Sunday Morning Shoot With Claudia and Nikki

Yesterday, I had the privilege to work with both Claudia Snow and Nikk Noir

I'm no stranger to working with Nikk...She does absolutely AMAZING work and comes up with fantastic ideas last minute, when my brain ceases to function (she pinned up a sheet I had bought from Walmart to look like a freaking SWEET bustled robe, not to mention that fantastic makeup thing she does).

Claudia was absolutely hilarious. Our correspondence back and forths never involved talking on the phone (I fucking HATE phones- emails and texts are my preferred choice of communication, solely because I have self-proclaimed telephone retardation), therefore, I had NO clue she had moved here from Germany only 3 years ago. So, my point is, she had one of the most amazing accents I've ever heard.

Here's some photos from the shoot:

Despised Icon- Last MA Show Footage

Oddly enough, I didn't take a SINGLE photo of this show. I felt in my heart that I needed to video tape this- and let's face it: I have quite a few photos of Despised Icon that I've taken over the years, and the show was so crazy that photos wouldn't do it justice.


The show was bitter sweet. Great to see them play, but INCREDIBLY sad knowing this was the last time we'd all be seeing them. They've ALWAYS been a bunch of amazing dudes. From interviews to photos, they've always been incredibly gracious to us and others.


I wish nothing but the best for all of them in their future endeavors.

Here's some videos of the show from The Waterfront in MA:

Ali Part Trois

I was lucky enough to catch Ali before she went back to LA (where she recently moved). Her brother and sister-in-law were nice enough to let us shoot in their (VERY nice) house, and were SO supportive and friendly.

We decided to shoot in the garage, toting our bags of random wardrobe into the boiling-hot room. We literally did this shoot fairly spur-of-the-moment, and (just like our last shoot) successfully pieced together what I think was some amazing pieces, including a steam-punk monocle and an old Aviator Cap that Chuck found while cleaning out an old foreclosed house. I'm a total believer of of "One man's junk, another man's treasure...".

Here's a few photos:

Amy and Aaron's Wedding.

Here's a few shots of Amy and Aaron's wedding from Derry, NH. A little hot out, but a perfect day, nonetheless.

Rockband Stuff.

A photo I took of The Acacia Strain is featured on the official Rock Band video game website. Sweet!

Check It Out Here

The Dillinger Escape Plan- Warped Tour, Oceanport, NJ

Parkway Drive- Warped Tour, Uniondale, NY

Andrew WK- Warped Tour, Uniondale, NY

Suicide Silence- Warped Tour, Hartford, CT

Suicide Silence. Summer Breakdown Fest. JFK Ice Arena, Manchester, NH. July 12th, 2010

The Acacia Strain- Cool Tour- Sonar, Baltimore, MD

Concerts, Concerts, Concerts

In the next few weeks, I'll be posting my favorite photos from various tours/concerts/music-related STUFF. Look our for pictures from Warped Tour, Cool Tour, Summer Slaughter Tour, Over The Limit Tour, Transmission Fest, and other rad stuff.

To see ALL the photos, visit my other website at www.themetalunion.com

Lamb Of God- Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA. Rockstar Mayhem Festival

Winds Of Plague- Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA. Rockstar Mayhem Festival

Suicide Silence Group Shots

The dudes in Suicide Silence have always been great. Humble, friendly and just an all around amazing bunch of people, we were extremely happy to have been able to spend the past couple days with them (we're covering a bunch of Warped Tour dates, and heck...They're playing Warped Tour). This photo is from a Warped Tour off-date that was played at the JFK Coliseum in Manchester, NH. I played hockey there for YEARS growing up. When I was a kid, sitting in these same locker rooms gearing up for a 5am Saturday morning game, I couldn't even fathom the fact that,. years later, I'd be doing band promos in them. Talk about full circle.

For video of the show, visit TheMetalUnion

More Band Promos- The Atlas Collapse

I took some photos of my friend Bryan's band last night (The Atlas Collapse- Whom are playing July 12th at the JFK Colliseum in Manchester, NH with Whitechapel, Suicide Silence, Emmure). Here's a preview photo of the shoot:

Few Band Promos

Recently, I took some promo shots of Jamie's band "Motivations" (from the NH area). This is the first time I've given up my original files, without any post-processing. I was excited to see what photographer/graphic artist/photo retoucher Louis Botha (from australia) was going to do with the photos: I was REALLY pleased! Here's a few shots:

NHS- Salmon Building Video

This is the Crown Jewel of abandoned buildings.

The Salmon Building:
The Salmon building at Norwich State Hospital, Connecticut's second public insane asylum, founded in 1904, was a building built for male forensic patients, those found not guilty by reason of insanity. An original construction building, part of the initial footprint of the hospital campus, Salmon was a milestone in terms of the construction of psychiatric hospital buildings for the violent insane. Every window was barred with prison-style 2/3 inch thick iron bars built into the brick, as well as a heavy mesh screen. In order to move down the ward, the door ahead would only be unlocked when the one behind was closed - airlock style - which would insure that even in the event that a patient escaped his room, he wasn't going far.
In nearly 70 years of operation, not a single escape was recorded from Salmon.

Video taken with a Canon 5dMII, with a Canon L 17-40mm Lens.

Flanking the Administration building, in direct contrast with the Kirkbride plan which dictated that violent patients would be housed far from the administrators, Salmon was echoed by a female forensic unit named Awl, which was situated on the other side of the Administration building.

If you are interested in the History of NSH, Visit these links:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

My 30-something-ish Trip To NSH (Photo Blog Part 1 Of The Trip)

Visited the infamous NSH yesterday with 3 good friends of mine. Took TONS of photos (a bunch of self-portraits, as well- Hey, I LOVE that place, and I wanted more photos of ME in it) and some video as well, both standard definition and hi-definition.

I shot with as low an ISO setting as possible, but in a place like this, the settings change so many times it'd be pointless to say what I used for each photo. Most of the morning (when the sun was first coming up), I would take 30-second exposures on ISO 100 (and bump it up only when needed). I've found that it's EXTREMELY hard not to get light blowouts in abandoned places- it's dark inside, but the light POURS through the windows.

Here are some photos from the trip:

Throwback Video- Killswitch Engage

Here's a video I took last year while on tour with the Rockstar Mayhem Fest. I believe this was in Florida, August 2009. KSE- My Last Serenade (Tampa, FL)

6/18/10 Shoot Preview

I shot Sera today in Manchester, NH, in a warehouse and a VERY large, Ninja-Turtle-Sized sewer drain that I found YEARS ago, and have been meaning to re-visit.

As per usual, my shots were taken with a Canon 5dMII using a Canon L 17-40mm F4 lens, using only natural light (no reflectors, portable lights, etc). Wardrobe was all me (Tank GOD for freaking ebay).

Here's a preview of some of the images; I'll be posting more in the next few days:

I will put the rest of the photos underneath this page break (so, naturally, you have to read the REST of this post)