American Boy Tour

H2O: Would an HIV Vaccine change sex as we know it?

It's encouraging to see that researchers are one step closer to discovering a vaccination for HIV. But does this signify the end of the latex sex era? If an HIV vaccination were available and proven effective how would it have an impact on our sex lives? Would we continue to enforce our "no glove, no love" policies to prevent history from repeating? Or can we return to living our lives like  a celebrity birthday bash in the VIP room at Studio 54? ABT wants to know your thoughts. How would an HIV vaccination affect your sex life? Let's discuss around the virtual water cooler, shall we?

Fashion Editorial Outtakes

posted by Aaron Douglas - Wassup, blogosphere?! Last weekend (Thanksgiving Weekend) we shot our very first fashion editorial for our upcoming American Boy Tour webzine (working title). The webzine is set to launch next March, so obviously I can’t share final images from this weekend’s shoot. But I can leak a few “behind-the-scenes” teasers. Not only was this shoot exciting because it was my first fashion editorial, but the fact that all the elements seemed to fall into place just in the nick of time kept the entire crew at the edge of our seats the entire two days.

It was really cool working with New York-based model Cordette Vanzant. It was my first time working with a New York City model, and I have to say he was a sweetheart and an absolute professional given the elements we encountered. Our location was not heated and temperatures were pretty close to freezing. Though he was often shirtless I never heard a single complaint from Cordette’s mouth. Speaking of location we were so blessed to be able to get access to an old industrial warehouse in Cleveland’s meat packing district for free!  A special thanks to Jonah Boles who runs the eclectic second hand store on the facility's first floor (appropriately called “The Warehouse”). Jonah not only granted us unlimited use of his merchandise for props, but helped immensely with the set design for many of our scenes. See outtakes below. Also,check out the American Boy Tour Facebook page for more images.

Above: Model Cordette Vanzant listens intensely for direction from the photographer (me). Below: Production assistant Stephen Stephens stands in for lighting adjustments.

Above: ABT webzine co-founder Keelyn Bradley assists Cordette with hair and makeup. Below: The "bar-room" scene before set dressing (as a photographer I absolutely loved all the textures this space offered).  Above: Jonah, Warehouse Shop Owner, works his set design magic. Below: Our "industrial living room" set. In my opinion the coolest of the six sets in this production.
Above: Keelyn and Cordette discuss the details of the next scene. Below: We begin day two at our outdoor location, Shaker Lake Park. Did I mention the temperature is damn near freezing?!
Below: Our final set in the production was designed to emulate the backstage dressing room of an eccentric pop star.

 A special thanks to Jonah Boles, John Boles, and Stephen Stephens for acting as our small but mighty production crew. 

About the American Boy Tour Project

American Boy Tour is a project that explores the identity of masculinity in America. Aaron Douglas, photographer, and Keelyn Bradley, writer/filmmaker, travel across the United States and parts of Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean in search of what it means to be a “man” in the 21st century. What could be more American than two single, young men traveling “the open road” (metaphorically speaking; of course we will be utilizing many modes of transportation) to document some familiar and many not so familiar images and stories that tell about the lives of common, everyday men—of many different kinds of appearance, intellect, feeling, belief, culture, and history?