Spooky season is here..

It's that time of year again. Seems like it always sneaks up on me and suddenly I'm scrambling to figure out something fun or creative to do. This year was no exception but, to be honest, I'm pretty happy with how this one worked out. While my monster cars have previously represented actual monsters of old horror stories, exception to the Ghostbusters Ecto 1 replica I photographed last year, this year was another vehicle that I took creative liberties with. As soon as I ran across a video of this monster truck that a local friend picked up, I knew it'd be a neat fit to do something with.. but I couldn't quite wrap my head around what that was. A generic monster transformation? A real life version of the Monster Truck from the animated movie? An attempt at Bigfoot in the woods? There were several options.. of which I chose none.

After taking a look at the truck in person and realizing we had limitations on where we could take it (it's not street legal and we couldn't get it started that night to actually drive it anywhere) I made a different creative choice. Since the vehicle fits the era of one of my favorite Halloween watches, Stranger Things, and since I'd not jumped on that bandwagon when everyone else was, because I didn't have an era appropriate vehicle or anything tying my subject to the show, this seemed like as good an opportunity as any.

While my previous incarnations have been static photos only, I decided to put a little extra work into this and make it animated to really hammer home the Upside Down effect. A couple of points to mention - I legit love sound design and this was a really great opportunity to play around with some. Also, I cannibalized some stock tornado images to add a little depth/texture to the Mind Flayer. Fingers crossed you noticed and it was worth the effort to more people than just myself.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

2019 Year in Review

In 2015, I decided that I wanted to start shooting cars and build stories. I hoped I'd get the chance to have my work featured in publications, backed by brands people knew all over the world. At the time, there wasn't a single reason why that should've or could've happened. So I started practicing. I photographed a variety of vehicles, even shooting some small videos to help with story telling and to dip my feet into a changing market, all with the hope of being noticed by the right people and paving the way for a future in automotive photojournalism.

In 2018, I decided that hope wasn't getting me anywhere. I teamed up with a friend who had a pretty incredible Volkswagen, we put together a fairly challenging shoot at night, released a single image and a blog post about what we hoped to accomplish, and then I actually did the leg work to get that in front of the right eyes. Instead of a quick share on Facebook or Instagram, I looked up the editor's information of the publication I wanted in, I passed on the private gallery of photos even the owner hadn't seen yet, along with some build details, and told them exactly what I wanted. Seven hours later it was green lit to be published.

2019 has been the year that my work has transcended beyond my own label, Cinemauto, and into the pages of some well known publications. While I've had a few small bits in publications before, this is the year I took control, started the conversations, and made the necessary moves to bring my dream to life. It sounds ridiculous to say that, because it's only been three publications this year, but two have landed covers. For someone who was absolutely no one this time last year, I consider that a victory.

As I write what will likely be my last entry for 2019, I'm thankful. I've had the chance to work with some really great people, to share my passion for this craft with more people than I ever imagined, and to grow as both an artist and an individual. While photojournalism will likely never be a career for me, its practice has taught me a great deal this year. Having crushed my 2019 goal, I'm excited to see what 2020 brings!

Monster Cars

A few years back I got a wild hair and wanted to try my hand at crossing my favorite holiday with my favorite hobby. Some backstory: I started my digital photography path by going to design school and learning Photoshop. This helped a lot when it came time to learn about editing RAW files and photo manipulation. So much so that I jumped into creating a small project that brought some local urban legends to life (this project was called #weirdkansas - if you’re interested, here’s Part 1 and Part 2).

Anyway, the love affair with creepy Halloween stuff led me to wonder what I could do to blend these two things. Since I was still relatively new to rigging cars, I figured it'd be a fun challenge to include a rigged car in the image.. and then it hit me. I wanted a vehicle in motion that could represent a ghost or some kind of lore. Why not rig a Mustang and shoot for a Headless Horseman vibe? So yeah - that's what I did and how I got started on this Monster Cars path.

Fast forward to September of 2019 and I'm bouncing ideas off of my wife, trying to figure out how I can mash the holiday and hobby together again. I'd long considered a Frankenstein's Monster image.. but figured I'd need something crazy tall. Then, while looking through images for inspiration, I realized that I could achieve that large monster look by shooting from above. In fact, that'd play out perfectly because it would give me an opportunity to simulate the table he laid on before being animated.

Rounding up my first set of super cheap lights that I bought back in 2010, I set to work to create a layout that would simulate Tesla coils. Adding a third light to the mix, using a flashlight and a florescent tube light cover, I created the lightning rod. Of course, I don't actually have access to a Tesla coil, so the lightning bolts themselves were brushes created in Photoshop. And my method for capturing this top down image: the DJI Phantom 4 Pro. (If I'm totally honest, I didn't think this was going to work out. I'd never done bracketing with a drone before and the wind was absolutely insane the night I shot this.. but it actually worked!)

Now, I knew for a couple years I'd been wanting to do something with Frankenstein for a future image.. but having missed a few years in between, one monster wasn't going to cut it for this year. Considering some of the other obvious choices, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy - I went for one that was a bit less common and possibly more of a challenge: the Creature.

If you've been following my work as of late, it's no surprise that I used a buddy's off-road rig to create this shot. Its ability to handle water without issue, as well as its fish eye style bumper lights and wide flared front fenders made it a great fit. All that was left to do was figure out the where and the how - and that was the simplest part of the whole thing. By the time we were done, we were sitting in a small pool of water, next to Wichita's infamous "Big Ditch," and using 16 pounds of dry ice to create the necessary fog to make the scene a bit more eerie. (If you haven't seen The Creature from the Black Lagoon - it's almost all shot during the day, totally black and white, and is cheesy as all get out.. but man does it look good for the time it was made!)

So, there's some backstory on the why behind these images, as well as some info on how they were created. If you've got questions, I've got answers - so feel free to hit me up and I'll be happy to share what I can! Happy Halloween, friends!

Gear: Sony A7RIII, Sony 24-105 f4 G OSS, DJI Phantom 4 Pro, B&W CPL, YN360, Vagabond Mini, Flashpoint Light Kit, Flashlight & Florescent Tube Cover, Flashpoint Light Stands, Manfrotto Tripod

Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop

The One With Pito's Suicidal Wheel

I first met Pito when he offered to bring a friend's LS powered Mustang out to a shoot. I was wrapping up edits on a build video for The Mutt Stang and Cinemauto and Justin (the owner) was unavailable. He tagged his buddy Pito in to drive the car to anyplace I wanted to shoot. "Wait.. Any place?" I asked.

"Any place." Pito responded. From that moment, I knew he was going to be easy to work with. Living in the middle of the country, with the flattest land you'll ever see, finding the ideal spot isn't always easy.

For the next year Pito messaged me off and on, updating me on his 4Runner build. Showing me headlights, bumpers, wheels, and everything else us lowered car enthusiasts typically overlook when we act like we understand off-roading. I wasn't biting. Not because I didn't love his vehicle. It was actually the complete opposite. I felt it was something that deserved far better than Kansas had to offer. You can't properly capture something like this just sitting in a parking lot downtown. After all, nothing crawls malls better than a Jeep.

Then, a couple months back, it hit me.. Any place? Any place. Suddenly, I remembered this crazy fashion shoot I did for a local magazine years ago. It was out at the most random rock formations you can imagine in flyover country. It's called the Castle Rock Badlands and to say it's breathtaking is an understatement.

Plans were made and the date arrived. We loaded up 4 extra people, because who doesn't love a road trip, and we hit the highway. I was thrilled to be taking a vehicle to a real location. While I've photographed a lot of cars in various areas across the Midwest, this kind of thing was definitely a first. We had plenty of water, extra memory cards and batteries, lighting equipment, a drone.. You name it, we had it.

Leading the pack in my Explorer, my crew included another three photographers with different backgrounds and experience levels. We all chatted about equipment, ideas for the shoot we were headed to, and how terrible my taste in music is. All was well and we were nearing the halfway point. It was then that I cast a quick glance to my rear view mirror, just to make sure that Pito was still hanging with us as we neared our exit. I'll never forget that moment.

I can't be sure how long I stared at the mirror while I continued to barrel down the highway but it felt like an eternity. Once I tore my gaze away and flipped on the hazards, I filled the group in. "So uh.. I think his wheel just fell off." The momentum of 3 extra bodies in the car, all quickly shifting at once to look out the rear window was noticeable. Many things were said between here and the moment we finally pulled over.. but I couldn't tell you what any of them were.

Parking in the median (it's just a big ditch, honestly), I hopped out and started jogging the highway shoulder back towards the 4Runner. I was so focused on his vehicle as I moved towards it, it took one of my passengers yelling at me to soak in what was about to happen. "His wheel is going to hit you!"

Suddenly I realized that his wheel was, in fact, headed right for me. I moved out of the way, thinking I'd let it pass. "It's going to hit your car!" informed the same passenger.

With only seconds to evaluate the situation, I decided I didn't need this off-road throwing star destroying the back of my Explorer. Having recently seen a video on Facebook where a rogue wheel found its way over the median and into the front of another SUV, I opted to not jump in front of the wheel but, instead, to attempt to kick it off balance as it passed me by. (If it's not yet clear, I may be talented behind the lens but I don't hold any awards for being brilliant in other areas of my life.)

I kicked the wheel. An off-road rated wheel and tire assembly, traveling at nearly 60mph toward my car (and potentially oncoming traffic), and I kicked it. My leg goes full fettuccini on me. The wheel wobbles and loses speed.. but not enough. It hits the car with a sound my passengers later tell me sounded like a body being thrown into a parked car. Heck, they thought it was my body.

I hobble my way back over to the Explorer to inspect the damage. It's not terrible and definitely less than it would've been had I let the wheel hit it in full force. Pito meets us halfway between his 4Runner and the Explorer to tell us what happened. The wheel is actually from his trailer and it looks as though the brake had locked up while driving. The good news is that we could ditch the trailer and keep going. The bad news is that the median about half a mile back was now on fire and it was growing.

Hopping back into the Explorer, we flip around in the ditch and prepare to join the ranks of volunteer fire fighters. Much to my relief, driving a relatively new Ford Explorer in the color of white, oncoming traffic opts to slow way down as they see us preparing to re enter traffic. Providing us with the window needed to relocate to the small grass fire, we take it and we make it.

Remember my earlier brag about plenty of water? Praise be! Passing out bottles of water to a couple of my passengers, we run through the grass and begin dumping water on the areas yet to be ablaze. After several bottles disappear quickly, another passenger suggests stomping out the flames. With a shrug, I sacrifice my year old Nikes to a better cause. Minutes later, it's done and we've won.

Once the entire situation is under control, local law enforcement arrives on the scene. After 45 minutes of questions and a few photos, the Saline County Sheriffs officers let us return to the highway to complete our mission. We load up, we ship out, and we finish off the trip with some incredible views, plenty of laughs, and some fantastic content for Tread magazine.