lived their lives and it shows in the way they carry themselves. My models are sort of the strongmen of my dreams."
Alago has never been shy about approaching rough customers in the street — "not after 22 years in the music industry!" he quips. In his previous incarnation as a talent scout, Alago discovered Metallica and worked with everyone from Johnny Rotten to Nina Simone.
"A lot of the men I end up shooting I do approach in the street," he says. "I tell them I like their look and hand them my card that says good luck on a pair of knuckles. That visual usually gets a laugh. I think the sentiment behind good luck makes them curious to go to my site. Then they usually move forward with the shoot. The calling card is kind of a good-luck charm in itself."
"Sometimes there’s a real sexual vibe going on during a shoot," he allows when pressed as to whether his wildmen ever go really wild on him. "Usually, we just have great chemistry, and the images come out strong and honest and that’s that. Other times, the sexual tension keeps mounting as the session continues. Then once the camera gets put away, some low-down sucking and fucking happens! — but that’s rare. You can sense it afterwards in the photo, though. The sexiness that was in the air."
Asked why he left the music business, Alago sighs wistfully. "It ceased to be fun," he says. "I wasn’t into making hip-hop records or Top 40 records. The business changed so much that there was no room for artist development. Look, after you sign Metallica and Nina Simone — which was the fucking ultimate for me! [Alago was responsible for getting Simone to record what would be her last full-length album] — where can you go after that?"
Well, one thing you could do is fly off to Berlin and take this fabulous, strangely glamorous photo of Marlene Dietrich‘s grave (right). "Yes," says Alago, "that’s all she wanted on her grave, just the first name. I adore flowers and their fragrance and I wanted to go to the grave when they were in bloom."
Still, our favorite photo in the book is the one at left, "Joe of Provincetown," shot also in a cemetery. Here we have a hyper-male subject presented in a way that sugests the vocabulary of female portraiture. The sidelong glance, the slow languor of his posture as he rests against the splintery pole — he seems to offer himself up, as a beautiful woman might, to our eyes. And yet the woof factor of this guy –with his devil goatee and tats and longshoreman’s cap — is undeniable!
"Everyone finds this photo provocative," confides Alago. "He reminds me of a drunken sailor from a Rimbaud poem. I love the come-hither look, the chain around his neck, and those fucking beefy pecs — what killer looks!"
"The thing I’m always shooting for in my photos," he sums up, "is that they be both masculine and seductive.” We’d say he has done that. Beautifully.
To purchase the 64-page rough gods monograph, , as well as prints of these photos, visit the rough gods website. This summer Michael Alago’s photos will go on display around the country:
Manhattan: until June 25, Leslie-Lohman Gallery (127 B Prince St.)
Atlanta: August 12 – 31, Outwrite Books (991 Piedmont Ave.)
Portland, Or.: August 5 – 31, Brian Marki Gallery (2236 N.E. Broadway)
ATTENTION INNER CIRCLE MEMBERS: See more of Michael Alago’s work in our exclusive rough gods photo gallery.
(MEMBERS / non-MEMBERS)
photographs ©2005 Michael Alago
© 2005 – 2007, John Calendo. All rights reserved. Nightcharm.com
great great interview John – thanks for giving more insight and getting direct-from-the-source quotes
If i were giving that last photo a caption, it would say simply “Be careful what you wish for…”
Fuck me out!
Love your website, just love it!
LeeAndrew
i didnt read anything but these guys are hot
your dick is not big enough
you need to get it bigger
i only like big ones
its gotta be 10inches or more
your so hot
i no i need at least 10 inches to get the fun going it need to be bigger !u need a bigger cock
ooO! u r real men.. u men have gr8 bodies.. beautiful bodies. wish u looked at girls too.
Colton Ford (top picture) makes me want to eat him up. Hair in all the right places, handsome face, and an ASS!!! to die for. Check out “COLTON” (his first film) to see him get rimmed and fucked. His moan alone will make you wanna shoot.
what a great site to have a sexy wet orgasm!
hooooooooooooooooooooot difficult to handle
god this reminds me of http://www.hispandex.com
cO;0L
oooooooooooo yea
HOT SEXY STRONG DADDY
You Guys are so fine and so sexy. I would suck your dick any time
I WANT TO LICK THAT BEAR LIKE A LOLLIPOP
wow wow wow!!!
o god i love this website it has alote of gay sexy men
gay sexy men im coming to get you yum algo your cock yum yum
i like ur dicks
sexy dicks
SEXY MAN AND BODY, small dick tho.
Sexy DADDIES! Holu Shit they are so hot and sexy. I love his cock and would love to be his bitch anytime!
colton Ford is one hot mothrfucker he can bang me anytime.. Colton look me up!
man i want to fuck ever dude on this fucking page
Colton Ford is the HOTTEST and SEXYEST daddy around! I would love to be his bitch. I would do whatever he wanted! With a cock like that, i am all his!
holy crap those r some sexy men!! i wouldnt mind fucking them!
Damn, that dude on the boat is fine.
those r some sexy guys!!! Colten Ford is so fucken hot! i would love to fuck him!
damn those r some sexy guys!! i would love to fuck them!!!i want there cum!!!!
Put it were ever you want. I like it.
kool
i love ur cocks
one of the hottest pics of Colton Ford ever!
OMG I NEED TO SUCK YOUR BIG JUICY HARD COCK SO BAD
WOW I LOVE DADDY BEARS KNOCKOUTS MMMMMMMM DADDY!!!!!!!!FUCK ME RUNNING!!!!!!! DAMN! LOVE MEN!!!!!!!!
So sexy! I love Colton Ford.
Daddy you are Hotttt!!!!!!!!! I will suck you!! Kiss
i want to suck your cock so bad i need it. i am jacking off to your pic right now. i just finished jacking off to your pic. omg i need u i am getting so horny
I like yourdicks suckit
but i like the well formed body more
olá sou brasileiro e gostaria que alguem entrasse em contato comigo, e discutirmos sobre o site.
Sock it to me baby.
I WILL FUCK AND SUCK U FOR EVER
fuck me, fuck me, fuck me
Would like to meet you in a bathroom and suck you right off what a bunch of hot daddies
holy fuck i would fuch that ass so hard and that penis is so hot well the first guy’s is.I would suck it so hard that i’d probably suck it off.BYe cocksuckers
I love sucking cocks and swallowing cum. Fuck my face please
i wunt to suk ur big hairy cok so hard it falls off sexy
I love colton!!!
anyone else have nude pics of Colton Ford?
HOLY FUCK I WANT A BIG HARD UNCUT DADDY COCK IN ME SO BAD I CAN TASTE IT. FUCK I WANT TO SUCK ONE FUCK ONE, ALL WHILE YOU WATCH.
The first honest photograpgher about action sometimes
happening. A lot of photographers are “closet queens”
Some phtographers who pay have clauses in contract
and get a piece of the pie-not just a foto-shoot!
These guys look so strong and sexy………I WANT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
am i the only one horny over colton ford?
SAY YOU’LL FUCKING MARRY ME!!!!….or let me at least eat your hairy ass!!!
i will give them a good blowjob!!!!!
I would let ALL of u gang bang me, and the last one i would drink ur cum up like chardonay…mmmm
great idea lets all get pissed on cum
Hey hast du LUSt auf mich ich brauch dich
Colton is hot
Ford is one my favorites: rugged, dangerous, somewhat scary, and full of charisma. Really, he has all the components that could (or at least should) make him a mainstream actor.
All of these men are very much my type and I’m not sure what that says about me. Maybe it’s that most porn models are so generic and cold, but I always find myself drawn to men with a threatening edge to them. I’m deeply antisocial and the unruliness of a man like this is just magnetic.
so cool
hey sexy i want u 2 screw me right now.
hey sexy i want u 2 screw me i’m hard as hell.
Oh wow i want those dicks in my ass! They are way bigger than my dad’s!
im a girl i want fucked
joke: id have millions of children
call me gay men
ill be waiting with my tits and pussy
*hump,hump*
i want a playboy
oh yes i think forever i would never leave your penis if i got it on my mouth i like big penis even i have seen my fathers penis that was so big i want to suck peniis penis only big black penis
Damn! It’s been two years since I last posted, and COLTON FORD is still looking scrumptious.
I love Colton Ford, he’s the best. :]
i want to do it
Colton Ford is absolutely PERFECT. I hope to see him perform(sing) in washington DC or philly soon
fuck me please fuck me please fuck me please fuck me please!!!!!!!!!!!
I WOULD WANT TO FUCK THOSE MEN UPWITH MY HUGE COCK!!!!!!!!!!!
The more dicks I suck, the more cum I swallow, & the more piss I drink, the happier I am. I can never get to much of any of these. FUCK YES!!
Colton Ford Damn sure look s like a daddy type,but he needs to get rid of that silver gotee. thats a turn off 4 me.
i wish i had a 10 full inchs inside me right now
i want a 10 inches in mee..ohhhh it pains
HEY WHOEVER SEES THIS STUFF AND LIKES IT IS JUST WRONG.UNLESS THE GUY IS STRONG AND HAS A HUGE DICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love your cock. I want to suck it, pls once you give me.
I LIKE HAIRY AND HARD BODIES.I WANT TO SEXD WITH GUYS.OHHH IM SO HORNY YES THATS RIGHT.HAVE A NICE FUCK
FUCK MY ASS HOLE.I WANT TO LICK YOUR AS HOLE.FUCK YOUR ASS HOLE.OHHHH AHHHH
FUCK ME AGAIN AND AGAIN.DO U WANT TO FUCK?
so big i want to suck it
DAAMM I JUS WANNA SUCK YOR DICK OVER AND OVER AGAIN
Just stumbled on to this webpage. Michael Alago’s photos are awesome, beautiful and smokin’ hot, even the guys who are photographed not completely nude or hard. I was blown away by the hot mature, stached, hairy uncut dude sitting on the upside-down boat. I can’t recall where I first saw that pic on the web but I had to copy and save it. I actually laminated it. That guy does for me what Tom Selleck did for me back in his Magnum PI days. That guy is everything I dream of and fanticize in a sex bud/life partner…a total or versatile masculine, uncut, hairy in all the right places mature top man. I would love to know who the guy is, where he is etc. I’ve had so many wonderful (wet) fantasy day and night dreams about him. Thank you Michael Alago for the steamy wonderful man pics!! I will definitely look for your book.
I can’t help but wonder what you yourself look like.
I love be alone with that hot hunk i love to be fucked by a guy that big that is what i call a man if there is any guys that out there and like to hook up give me a call 330-974-8782
Hi I would like meet an american man strong and big, I have blackberry phone, my PIN is 21218F98 let me know if you wish a Venezuelan friend, thanks……
hoties in d sense “gay” could b also termed dandy 4 men nd me toooo”””