Men would often approach Roma as he was setting up his unwieldy camera. Over the course of three years, Roma got to know the men in the Vale of Cashmere, which got its fairytale name from an 1817 Thomas Moore poem. They don’t convey any particular attitude about the men or their proclivities or their minority status. While some photo series focusing on marginalized populations feel deliberately political, these images are journalistic in their detachment and artistry. His images transcend topicality they’re about more than the changing politics of sexuality. Roma says “it’s a coincidence” that he wrapped up the series just as gay marriage was legalized federally.
