See a video produced by Kelly Kerr for the OCCJ “This Machine” Campaign. You’ll see me doing my thing:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Naturally I brought some of my friends into the campaign, like singer/songwriter Ryan Lindsey, photos below. As you will see, I went through a pretty significant warm/polaroid aesthetic phase over the last few months…

Ryan was recording at the historic Church Studios in Tulsa with the engineers from Black Watch Studios in Norman, OK. During downtime, I took Ryan around and played with light..

Singer/songwriter and actress Jenny Labow (below) was a force in the local scene a few years ago, before she moved to LA to be closer to the industry. She still comes back to town regularly, and we were happy to have her join the campaign.

Although I like to have a plan for shoots most of the time, these were totally off-the-cuff, and a lot of fun to create.

Johnny Polygon was coming to town from his base in LA as well. I knew Johnny years ago when he lived in Tulsa. At the time he was in the band Omnichron, a really great band in it’s day. We shot his OCCJ spot in Cain’s Ballroom before his sold-out show and did some outtakes afterward.

Another artist in the hip-hop realm who as -ahem- also moved to LA to advance his career, is P.D.A. We’ve worked together quite a bit, and I regard him as a friend. He was able to do a spot for the campaign while he was in town for shows.

I thought it would be a good idea to stay in a similar vein as the SHOUT IT OUT album art for the shoot, i.e. hand painted primary colors. So I had this idea, and luckily it worked.

We tried a few setups. The shot Paper Mag decided to use was a humorous outtake (below) when Taylor held the camera upside down. They all laughed once they noticed, and I snapped.

Not only did we get messy with paint, we cleaned up, and got some nice shots of that as well

The guys liked the shots so much that they’ve decided to make posters out of a couple of these. So you’re getting a sneak preview.

I try to cook up unique ideas for every shoot. This time I had the idea to play with a cheesy old effect made by a Multi-image filter, a goofy thing that was popular in the 1960s and 70s. When used as intended, it mirrors a centered image, usually a face around the frame, like a prism. I decided to misuse it for my purposes. Trying to get it to work for me was like Jazz – improvising in the moment, as any slight movement would completely change the composition. None of these images were created in photoshop, it’s all in-camera besides some levels and color adjustments, etc.

To add to the psychedelic effect, we incorporated quirky birds, nests, horns, feathers, flowers and colors. I think the shoot was a total success.

Samantha’s music is flavored with folk/Americana, though the new album is decidedly indie rock. I really enjoy of pulling out personality in my photos. Samantha can seem shy at times, but has a fun loving quirky personality.

Then we went for classic despair. I gathered some dead limbs from and built a vignette by clamping them to stands.

I prefer the contrast of the versions below.

Because a lot of her image was anchored in a bucolic setting up to now, I wanted to go more urban, lonely, brooding. Below, she’s at the Tulsa Greyhound station, far from a placid field or farmhouse.

This is solo artist Ben Rector. I stopped in for the day while Ben was recording at Black Watch Studios in Norman, OK. We did a bit of shooting between takes with a trusty old Polaroid that once belonged to my Grandpa. More on the folks of Black Watch below.

Next up are new posters for HANSON. During a break in tour rehearsal, The guys came to the studio for a quick shoot. BUY a poster here.

I met up with Have Fun Dying on a warm Fall night. We had a lot of fun, well, I did.  I somehow talked them into being buried in leaves, and spray painting his bare chest (below).

Next is a band called Monkey Bones. I’ve been waiting for the right band to put under the bare highway overpasses with the 14mm.

Below is The Mojo Dogs. That sunset was EPIC.

More from Black Watch Studios, the sweet 70s wall rug and theremin shot with a Lensbaby.

This is Chad Copelin, musician and producer extraordinaire.

Jared Evans

Below is painter, drummer and handsome devil Nathan Price.

Next week I’ll share new Dwight Twilley, Red Alert and Kawnar shots and more…

P.D.A.’s concept for the album art hinged around the double entendre ‘Wasted Talent’ – both people with potential who aren’t living up to it, and literally being ‘wasted’ from a party lifestyle. The mood of the photography needed to feel a touch forboding – the dark side to a party atmosphere. P.D.A. is a graphic artist as well, and designed the album art. Regarding lighting for the cover – a spot light. The vignetting was done in-camera.

Regarding the lighting for  the back cover spread below, a spot light on P.D.A., and a diffused light bounced from the ceiling to bring up the ambient levels.

After we wrapped P.D.A.’s shoot, we shot a few portraits of Matt “Lip” Stevens of Fat Lip Entertainment/ Yeah Siam Records.

Pianist Brian Haas has been working on an interpretation of Beethoven’s 3rd and 6th symphony for years now, and the project, a collaboration with a full symphony, is finally going to happen this winter. And there you have the crux of this idea. Brian Haas, Chris Combs, Josh Raymer, and Matt Hayes as baroque busts. We ended up toning down the original idea which required full white makeup. But I feel comfortable with the result. Try not to notice the ugly columns. Yes, I was too lazy to shoot real columns to fit.

See the cover of the Urban Tulsa Weekly, and read the article by Erin Fore, seriously good writing.

Below are some live shots as well, also see an older post of JFJO.

Let’s get the creepiest one off the table. This is bro/sis electronic duo Stevedore. Their music, which is marked by retro synths and drum machines, really has nothing in common with these shots. But Jeff thought “parity,” and I went along. We constructed a set with found objects from the warehouse, the key being the sweet absynthe dispenser. I think we nailed the worm-wooded mentality. I should tell you about the ‘magic shop’ with the surgical table and other hospital accoutrements. Oh, and live doves. But i won’t.

Above and below is rock band Eric and the Adams. Eric Himan brought bro/sis duo (again?) on drums(Angela) and bass (Jimmy) to fill and add a rougher edge to his sound. It’s working. They are touring their buns off.

The young kids are full of energy and style and can pretty much be talked into anything. So I thought, ‘let’s handle some raw beef’.  The modern pop punk rock band Head Over Hills gladly obliged. Below, it’s carnivores vs. herbivores.

We held all kinds of fun meat themed events such as “taunt the bulldog” and “meat ball” which has the same rules as wall ball, but the meat doesn’t bounce.

Also, there were “Balls Here.” Just FYI.

Let’s see. You want something less offensive and/or wrong? Below is one of my favorite new bands Crocodile. I was in their hometown (Oklahoma City) shooting several assignments.  We met up for a quickie, but it was a good one, and we’ve become friends since. A fantabulous new shoot is in the works. The first shot below can be seen in this months’ Oklahoma Magazine.

Below is one of my favorites from a shoot with the Christian rock band Skyline Circle.

The band below is called Redwood Rising.

You tired of this long post yet? Too bad. Below is another quick shoot for the band Wighead. Good times at the wig store.

Refuse Thy Name (below) is hard rock which is always a fun time for me. There is  an endless palette of decay around here. Right after we took this shot, we had to leave in a hurry – there was a cantankerous man with a gun (supposedly) threatening us, who was in retrospect really just trying to get some money.  Not only was my life threatened, but I got a TERRIBLE case of the poison ivies. It was worth it.

See that shot below left? I was standing in poison ivy. Ya, it sucked.

Next is William Joseph Band. That’s  Mr. Joseph on the right. I somehow keep finding new abandoned buildings to invade for photoshoots. This one was particularly sweet with a beat up old  piano, old paper documents and books, and a collapsed ceiling that emitted awesome soft light. Great for a polaroid. This is actually scanned polaroid, not photoshop.

Good times with the polaroid and accidents can end up being pretty compelling. Left is a 4x multiple exposure, right is me totally messing up loading the film. Northern Lights.

Above is William and Nicholae, of William Joseph Band. TTFN, Ta Ta For Now.

I’ve gotten to know the Red Dirt Rangers over the past few years. Great guys, and one of the hardest working bands around. I especially respect their dedication to their roots and their state – Oklahoma. Although they have been known as a “Red Dirt” band, their influences are far more diverse than the country-leaning acts Cross Canadian Ragweed and Jason Boland and the Stragglers.

The shot above is my favorite. I scouted ahead of time and found Post Oak Lodge up in the Osage Hills near Tulsa to be a great spot that reinforced the vibe of their music. It wasn’t the greatest time of day for photos (it rarely works out that way) so we set up in the shade of a tree to help me control the light with a strobe and minimize squinting eyes.

I had a problem though. It was super windy and I had no assistance, which made the use of a softbox, umbrella, or the like impossible. So I popped in a wider grid spot which did the trick.  By the way, those clouds aren’t real. The sky was blank, so I added them in post and I think it helped greatly.

What do you think?

In my opinion, photography is about ideas, not the technical stuff. Every once in a while I get a big idea. Whether I know how to technically accomplish it is an afterthought. Luckily, with the help of my friend Joe, we came up with the concept of the Light belt. I needed a light to emanate from the torso, stay securely attached, and not restrict movement. So we attached a strobe to one of my old belts with wire and tape, and incorporated a plastic globe to distribute the light evenly.

The idea was to portray them as spirit beings, as supernatural. We set out late at night for the shores of Lake Keystone. They got naked. Totally naked. Fortunately we had plenty of Off on hand.

Although this isn’t the best shot possible, we only had enough time for this one setup. Nathan Price wasn’t able to make it, and it was getting late. Stay tuned for a series of these shots for Native Lights album art.

Here is a test shot with Joe, and my daughter Lily experiencing the Light belt: