studio shot of man in overalls with straw hat seductively exposing his naked hip

Power Weekend

nude dancer leaping in air while extending his leg and arm

My last blog post featured the relatively easy start to Armani’s weekend visit, the next step was getting him into the studio.

There was literally no way to restrain his enthusiasm.

nude man in explosive dance gesture with leather decorative piece flying into the air

nude man with leather stringed garment in twisted pose on ladder

He’s always engaged in the situation and really seemed to enjoy the multiple props and clothing in the studio.

(It did help that we made a run on the vintage clothing shops in town to find some sweet new items to try)

nude man lounges on classic stone bench with a wooded scene behind him

nude man curled up in a fireplace opening with leg extended onto the mantle

After that, it was off to Cleveland to meet up with a friend of his who was going to join us on location.

He is a fellow dancer and had never worked in urbex environments.

scene of a classic stairway with beautiful woodwork and two nude men facing one another on the steps looking toward the light

two nude men stand facing a huge stained glass rose window in abandoned church

Using derelict locations is always a changing game. Over the years, many of these places have disappeared for various reasons and Cleveland is no different.

In spite of losing 3 sites, 4 new ones were discovered. This church turned out to be a special treat. Sadly though, I lost 2 wonderful industrial locations with one more pending demolition.

two nude men clean an old workbench in prepation for a shoot

two nude men in brick doorway with backs to the viewer looking into empty roofless building

two nude men grasping hands and extending their bodies in dance while in abandoned building

We also discovered a cool building that was surprisingly clean for it’s level of decay and had an amazing open air roof that brought in lots of daylight.

The pattern of ironwork created an interesting cap for these great interactions. And I can’t believe I’ve driven by this place many times without noticing.

nude man askew on a bright yellow seat with graffiti behind him

nude man extends his body with arched back into circular window opening

Armani and his friend are great talents. There’s still lots to review from our shoot. I’m also thrilled working with models such as these two. I feel so fortunate to have guys like this who risk everything to produce the content I love.

I’m obsessed with trying to catch up on production from all those years of “work” distractions. But nothing energizes me like the creation of meaningful imagery.

shirtless man with back to camera makes expressive gesture with his hands in air