In 2024 I've traveled more than any other year in my life. I've had the privilege of shooting 5 of the 12 covers for Decibel Magazine's 2024 calendar year. Many thanks to Michael and Albert at the magazine for this amazing opportunity.
The January issue was shot in Ely, Minnesota. This was with Austin Lunn of the blackmetal band Panopticon. Ely is in Northern Minnesota and basically the middle of nowhere. We hiked deep into the bush and used the unique scenery as a backdrop. It rained 80% of the time so the whole process took two days of starting and stopping to finally get everything we needed. I don't think I've ever seen so many lakes in my life!
The May issue was the first of 3 trips this year to Oakland. This one was with deathmetal band Necrot. We shot it on the roof of their rehearsal space. There had just been a huge storm in the Bay Area (which really screwed up my flights) so we managed to capture the threatening skies in the background.
For the July issue I went to Phoenix for the first time and photographed Gatecreeper. It's a cool city surrounded by some spectacular national/state parks. We shot out in the desert on a cold windy evening. The vibe was perfect. The giant cactus made for some great set dec too.
The September issue was back to Oakland to shoot the old school deathmetal band Autopsy (totally an honour). This trip was less rushed and we made use of the very dilapidated condition of Oakland as our background for some of the shots. I also got to make up a big batch of fake blood for this one and bloody up the studio backdrop and some drumsticks. The guys were such good sports!
And then it was off to Germany to catch The Black Dahlia Murder in the middle of a European festival tour. I arrived a day late due to a missed flight and frantically made my way from Frankfurt to Wurzburg (about a 2.5 hour drive). I had a studio lined up there and arrived with about 30 minutes to spare. The only catch was I then had to find a birthday cake as it was going to be the main prop for the shoot (this was for the 20th anniversary cover). Fortunately Germany is not a place that's short of desserts so I found a cake fairly handily. This was my second cover shoot with the boys of TBDM and we ultimately shot a very fun and celebratory cover. Seeing Bavaria for the first time was certainly a bonus. I'd love to go back next year.
Just a couple weeks ago I was back in Oakland shooting another cover with another legacy band for next year's April issue.
The opportunity to work with all these amazing musicians and see all these great places has been truly humbling.
The January issue was shot in Ely, Minnesota. This was with Austin Lunn of the blackmetal band Panopticon. Ely is in Northern Minnesota and basically the middle of nowhere. We hiked deep into the bush and used the unique scenery as a backdrop. It rained 80% of the time so the whole process took two days of starting and stopping to finally get everything we needed. I don't think I've ever seen so many lakes in my life!
The May issue was the first of 3 trips this year to Oakland. This one was with deathmetal band Necrot. We shot it on the roof of their rehearsal space. There had just been a huge storm in the Bay Area (which really screwed up my flights) so we managed to capture the threatening skies in the background.
For the July issue I went to Phoenix for the first time and photographed Gatecreeper. It's a cool city surrounded by some spectacular national/state parks. We shot out in the desert on a cold windy evening. The vibe was perfect. The giant cactus made for some great set dec too.
The September issue was back to Oakland to shoot the old school deathmetal band Autopsy (totally an honour). This trip was less rushed and we made use of the very dilapidated condition of Oakland as our background for some of the shots. I also got to make up a big batch of fake blood for this one and bloody up the studio backdrop and some drumsticks. The guys were such good sports!
And then it was off to Germany to catch The Black Dahlia Murder in the middle of a European festival tour. I arrived a day late due to a missed flight and frantically made my way from Frankfurt to Wurzburg (about a 2.5 hour drive). I had a studio lined up there and arrived with about 30 minutes to spare. The only catch was I then had to find a birthday cake as it was going to be the main prop for the shoot (this was for the 20th anniversary cover). Fortunately Germany is not a place that's short of desserts so I found a cake fairly handily. This was my second cover shoot with the boys of TBDM and we ultimately shot a very fun and celebratory cover. Seeing Bavaria for the first time was certainly a bonus. I'd love to go back next year.
Just a couple weeks ago I was back in Oakland shooting another cover with another legacy band for next year's April issue.
The opportunity to work with all these amazing musicians and see all these great places has been truly humbling.
