“The Boys From Here” by photographer Michal Wic is a portrait of friendship and vulnerability, told through the lens of two young men at the edge of the Atlantic. The models are Ítalo Luã Pereira Matos and Marcos Souza. Both are stepping in front of the camera for the first time – their confidence still forming, their trust immediate.
Often coming from overlooked neighbourhoods, they carry big dreams-expansive and open like the ocean before them-to one day walk international runways and share a piece of their culture with the world. But for now, they simply do what they love: spending slow afternoons by the water – bathing, resting, laughing. This is a tribute to youth in its most instinctive form: open, raw and lit by the golden Bahia sun. Shot on 35mm film, “The Boys From Here” is not so much a fashion story as it is a meditation on light, time and becoming. Nothing is styled. Just the sun, the sea and two boys daring to be seen.
Michal Wic is a Berlin-based photographer and creative director who captures the edges of youth, friendship, and vulnerability, catching human connection in warm, grain-rich frames. In an age of infinite datasets and tireless AI, analogue film makes him stay present, and each exposure is a one-off negotiation with light that can never be replayed. “Where the film grain mixes with the sand” is his motto, as he is attracted to natural light and these fleeting, summer hours by the beach, when nothing and everything seems to matter – watching water strip people down to their truest selves.
Photography by Michal Wic / www.michalwic.com / Instagram: @michal.wic
Models are Ítalo Luã Pereira Matos signed at Vinny Vasconcellus / Instagram: @italolua_
Marcos Souza signed at Vinny Vasconcellus / Instagram: @marcola__01
Casting by Vinny Vasconcellus / Instagram: @vinnyvasconcellus2
