TRONmas 2010!

It's Officially Christmas, and I can't sleep due to my throbbing wrists (Holding the baby for hours has done wonders on my carpal tunnel. Not.) and probably excitement for the arrival of Santa, I want to share our 2010 Shea Family Christmas Card.

Now that the little dude is with us and celebrating his first Christmas, I have instilled a Tradition that I have wanted to create for Years. Working the Shea family Christmas Card around a movie scene from a classic film. Now for this year we had many titles go back and forth, but in the end we decided on Tron: Legacy (luckily the #1 movie in the country this week) I designed a Photo based on the new film, to incorporate Melanie, Victor & myself in this universe. (You know how hard it is to get a good shot of a 6 Week old in Studio? Hard enough to where I had to photoshop in his entire right arm. Yep, its not real.) Check out the photo below, and if you were lucky to be one of the 48 people we sent cards to, hope you enjoyed it!

Stay tuned for next year's, I'm sure it will be epic!

Photoshoot Memories: The Misfits

The Misfits are my all time favorite band. Officially. There's not much more one can ask for then Horror Movies and Punk Music. Put those together, and you have one most triumphant combination. I listen to everything from the Danzig Era, through the Graves era, and yes, I even enjoy the newer stuff with Jerry Only on vocals. (Huge fan of the new Acoustic Graves stuff as well!) My home is decorated with Misfits poster art, and I play drums in a Misfits cover band, Green Hell. So you could say I'm somewhat of a fan.

For the past 4 years, I've had the opportunity to shoot the Misfits, as they came through Florida every year. Ironically as Jerry has gotten older, the music has gotten faster and the energy incredible. This past show on December 4th in Orlando, was no exception. To think of a non-mainstream band, who has been around for 30 years (and had constant multiple lineup changes) can still pack a house and pull a punch, is wicked impressive to me. I'll continue hitting up the shows every year, until Jerry retires, or is playing the Bass from a wheelchair in a nursing home in New Jersey. Fiend Club 4 Life.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the past 4 years...






If you haven't heard of The Misfits, or have never seen one of their Crimson Ghost emblems (probably one of the most prominent images on the planet in Music), then jesus man, check them out!

PHOTOSHOOT: Tara

Last week while juggling changing diapers, finalizing a script and trying to catch some shut-eye, I received a lovely phone call from my good friend, accomplice and star of our Award-Winning short film, 2:22 & Award-Winning Feature film Doomsday County, Tara Lightfoot. Tara, (who besides being a wicked talented actress, is also an insanely talented Fashion model) had stumbled to the conclusion that she needed some new Commercial shots for her portfolio, and had decided to call in one of the 1062 favors that I would forever be indebted to her, for all of the crazy things I have put her through. I of course oblidged (Though happy, natural commercial shots are not my favorite), and we knocked out a few looks, utilizing the University of Central Florida Campus. It was definitely odd shooting Tara without throwing blood, or Alien goo, or some kind of staining liquid at her... We'll save that for the next shoot!





To see more of Tara or to book her, please visit her website here.

Model: Tara Lightfoot
Shot on Location: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Natural

PHOTOSHOOT: Kelly Jo, Michaela & L.T.

For round two of the filming for our friend's at WJRR 101.1's Hot Tub Huddle website, I was introduced to local Orlando models Kelly Jo & Michaela.



Kelly Jo, I had previously seen rocking the Bass guitar in the girl group, Heroine, and also sporting the sash as the current Miss Monster (crowned from the Monsters in the Morning Radio Show)




Michaela, I had seen in the indie film, "Scare Zone", in which I visited the set and got to play a raunchy crowd member, waiting to get into a Haunted house.



While dodging the rain (a seemingly traditional occurrence for Hot Tub Huddle shoots), we had a good time, coming up with multiple setups and looks to fill the 6 weeks of content. Also this time, we did a more personal photoshoot with L.T., the Host of Hot Tub Huddle, and co-host of the Crash Morning Program on WJRR.



Check out the Official Website for more photos, and hear who the Ladies think will be heating up in the NFL.

Models: Kelly Jo, Michaela, L.T.
Shot on Location: Orlando, FL
Canon 5D Mark II, 55mm f/1.4 Canon Lens & 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 800 & 1600

Victor Kiilerich Shea.

Remember, remember the 1st of November. A day which will live in infamy. The birth of my son, Victor Kiilerich Shea.

Halloween this year seemed a day like any other. We ran some errands, and prepared to pass out candy and watch the Walking Dead series premiere with some friends...a day also filled with something that I've never experienced on a fall holiday before...Contractions. Melanie had them off and on throughout the day, and being 1st time parents, worried about making a false alarm, we shrugged them off, waiting until the pain was almost unbearable. We called off the shindig, and headed downtown to the Winnie Palmer Memorial Hospital.

Upon arrival at about 9:30pm, she was admitted, placed in room 2112, and the epidural went in. We were shooting for Halloween (obviously planned from 9 months ago), but he just wanted to stay in a little longer... After a few hours of sleeping and pushing, our little dude came into this world at 3:50am, November 1st, 2010. 6.6lbs, 19.5 inches long. He had dark hair and dark bluezel (hazelly blue) eyes. He was named, Victor (after multiple different references, but mainly because we liked it the most, our little "Champion") Kiilerich (Melanie's Father's middle name, 4 generations of her family is named this) Shea (Shea stands for Awesome).

Outside the door like a paparazzi, was Unkie Birch, desperate to grab a photo of the little guy (he tried to burst in during labor, but the Nurse shoo'ed him out). Over the next few hours Victor was visited by a few friends and family, as we made our transition to our recovery room on the 8th floor. 2 more days in the hospital, and we were sent home, ready to let Victor loose on the world (and dress him in many cute and awesome outfits to be used as blackmail later in life)

PHOTOSHOOT: The Monsters

A while back it was decided that I was going to be the lucky photographer (out of around 40 applicants I heard) to shoot the new promo photo for the world famous, Monsters of the Morning. A radio show that has offended audiences in the Central Florida market (and now world market thanks to XM Radio, IHeartRadio & The Internet) for years. When booked to shoot the new promo photos for Host, Russ Rollins, I was asked to shoot the whole Monster crew. Here is the new "Movie Poster" design that we went with. I understand that they will be printed into full 24x36 posters and distributed around Orlando to fans.


Also, here is a video that Daniel shot while everyone hung out in my Kitchen, waiting for Drunky The Bear to arrive...


See more of the Monsters at their Official Website.

Tech Specs:
Models: Daniel Dennis, Tiffany Martin, Russ Rollins, Dirty Jim, Drunky the Bear
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 1600, 800 & Ring Flash

Interview with Indie Cinema Showcase

Our good buddies John Thiesen, Tim Anderson, and Gerry Godbout run a local Orlando television show called Indie Cinema Showcase, that focuses on local filmmakers and gives advice and information on the film industry. I had the pleasure of sitting down as a (last minute) interviewee on their episode themed around Music Videos. The show screens our "2:22 (It's Time To Die)" video we had done for the band Cryptidz, as well as work from our friends Adam ArNali & David Bermejo. I'll let it speak for itself below...

PHOTOSHOOT: Empyrean

Our buddies in Empyrean, a very popular Orlando Metal group, had called upon me once again to shoot a new promotional photo for the band. Last time we shot was in a darkened corner of the Fiddler's Green Tavern, so this time we decided to kick it up a notch. After the controversial Music Video I directed for them, it was mandatory.

I shot each of the members individually with the plans to composite them into this Vatican-ish dungeon bathhouse room deal. I like to think it came out fairly metal.

Check out the band on their Official Website.


^Click Image for Full Sized Photo

Tech Specs:
Models: Empyrean
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 1600 and 800

PHOTOSHOOT: Mary Allison

Our buddies at WJRR have a new concept that I think might fly. Football picks by attractive bikini bearing females in a jacuzzi. Check it out at HotTubHuddle.com I did some behind the scenes photography and set ups with the super Real Rock Girl, Mary Allison. Shooting at this insane Pool at a home in Sanford, FL. (Fiber optic lighting in the grotto, most excellent!) Unfortunately there was a monsoon scheduled for that day, which held up shooting for hours. Luckily we had this fantastic manor to grab some inside shots.







Model: Mary Allison
Shot on Location: Sanford, FL
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 800

The Babymoon.

From what I understand, upon the arrival of your firstborn child, it is customary to create a getaway as your last trip as independent adults. The last time you will be alone without a dependent. The Babymoon. Melanie and I decided to abuse the extended Labor Day weekend and plan a mini-adventure. We left Orlando at 6:30pm on Friday for the 8 hour drive to Gulf Breeze, FL, a place I had always wanted to visit since childhood, with a small reputation for being a U.F.O. hotspot. (Not a surprise being 5 miles from a large Air Force Base) We arrived, crashed at the hotel for a few hours, and drove the long stretch of Gulf Shore islands down through Destin, stopping on the sides to check out the white beaches, and oil spill cleanup crews. After dodging the Emerald Coast (a name given by the large amounts of algae in the water, in which people were still super stoked to swim in) we settled on a nice dune on Pensacola Beach.


After getting only a minimal amount of oil on Melanie's foot (which I'm sure is great for the Baby) we headed north to the lost city of Atlanta. I had booked a hotel across the street from the Center of Disease Control (a main location in a new feature script I have recently finished) We grabbed some footage (lurking in the treeline away from the suspicious security guards) to be saved for later use.
The next day we headed to our main destination, the Georgia Aquarium, famed for supposedly being the largest Aquarium in the world. We had a blast checking out the enormous Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, Jelly Fish, Electric Eels, Beluga Whales, Piranha, and the lone Sea Turtle, nestled in the "Georgia Explorer" exhibit.


At the end of the day, we swung by the massive DragonCon convention, saying Hi to some friends, and checking out the insane costumes (Werewolf Ghostbusters?) Dinner was had at the famous Vortex Bar & Grill, where you can get the SUPER-STACK HEART ATTACK BURGER. Two half-pound sirloin patties stacked inside three grilled cheese sandwiches, topped with two fried eggs, eight slices of American cheese, ten slices of bacon, with plenty of mayo on the side. I regrettably had to pass.


Our last day was spent with a quick trip to the Atlanta Underground (which looked interesting in the advertisement, but then swiftly turned mega ghetto upon arrival). After a GPS meltdown, we routed to the famous Dreamland BBQ, and chowed down before our 9hr drive home. The portly middle aged mustache wearing male server was kind enough to offer my very pregnant wife a beer with her ribs. Oh Georgia!
I can only look forward to many more trips, only this time with the new addition. Shea. Table of 3!

PHOTOSHOOT: Summer Collins

Another in a batch of shoots I did for Look Swimwear, I got to shoot again with Summer (who I had previously shot for the aXis March 2010 cover). She is in a contest on the Look Website, so go HERE and vote for her, (daily!) We did this shoot in my backyard, just a couple hours before we shot Summer's scene in our next film, Doomsday County. Summer plays "Daisy", a temptress to the Mayor of Doomsday (played by Indie Film Hero, Joel Wynkoop) Check out more of that film when it's released on DVD this fall!



^Click Image for Full Sized Photo

Model: Summer Collins
Shot on Location: Shea Compound, Orlando, FL
Canon 5D Mark II, 55mm f/1.4 Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 1600

PHOTOSHOOT: Victoria Leigh

I am at the beginning of a few new bikini shoots I'm doing for Look Swimwear, and I received the opportunity to shoot with the most gnarly Victoria Leigh. This setup was done on Lake Holden, near downtown Orlando. See more of Victoria at her Official Website.


^Click Image for Full Sized Photo

Model: Victoria Leigh
Shot on Location: Lake Holden, Orlando, FL
Canon 5D Mark II, 55mm f/1.4 Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 1600

PHOTOSHOOT: Russ Rollins

Through my good friend Brad, I recently was recommended to shoot new promotional shots for Russ "Triple R" Rollins, Host of the very popular, Monsters in the Morning radio show on Real Radio 104.1 in Orlando, and simulcast throughout the world through XM Radio and the Internet. This also led to shooting new promos for the entire Monster group. Russ had an idea for having him caged like a monster in a dungeon. I agreed and this is the image we came up with. A few talkbackers claim that this looks like Criss Angel's promo shot... I don't see the resemblance.

A new promotional shot for the Monsters will also be coming soon...



^Click Image for Full Sized Photo

Model: Russ Rollins
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 1600

PHOTOSHOOT: Lords of Acid

A funny story... When I first came to Orientation at the University of Central Florida, I was put into a group of 11 other students as we toured and went through a few lectures, and then sat in a comfy room, where our guide asked each person questions, hoping to form friendships. One of the questions they asked me was, "What is your Favorite Band?" My answer was... Lords of Acid.

Last week an event happened that I never planned to exist in my lifetime. I was going to see Lords of Acid live and in Concert. I had been a huge fan throughout the late 90s and into the millennium, and had never had an opportunity to see them live. When I heard they were going back on tour after a 7 year hiatus (with many new members of course) I jumped at the opportunity. Little did I know something magical was about to happen. While doing some graphic work for my friend Daniel at Et Cetera Magazine, I joked with the idea of him setting up a photoshoot for me with Lords of Acid. He said, "Sure", and after a couple hours messaged me, to alert that he had indeed set up a shoot and interview with the band. Well, jump start my heart!

On the evening of Wed, August 4th, I had the ability to actually meet, help interview, hang out and shoot the 2010 lineup for Lords of Acid. They gave me a tour badge and backstage pass, and allowed me to rock out with them on Stage. They were opened by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, another favorite from the time. The band was excited to be on the road, and rekindle the relationship with their fans, the Children of Acid. This was a most amazing experience, that I will cherish for a long time...


^Click Image for Full Sized Photo

Models: Lords of Acid (Praga Khan, Lacey Conner, Sin Quirin, M3, Kirk Salvador)
Shot on Location: Firestone, Orlando, FL
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 800

aXis Magazine August 2010

For August 2010 at aXis, we re-shot our March 2009 Cover Model, Shanna Marie McLaughlin, who recently became Playboy's Miss July 2010. This UCF graduate is moving forward with her acting and modeling career, and has relocated to California. Mike Anthony Moffa did the photography for the shoot at the men's locker room at the University of Central Florida's Stadium. I shot & edited the behind the scenes video here:

See more of the August issue here.

The Underground Lounge Interview

I had taken this recent trip to Tampa foremostly to be a guest of The Underground Lounge horror themed talk show. It was a fun experience to hang around with Extremely Dead Jeania and Zombie Tonya on the set of their 3 year running television show. They lured me in with Energy Drinks, and I couldn't resist. Check out the episode below...

The Underground Lounge Episode #12 from The Underground Lounge on Vimeo.

PHOTOSHOOT: Afternoon Flight with Angela

While visiting the Clearwater, FL area to be a guest on a locally produced Horror show, I had the pleasure of shooting with Angela Fong, former WWE Diva, Savannah. Thanks to my good buddy James Schrader, we got to shoot at the Clearwater Air Park, and had some access to a few rad airplanes. I went up in one of the planes to grab some aerial footage, and quickly realized that my stomach couldn't handle the big jumps the little plane was making. I grabbed some nice shots of the Tampa Bay coastline, and then we came right back down, just before anything messy would have happened. Luckily I was coherent enough to still get a few great setups with Angela.



^Click Image for Full Sized Photo

Tech Specs:
Model: Angela Fong (http://www.myspace.com/angelafong)
Shot on Location: Clearwater Air Park, Clearwater, FL
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 1600, 800, and Ring Flash

Special thanks to my lighting assistants: James and Jamie Schrader

PHOTOSHOOT: Moonbathing with Amber

On a recent trip to the Keys, I had the luck of it being the dawning of the full moon. With the lack of ambient light in the islands, it makes it much easier to see the stars and the sky, creating the inspiration for this photo. This was shot after dark, with two shots composited together. One focusing on the lighting of Amber and the jetty, and the other focusing on the exposure of the sky and the moon. With the amount of wind, and lack of tripod, I was very pleased how it came out.



^Click Image for Full Sized Photo

Tech Specs:
Model: Amber Eastman
Shot on Location: Coral Key, Florida Keys
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Lighting: Alien Bee 800, and Natural Moonlight

Special thanks to my lighting assistant: Cate Shea

PHOTOSHOOT: Lava Surfing with Leigh Anne

During a recent photoshoot for our Skinvestigator Covers, Orlando model/actress, Leigh Anne Thomas and I decided to do something a little more elaborate with our time in studio. I've always had a vision of a surfer riding a wave of Lava. It makes sense, sort of. So after some proposed alignments, we came up with this concept, and put this together. The imagery is obviously an allegory to the fall of the Berlin wall... or Dante's Peak.


^Click Image for Full Size Photo

Tech Specs:
Model: Leigh Anne Thomas
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Flashes: Alien Bee 1600, 800, and Ring Flash

PHOTOSHOOT: The Skinvestigator Novel Covers

Our good friend Dr Terry Cronin, owner of 3 Boys Productions, the Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival and publisher of our comic book The Vandyls, and Student of the Unusual, has taken time out of his incredibly busy schedule, to write a new batch of novels. I had the pleasure of shooting three cover versions for the series of books. We shot these in studio in 2 sessions. I also did the layout design, simple yet effective (hopefully!)


^Click Image for Full Photo


Tech Specs:
Model: Darryl Sposato, Leigh Anne Thomas, Anna Solyanik
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 55mm f/1.4 Canon Lens
Flashes: Alien Bee 1600, 800, and Ring Flash

Empyrean "Le Retour" Music Video

I had the pleasure of recently creating a Music Video for our good friends in the Orlando-based Metal band, Empyrean. The hired me on to Shoot, Direct, and Edit the video, for their song "Le Retour De Mere-Terre", on their album Resurrection Engine. The video was quite an undertaking, and we spent 6 days on location, 2 days in the mountains of North Georgia, a day in a Victorian manor in Gainesville, FL, a day in the woods of Geneva, FL, and 2 days in the Florida Keys. The the amount of labor and travelling (40 hrs of driving), this would be a great feat for any normal full sized film crew. None the less, we went armed with myself, the band, actors, and 5 makeup artists. We chose to laugh in the face of adversity (and Tifton, GA folk).

The video had it's grand premiere at the House Of Blues in Orlando, this past Saturday night, where the band, and 4 other local acts also performed. What should have been a magical evening, turned into turmoil, when after weeks of assurance from HOB that this was totally cool, they decide an hour before doors open, that they will NOT allow our video to play, due to content. We have a guy being hung, and a girl falling into the ocean... My argument was that just because our film didn't have "Pirates of the Caribbean" in front of it, didn't mean it should be censored. After a while of serious arguments and negotiations with HOB and Disney, we finally threatened legal action, and they decided they would let us show the video, if we blacked out the parts they deemed inappropriate. This amounted to 45 seconds of the 7.5 min video. Luckily, Drew, the band's drummer had a laptop only 20min away he could edit on, and he ran home to throw in the black. They were literally arguing over whether to play it, up till the time the screen rolled down. The crowd laughed and Boo'ed over the sections that suddenly cut to black and read "HOB EDIT". So other than suffering mild heart palpitations, the night ended on a high note, and we still came out on top.

Watch the final video here for Le Retour, in all of it's uncensored glory.

^Click Full Screen for Full HD

PHOTOSHOOT: 3 Paul's Howling at the Moon

I recently did a headshot shoot for our buddy Paul Steward (Director of Photography on Doomsday County, and Owner of 316 Productions) and during the conversations it dawned on us, that this man seriously needed an image of himself spoofing the infamous 3 Wolves shirt.


^Click for full photo

Tech Specs:
Model: Paul Steward
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 55mm f/1.4 Canon Lens
Flashes: Alien Bee 1600 & 800

R.I.P. - Steve Perry

It was brought to my attention today that Comic Book writer Steve Perry was recently found murdered in Zephyrhills, FL, only an hour and a half from my house. This was after he was missing for two weeks. We had the pleasure of meeting Steve while doing some video interviews with our friend Brian Pulido for the Hero Initiative at the 2010 Megacon Convention. Steve has been in the comic book industry for many years, known best for writing Thundercats, Silver Hawks and Time Spirits. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

More info on his death here.

Here is the video we were able to shoot with him about his struggles, only three months before his death...

^Double Click video for full size

PHOTOSHOOT: Totally Awesome Tasha

I had the pleasure of recently getting to shoot with local Orlando Actress/Model, Tasha Wise. I had promised her new headshots in exchange for a concept shot. While prop shopping for Doomsday County, I came across a retro pair of 1980s Back To The Future Pizza Hut Meal style glasses, and inspiration struck. We did this shoot in the studio, luckily dodging the intergalactic war going on.


*click for full photo

Tech Specs:
Model: Tasha Wise
Makeup by: CS Studios (www.csstudiosfx.com)
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Flashes: Alien Bee 800 & Ring Flash

Florida Music Festival 2010

*click for full photo

For the past three years, we have assisted with the multi-media of the Florida Music Festival. A huge event in Orlando, that takes 250 bands in 15 venues over the course of 4 days. Quite a party! This year was no exception. With my boys, Birch, Z, and Johnny Clash, we ravaged the festival, and grabbed photography and video of all of our leading acts.

I also helped create the guide cover, Introductory video for the Keynote speakers (Monte and Avery Lipman, heads of Universal Republic Records) and was brought in by Miller Lite to design their poster campaign. Some of the bands we had the pleasure of shooting was Less Than Jake, Anberlin, Rusted Root, Parachute, American Bang, Murder By Death, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Big 10-4, Atom Smash, Cady Groves, Union Made, Sugarfree Music, Empyrean and A Brilliant Lie (among a couple other hundred)

I assisted our good buddy Tim Springer in organizing the Indie Film Jam (in which we showed our music video "2:22 (It's Time To Die)" by Cryptidz, and our short film "Guitar God")

Overall it was (and always is) an amazing experience. I look forward to recovering, and getting through all of the gigs of media that we obtained. Rock on!

www.floridamusicfestival.com

Le Retour de Mere-Terre

I have just returned from a six day journey with the Orlando based Heavy Metal group, Empyrean. I was asked by my friends Mike and Adam of the band to helm their music video for the song "Le Retour de Mere-Terre" off of their latest album Resurrection Engine. I agreed, and Directed, Shot, and will Edit the video. The concepts that the band had in mind were most epic, and took us on an adventure to the mountains of Northern Georgia, to the expansive ocean backdrop of the Florida Keys. We shot in a Victorian Manor in Gainesville, as well as the thick Florida backwoods in Geneva. We drove over 40 hours, and the amount of Taurine intake is most likely above numbers that my general practitioner would be comfortable with. The 70 gigs of HD footage was shot with the Canon 5D Mark II. Editing will begin immediately, to prepare the promotion for their summer tour.

See more about the band on their websites:
Official
MySpace
Facebook

Special thanks to Mike, Adam, Ian, Ricardo, Drew, Jenn, Darryl, Rick, Keenan, John, Luandra, Ashley, Kurt, Jason, Lindsay, Nikita, Miche, Jeff, JJ, Nellie, Kelli, Josh, Jennifer, E.J., Ricky, Kirsten, Robin, and my Mother for helping and being awesome in the video.

Also Rockstar Energy and Combos, for keeping us alive on the road.

PHOTOSHOOT: Pink Label Fashion

I recently did a shoot with Lily Le Roi for Pink Label Fashion, an alternative clothing company from Manistee, Michigan. We shot naturally in the Greenwood Cemetery, located in Downtown Orlando. Special thanks to my good friend Owl Goingback. Purchase from Pink Label here.



Tech Specs:
Shot on Location
Canon 5D Mark II, 55mm f/1.4 Canon Lens
Flashes: None

PHOTOSHOOT: Nicki

I had always promised Nicki, one of our aXis girls that I would do a portfolio shoot for her, and we were finally able to do that a few weeks back. But I made her promise to do a composite shot with me. I decided I wanted to do a robot rampage on Downtown Orlando, using old school wind-ups. I shot her in my driveway, the robots in Studio, and Downtown, obviously on location.


*click for full photo

Tech Specs:
Shot in Studio & Location
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L & 55mm f/1.4 Canon Lenses
Flashes: Alien Bee 1600
Composite, 5 Images (Model, 2 Robots, Jet, City)

aXis Magazine March 2010

Here is the cover for the March issue of aXis Magazine that I shot and laid out. We had the pleasure of shooting the St Patrick's Day cover at Paddy Murphy's in Baldwin Park, with the lovely models Summer & Tasha. Makeup was done by Ashli and Lindsay of CS Studios.

*Click for Full Image

Here is the Behind The Scenes video, shot by Eric "Z" Zaragoza, and edited by Myself.

Fore more photos from this shoot, visit the aXis Magazine site here.

PHOTOSHOOT: CS Studios

I did some promotional shots for our friends Ashli, Kurt, Lindsay and Jess at CS Studios, a new professional Makeup Studio in town. We got a little crazy and creative, as every artist that paints on faces instead of canvas should be.



*Click for Full Image

Tech Specs:
Shot on Location at CS Studios
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Flashes: Alien Bee 800, 1600, and Ring Flash

PHOTOSHOOT: Amber

This is from a recent photoshoot with model, Amber. I asked her what she was into, and Dragons was near the top of the list. Luckily Dragons are awesome, and we decided to do this composite shoot. Unfortunately the Military are not as big a fans of these mythical beasts.


*click for full photo

Tech Specs:
Shot in Studio
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L Canon Lens
Flashes: Alien Bee 800, 1600, and Ring Flash
Composite, 7 Images (Model, 2 Helicopters, Dragon Tail, Wings, Landscape, Pendant)

PHOTOSHOOT: Evelyn

Here is another shot that was created with model Evelyn Danford. She was shot against a black screen, and the boards were shot separately, designs added in the back. Kiyahh!


*click for full photo

Birthdaysploitation 2010!

Yesterday I was able to celebrate my 29th year on this universe also known as existence. A breakdown of the weeks events are as follows: Saturday was the real celebration (since Monday is a school night). We started the evening with Dinner at the T-Rex Cafe at Downtown Disney, a most jurassic dining establishment that mimics the successful Rainforest Cafe, but overrun with dinosaurs, killer squids and meteor showers. My sisters Aimee and Caitlin met us, and presented me with an awesome Knife holder, made to look like a body, being stabbed by the blades. Aimee also cooked a most delicious Cookie Cake, that they had preset up with the restaurant to bring out.

From there we traveled down to meet the rest of the 30 odd crew at Old Town amusement center in Kissimmee. For the rest of the evening it was a blitz of Lazer Tag, Go Karts, Alcohol, Haunted Houses and Karaoke. Video evidence will be revealed shortly of the 10 car pile up, caused by my lovely wife. Luckily there were no major injuries. I never did get the cotton candy that I was after. Alcohol provided giftwrapped by Ashley and Lindsay. Tim brought me the most excellent new Eerie Von photobook on the Misfits. 138! The evening was meant to end with a road trip to the coast for the last night launch of the Space Shuttle ever, but it was cut short when Weather moved the date till the next day.

Sunday was spent in preparations for the big game. We woke up to have lunch with Aimee and Caitlin at Tiajuana Flats (the most delicious cookie dough flautas!) Then enjoyed the rest of the night with the huge (first time ever in the Super Bowl) win for the New Orleans Saints! It was a proud day for those of us who were born on a bayou. Who Dat? Tara also brought me some awesome one of a kind Ghostbuster Coasters! (because I do have a serious constant need for coasters!)

Yesterday (the official day of my birth) was spent writing. I finally finished the full timeline for my latest feature length script, which let me tell you, is going to be my "Armageddon". It's coming along swimmingly, and I should be releasing information on it soon. Once Melanie got home from work, we had a nice meal at CheeburgerCheeburger, and watched Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. The film definitely had some extremely strange choices, and was pretty chopped up. All in all a pretty badass birthday experience!

We'll wrap up the nonstop excitement with a screening and party at Universal tonight for their latest horror potential, The Wolfman. I feel a bad moon rising...

Patient Zero

This past week (for 7 days total) I was pretty much bedridden with a fantastic Strep Throat. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't stand sitting in a place for long periods of time, especially chained to the couch, with fluish symptoms, and raging headaches. So over the course of my recovery, I watched a few films, stuff that was on TV, or flicks I had missed over time, and wanted to visit... namely:

The Goods, Pearl Harbor, Transformers II, Whip It, Hot Rod, Fame (remake), Surrogates, High School Musical 1,2 & 3, Halloween II (remake), Short Circuit 2, Hard Candy, Return of the Ghostbusters (feature length fan film), The Craft, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, Big Fish, Funny People, The Grudge 3, and Juno.

Yeah, that sick. Now if I can just get this annoying cough to exit. Tubular.

Cryptidz Music Video "2:22"

Just uploaded the new music video I just Directed, Shot & Edited for the local Orlando Horror Punk Band Cryptidz. They were kind enough to make a song based on our short film 2:22, called "2:22 (It's Time To Die)" Check out the music video starring Cryptidz and Tara Lightfoot!

aXis Magazine January 2010

I shot and laid out the cover for aXis Magazine's January 2010 edition. The cover featured Leslie Nelson, the Orlando finalist for Maxim's Hometown Hottie competition in 2009. This image is a composite of three different photos (Leslie was shot in my living room). This issue features the 20 Coolest People in Orlando (I am an alumni of this from 2 years ago), including Tara Lightfoot, most talented model & star of our short film 2:22!

Here is the behind the scenes video shot by Shawn Haran, and edited by myself. Also a shoutout to Luandra Whitehurst for the awesome makeup!

Here is a link to some other shots from this shoot.

Behind the Scenes of 2:22

This is our week of lifting the curtain and showcasing the behind the scenes of our most kick-ass projects. Check out the newly uploaded video (first time online!) of the making of our latest Award Winning short film 2:22.

Check it out!

See more Abyssmal Videos on our Abyssmal Entertainment Channel on Vimeo!

Behind The Scenes of Hoodoo For Voodoo!

Here is another update to the new Abyssmal Vimeo Channel, "Bad Mojo: The Making Of Hoodoo For Voodoo". Check out our zany trek to Louisiana to shoot our zany feature length Horror Comedy film. Buy the DVD here!!



See more Abyssmal Videos on our Abyssmal Entertainment Channel on Vimeo!

PHOTOSHOOT: Kam Lee for Rue Morgue

Last month, I had gotten a buzz from my friend Kam Lee (Lead singer of Cryptidz, Bone Gnawer, The Grotesquery, ect) about needing to do a photoshoot for an upcoming article that Rue Morgue Magazine (2nd largest horror magazine in the world) was doing on him and The Grotesquery. We had a fun evening of doing some different shots against a black screen, and then composited in a large stone wall being smashed around Kam. In the end a pretty BA image. They photoshopped out the background for the magazine, but still looks killer. Here is the final shot in the Rue Morgue article just released this week (January 2010 Issue). Grab it now!

The Abyssmal Channel

I've finally created our Abyssmal Channel on Vimeo. So now you can watch our short films and trailers in high quality! We will have some new projects popping up on here soon as well.

CLICK HERE TO EXPERIENCE!

*Also note this marks the first appearance of our short film "Clarks" online! An award winning spoof on Kevin Smith's Viewaskewniverse, that we created back in 2002.

Be there or be square!

PHOTOSHOOT: Spencer

While shooting on set photos for our my friend Kevin O'Neil's short film titled "Captain Fin", I was able to get some nice fashionable candids of Actress Spencer Locke. Spencer has starred in movies such as Resident Evil: Extinction, and Monster House. She was a joy to work with on set, and I look forward to seeing her in more projects in the future.



*Click photo to see full image

PHOTOSHOOT: Marliese & Eddie

I was recently asked by my friend, and model (whom I abuse to no end, and have killed in 2 movies now) Marliese, if I would be available to shoot some photos of her Husband Eddie and herself. Eddie is in the military, and had just come back from his final deployment overseas, so it was a joyous occasion. We shot on Lake Harney in Geneva, FL. How great it was having two subjects with such an intense chemistry.



*Click photo to see full image

PHOTOSHOOT: Evelyn

Also on my recent trip to Los Angeles, I was able to reconnect with Actress/Model Evelyn that I had gone to high school with in the Keys. We shot around L.A., and then also back in Orlando during Christmas break, when she was on my coast. Here is a shot from an in studio shoot in Orlando.



Shot on a Black background, with the stone composited in.
*Click photo to see full image

PHOTOSHOOT: Priscilla

At the end of 2009, I upgraded all of my photography equipment, and have started lining up new photoshoots. I finally got some time to catch up during this Holiday weekend, and I'll start posting new photos as the shoots roll in.

While I was in Los Angeles in December, I had the pleasure of doing a quick shoot with my actress friend, Priscilla. Here is a fun shot on the roof of her apartment in Beverly Hills.



*Click photo to see full image

Why hello 2010, fancy meeting you here.

Happy New Year! A holiday built on rebirth, allowing you to forget the mistakes and shortcomings of the previous year, and plan for what can only be a brighter future. 2009 was probably the Best and Worst year of my life. We made some huge steps in the right direction, and took some major hits along the way.

Melanie and I spent our evening at the Enzian Theater's James Bond themed New Years party. I dressed in a white suit with a Golden Gun as Francisco Scaramanga (from The Man With The Golden Gun) and Melanie wore silver and blue as Miranda Frost (from Die Another Day). It was quite enjoyable, ringing in the New Year with the theater transformed into a dance club, ballon drop, and the couple hundred other party-goers, some dressed in their favorite Bond attire (My award would go to the Moonraker couple, which would have been my costume, if I had a spacesuit handy). All in all a blast.

I welcome the upcoming year with open arms, and look forward to build further upon all of the accomplishments we made in 2009. Now where is my flying car dammit!?