Accidental Gay Historian, Photographer Mike Balaban 

By Patric Stillman

For Mike Balaban, preserving LGBTQ+ history wasn’t a planned career path—it was a personal passion that evolved into a remarkable project documenting the lives of gay men who he encountered over the decades. Known online as @Bammer47, the accidental gay historian, Balaban’s journey began on Wall Street, but his love for photography and storytelling turned him into a visual archivist of gay life. This month, his work is featured at The Studio Door as part of the ART+ LGBT History Month exhibition, showcasing decades of candid photographs of men’s gatherings.

Balaban’s story is anything but typical. A former Wall Street financier, Balaban lived a double life for years—navigating the conservative world of finance by day while exploring his identity as a gay man by night. It wasn’t until his retirement in 2016 that he fully embraced his role as a documentarian of LGBTQ+ life. “I never saw myself as a photographer,” Balaban recalls. “But I always had a camera in hand, capturing the moments that mattered to me and my friends.”

Over four decades, Balaban amassed a collection of more than 20,000 photos—snapshots of his life, the people he met, and the community he grew to love. His Instagram project, @Bammer47, became an unexpected hit with nearly 30,000 followers, particularly among younger generations eager to learn about LGBTQ+ history. “From my own personal perspective, I wanted to show our younger generations what it was like to live through the AIDS crisis and the many struggles we’ve had,” Balaban says. His photos offer an intimate view into primarily gay life, capturing moments of joy, love, and resilience in the face of adversity.

Balaban’s work, however, extends beyond the personal. His photography is a visual archive of significant moments in LGBTQ+ history—from candid scenes at pool parties to the vibrancy of drag culture. “These images are not just mine—they belong to the community,” Balaban says. His decision to share these photos publicly has helped preserve a crucial part of the community’s history, giving younger audiences a chance to connect with the past.

In addition to his Instagram success, Balaban has expanded his storytelling through YouTube and podcasts. His YouTube channel features short videos exploring various aspects of LGBTQ+ life like gay spaces, open relationships and racism, while his podcast interviews everyday heroes from around the world including London Fetish Maven Suzie Kruger, Pulse Night Club Manager Barbara Poma and Ecuadorian Trans Activist Lilly Ann Velez. “I want people to know who we are, where we came from, and why our community is special,” Balaban explains.

As part of this year’s ART+ LGBT History Month, Balaban’s photography exhibition will offer a selection of his most powerful images. These include personal favorites, such as a vibrant photo taken in Mykonos in the 1980s, as well as striking images from gay events like Hotlanta and Fire Island across decades. Balaban’s contribution to the exhibition provides a historical lens through which viewers can witness the community’s evolution from his own personal journey.

Looking ahead, Balaban continues to find new ways to tell the story of the LGBTQ+ community. “There’s still so much history that hasn’t been told,” he says. With plans to expand his photographic archive and delve deeper into his podcast series, Balaban remains committed to ensuring that the history of LGBTQ+ individuals is preserved and shared for generations to come.

To learn more, Mike can be found online @bammer47 and bammer.co as well as on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform.