I recently hopped on a FaceTime call with Marissa Nadler to shoot some photos. I’d been a fan of her music since 2006, so I was super stoked to be collaborating with her. I shot through a range of materials, covering five setups in the hour-long session. After I sent over the images she decided to use the above photo for the cover of her new covers EP.
Read MoreMetal Hammer Magazine: Lamb of God
Back in February I had the opportunity to photograph the metal legends Lamb of God in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia. I was told that the theme of the story was revolution so I began to brainstorm ideas for lighting, pose, and technique that would match. We used orange as the color palette, giving a nod to Russian propaganda posters. I also decided to give a nod to the infamous NWA album cover for Straight Outta Compton.
Read MoreRemote Photo Shoot with Code Orange
This past week I had the pleasure of photographing one of my favorite bands, Code Orange. The band was about to perform their album release show for their latest album, Underneath, right when COVID-19 hit the US. Rather than leave their fans in the dark, they performed in the empty venue and live streamed it for their fans. While I not only appreciated being able to experience their performance myself, I also resonated with their quick thinking and willingness to adapt to current societal conditions.
Read MoreStrata VII
It’s been a while since I’ve explored the Strata series. The reason why I started this experimental series almost a year ago was in an effort to take my portraits into a more painterly realm. Digital can be so hyperreal and “accurate” and I often find it quite boring. I want tactility. Grit. I experimented with shooting through different substances, such as honey or coconut oil. I shot through different types of plastics, using everytinhg from saran wrap and bubble wrap to light panels from the hardware store. I explored different ways of capturing reflections by using broken mirrors and mylar. My goal was discovery. I want an element of chaos and surprise in how I create photographs, and so I set up a series of controlled photo experiments to see what came out of it.
Read MoreRJD2: The Fun Ones Photo Shoot
In late 2018 my buddy RJ (aka RJD2) approached me about shooting the cover art for an upcoming album he was working on. He didn’t have a concrete idea about what he wanted to do but suggested possibly involving his Delorean. He was specific about the images not being about the car itself but rather capturing elements of the cars shape and incorporating them into creative portraits. I was intrigued but really couldn’t visualize what the hell he was talking about. Eight months later he hit me up and told me he was ready to shoot. He said that he had a garage that he’d just painted white that had a 14-foot ceiling with trusses. His plan was to suspend himself upside down above the open doors of his Delorean, and seemed confident that he could rig himself adequately with a climbing harness and some ropes. When I suggested that it may be easier to just shoot him and the car separately and composite them he was aghast. Ok, we’ll do it the hard way.
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Making it Happen with Ho99o9
I came across an album United States of Horror by Ho99o9 in 2017 by a band that I not only hadn’t heard before but whose name I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce (it’s horror, by the way). I’m not typically drawn to hardcore music but something about their energy was magnetic. The way they merged crunchy guitars with trap beats had stirred up something deep in me. Their messages carried messages of unification and hope by way of rebellion that I found to be especially important, given the current state of affairs in our country. I probably listened to the album 30 times over the span of a month. I listened to it as I walked home from my studio; as I ran errands; as I edited at my computer. Each time I heard it, images would start to form in my head. I had to figure out a way to shoot with these guys…
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Chelsea Wolfe: American Darkness Tour
I’ve been a fan of Chelsea Wolfe’s music since I first heard “Moses” off of her first album, nearly a decade ago. I first began collaborating with her in 2013 on her Unknown Rooms acoustic tour, and we’ve since shot together eight times. Whenever she heads out on a tour I make it a point to not only catch her show but also squeeze in a quick shoot. This past month I drove up to Detroit to catch her American Darkness tour at Smalls for some conversation, music, and of course photos…
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Shoot Diary: Korn X Revolver Magazine
Last month when I was on set for the Starset shoot I received a text from my buddy Jimmy, the photo editor at Revolver magazine. He asked if I would be interested in shooting Korn in LA on Thursday. As in three days away. The band was planning a private release show for Friday the 13th, in anticipation of the release of their 13th album, The Nothing. My response? “Definitely.”
Read MoreStarset Divisions Press Shoot
My buddies at Tension Division worked with Columbus natives Starset on the design of their latest release, Divisions. The shoot was split into two separate days, with the first focused on getting a range of studio portraits for use on streaming and social platforms, and the second focused more on getting dramatic press photos of the band. The only issue was that I had less than three days to prepare for the location shoot, no additional budget to procure said location, and finding the requested “post-apocalytpic film set” in Ohio was no short order. However, I wasn’t worried in the slightest as I knew the perfect spot…
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Ghost Soul Trio
I recently worked with Ghost Soul Trio, an indie-pop band from Columbus. Since music is such a huge passion of mine and especially because I lack the skills to create songs of my own, I always embrace the chance to visually collaborate with musicians. Though we only had an hour to work with, we came away with a range of visuals that mirror the vibrant notes that are so present in their music.
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Korn- The Nothing
When Brandon Rike and Joel Cook, the creative duo behind Tension Division, texted me and asked if I wanted to shoot content for Korn’s upcoming album, I kinda freaked out a little. To this day I still listen to Korn’s self-titled debut album. Their music helped me through a great deal of trauma in my teen years.
At first we were trying to figure out how to shoot an actual human suspended by wires for the cover. Our plan was to use an aerial artist, suspended by a harness and wrapped in wires. Ultimately they decided it’d be better to 3D render the cover, which has the “hollow man” appearance that they were after. They reached out to 3D artist Nate Rodriguez-Vera to render the image, which was also animated into a music video. I shot a bunch of supplementary images of wires and cables to be used in the album, online, and on merch.
It was a blast to not only collaborate once again with my friends (and brilliant creatives), but to also collaborate in a small way with teenage idols of mine.
Knocked Loose X Revolver Magazine
Back in April I hit the road to Pittsburgh, on assignment for Revolver to photograph Knocked Loose. The Kentucky hardcore band was on tour promoting their upcoming album, A Different Shade of Blue. I had one hour to set up and shoot five scenarios for a cover feature, all in the venue’s *ahem* modest green room…
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On Self-Assignments and Getting Discovered
I have photographers regularly email me, asking for advice on how to make a living doing photography. Aside from the obvious things like assist other photographers or work on building your network, I always say if there isn’t work coming in, make work for yourself. I’m talking about self-assignments.
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The Numerical Values of Color (Goethe's Theory)
As a portrait photographer, the thought of creating a balanced composition with your subject, pose, and background is no easy task. Once you factor in the added layer of color, achieving balance in an image is even more tricky. If only there were some kind of system that could be used to determine how much color to use in a composition to each balance…
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