Hi kiddies!  While I am saving the debut of my big zombie photograph LAST STAND until the Last Rites Gallery opening in NYC on Memorial Day Weekend, here are some fun making-of pics from last week’s photo-shoot.

We built our set at the 3rd St. Asylum Haunted House in Bonner Springs, Kansas.  My cousins Jerry and Steve Hoffine did all of the carpentry and construction.

Bill Rose and his girlfriend Michelle stayed up late one night to wallpaper my set for me.

Here you can see Steve and Bill measuring the shag carpet.

I filled the set with my gathered props.  Jerry Hoffine and Mike Clouse destroyed the door by jumping on it.

Here you can see me talking with J. Anthony Kosar, who drove in from Chicago to lead the make-up team.  Beside me is my regular assistant Demian Vela, and behind us is Colin, one of my drafted zombie models.

Kosar’s sculpted appliances were marvelous.

Meagan Hester from FACE/OFF Season 4 flew in from NYC to help Kosar with the make-up effects.

Kansas City make-up artist Jeff Sisson also came down to help.  Here you can see him working on my regular assistant Demian Vela, who was excited to finally be on the other side of the camera.

My lovely bride Jen Hoffine, who played the title role in LADY BATHORY, also played a zombie.

My favorite model Bob Barber is feeling better and came in to be a zombie as well.

Brian Wendling, the man walking the tightrope in my early photograph DEATH, played one of the zombies attacking my daughter Sadie.  Here you can really see how good Kosar is with his make-up.

Brenna and her mom Rita work for 3rd St. Asylum and also helped with the make-up.

Demian with Kosar and Meagan, loving it.

My producer Justin Gardner.

My star A. Michael Baldwin on set, having fun.

Me with Brian and my daughter Sadie on set.

My brother-in-law Felix helping run camera.

My friend Erica Kauffman played the Mother character.  Here you can see Davis biting her arm as she reaches for her pistol.  And yes, that is a dinosaur.

A special thank you to  Mehron Make-up, who generously provided make-up and blood for our art project.

LAST STAND coming soon!

Photos courtesy of Anna Perry.

Hey kiddies.  I shot this for fun the other day.  My children have dubbed it ‘The Corpse Bride’.

I rented the corpse from BJ Winslow and dressed it up in a wedding dress that I found at a thrift-store.  I aged the dress and veil with Lipton tea. I rented the coffin from my friend Jerry at Have Guns Will Rent.  I borrowed the ring from my sister. I photographed my Corpse Bride in the garage, with black fabric as a backdrop, a single soft-box as the light source, and white foam-core to bounce light into my shadow areas. Here you can see me getting things set up:

It was fun to shoot something so uncomplicated.

Continued from post What is Horror?

If the Horror genre is best defined by the intention to elicit and manipulate the emotion of fear, what then exactly is the emotion of fear?

The dictionary defines fear as: a feeling of agitation and dread caused by the presence or imminence of danger.

Persons experiencing fear display increased alertness, concentration on the source of fear, attack and fight-or-flight behaviors, and evidence of sympathetic-nerve stimulation such as cardiovascular excitation, superficial vasoconstriction, and dilation of the pupils.

Fear evolved as a basic survival mechanism. It is the ability to recognize danger, which leads to an urge to confront the danger, or flee from it: the fight-or-flight response. This mechanism allows animals to move quickly away from a location of perceived threat and hide.  All people experience fear as an instinctual response to potential danger – this mechanism is important to the survival of all species.

Although many fears are learned, the capacity to fear is part of human nature.  Many studies have found that certain fears are much more common than others.  These fears, such as fear of heights, predatory animals, darkness, etc. are also easier to induce in the laboratory. Because early humans who were quick to fear dangerous situations were more likely to survive and reproduce, certain innate fears developed as a result of natural selection.

People also develop specific fears as a result of learning.  Fear can be acquired through a traumatic event. The area of the brain most involved with the learning of conditioned fears is the amygdala.

The amygdala is located behind the pituitary gland. In the presence of a threatening stimulus the amygdala generates a secretion of hormones that influence fear and aggression. Once response to the fear stimulus commences, the amygdala elicits the release of hormones into the body to put the person into a state of alertness, in which they are ready to move, run, fight, etc.

There are many physiological changes in the body associated with fear. The fight-or-flight response accelerates heart rate, dilates blood vessels, and increases muscle tension and breathing rate. Only after this series of physiological changes, does the consciousness realize an emotion of fear.

After a situation which incites fear occurs, the amygdala and the hippocampus record the event.  The stimulation of the hippocampus will cause the individual to remember many details surrounding the situation. Memory formation in the amygdala is generated by activating the neurons in the region.  Once the person is in safe mode, meaning there are no longer any potential threats surrounding them, the amygdala will send this information to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) where it is stored for similar future situations.  The storing of memory in the mPFC is known as memory consolidation.

Recent studies show that a person learns to fear regardless of whether they themselves have experienced trauma, or if they have only observed the fear in others. Fear responses in the amygdala can develop in both conditions.

Fear is transferable.

This is partly achieved through mirror neurons.  A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another.  The neuron ‘mirrors’ the behavior of the other, as though the observer himself were acting, not simply watching. Such neurons have been directly observed in primates and other species. Mirror neurons are the neural basis of the human capacity for emotions such as empathy.

Fear and the emotional response to dangerous situations can be triggered through observation and simulation.  Recreational Horror, such as Horror movies, roller coasters, and Haunt Attractions, all simulate danger for the bodily pleasure of the fight-or-flight response in the absence of real threat.

Hi kiddies!  I have officially started my first Kickstarter Project!

From May 25th through June 29th 2013, the great Travis Louie will be curating a show at the Last Rites Gallery in NYC entitled “ZOMBIE.” He has been kind enough to invite me to be a part of this show, so I am raising funds to help with the costs of creating my most ambitious photograph ever, “LAST STAND.”

This photograph will feature a family in their last moments right before they are completely consumed by a horde of zombies! The central figure will be the Father, who is blasting a zombie in the head with a shotgun.  My camera will freeze every detail of this explosive moment. The Father does not realize that right behind him his wife and children are already being taken down and eaten by the zombies pouring in through the broken barricades of the front door. This image will include over a dozen characters in full zombie make-up interacting all at once, on a set that will be destroyed by gunfire and fake blood.

Please check out my Kickstarter Page. There are wonderful incentives, and all pledges will receive a signed print of the final image. Tell all of your friends, help spread the word by sharing my link on Facebook, and let everybody know.  This image will be amazing!

I have already cast the role of the Father, and I am thrilled to announce that he will be played by none other than PHANTASM’s A. Michael Baldwin!

The special effects will be led by my friend J. Anthony Kosar, who recently exhibited my work in his Chicago gallery, and made his television debut this past week on Season 4 of Face/Off!  He is monstrously talented and a sweetheart and we are very proud of him! He won both events on the first episode – can you believe that? I am super-excited about our upcoming collaboration.

All prints will be signed by me, Kosar, and my star Baldwin.

Please help spread the word.  I will keep you updated on progress!

Hi kiddies!  Here is my new photo project MONSTER PROM.

This project is an exclusive new commission for Sony UK.  I was asked to create original photographs utilizing their new full-frame Sony A7 camera.  After discussing a few different Horror concepts, I pitched this funny idea about creating fake Prom photos of famous Universal monsters as teenagers.

Virtually all Americans are familiar with the classic Prom photo – we’ve all seen them, most of us have even posed for them.  I love Prom photos.  I love the clunky handmade sets, I enjoy the merciless lighting, and best, the heightened theatrical awkwardness of the moment.  Nothing captures the quintessential awkwardness of adolescence like the Prom photo.  It is the final game of dress-up before entering the adult world.

Monsters are the perennial outsider.  Did any of us ever feel more like ‘monsters’ than we did as teenagers?  Bodies changing beyond our control – sprouting hair, developing acne, braces, bad haircuts.  The self-consciousness of adolescence comes with the realization that the villagers could turn on you at any moment.

There is actually a long-standing tradition of teenage monsters in the Horror genre, starting with  I Was A Teenage Werewolf and I Was A Teenage Frankenstein, both from 1957. Modern variations on the teenage monster movie include Carrie, Teen Wolf, The Craft, even Twilight.  Wes Craven’s Scream could easily have been called I Was A Teenage Slasher.

A lot of wonderful people pitched in to help me with my teenage monster project.

My eldest daughter Arinna (from my photograph BABYSITTER) played the part of Frankenstein’s girlfriend.  She did a wonderful job helping me cast my project, and recruited several of her friends to be models.

All of the girls’ hairstyles were done by my friend Nikki Moreno.  Nikki is a fantastic photographer who specializes in retro Pin-Up portraiture with her company Vixen Pin-Up Photography.  Not only did she do everybody’s hair, but Nikki was also a crucial photography assistant.  She provided set elements, like the silver tinsel backdrop, as well as the lighting equipment we used.  I could not have done this shoot without her.

Candy Cunningham – Nikki’s partner in Vixen Pin-Up Photography – did make-up for all of the girls.  Here you can see her giving Wolfman’s date exaggerated eyebrows that meet in the middle.

KC artist Rod Zirkle, a graduate of Tom Savini’s school of make-up, did a great job airbrushing monster hands for the boys.

I staged this photo-shoot in my own home.  Here, you can see Rod airbrushing Frankenstein’s hands in the middle of my living room, surrounded by teenagers.

As always, my trustworthy assistant Demian Vela was there.  He helped assemble the set and hang cardboard stars.  So did Chris, Candy’s boyfriend.

For fun, I shot 2 versions of Frankenstein – 1 with my daughter Arinna, and another with my daughter Shiva.  They took turns wearing the same dress.

The real star of this project is my friend J. Anthony Kosar, and his special-effects team at Kosart Effects – Neil Viola, Scott Mitchell, Stevie Calabrese, and Matt Kapolczynski.  This was my 3rd collaboration with Anthony.  He also created the make-up effects for my zombie photo LAST STAND and my upcoming film BLACK LULLABY.  My concept for MONSTER PROM required a minimalist set with flat lighting and dull static poses, so the visual focus of the project came down to Kosar’s monster sculptures.  I gave him written character notes, but no drawings.  It was ultimately up to Kosar how to visualize these classic Universal monsters as teenagers.   I told him Dracula was like a boy with braces just after his Bah Mitzvah, combined with The Count from Sesame Street, but with the geeky confidence of Michael Anthony Hall in 16 Candles.

I suggested that Frankenstein be a combination of Herman Munster and Stan Laurel from Laurel & Hardy – that he was on the basketball team, and obviously in love with his girlfriend.

I had pictured my teenage Wolfman more like Ralphie from the movie A Christmas Story, with big eyes made even bigger with thick glasses.  Kosar went another direction and gave me something closer to a feral Seth Rogen – an approach I loved – especially the animalistic eyes.

You might ask, ‘Why make sculptures?  Why not use make-up appliances on real models?’  This was so Kosar would not be limited by the proportions and facial structure of a real person.  This way the eyes could be further apart than a real person’s face would allow, a neck could be thinner than a real person’s neck, a mouth shape could be extended beyond the physical limits of make-up.  I encouraged him to create stylized character designs, knowing they would be fleshed out with amazing realistic detail for my camera.

I met Kosar in a parking lot in St. Louis, roughly halfway between Chicago and Kansas City.  There, he gave me the finished sculptures, too fragile and precious to risk shipping.  This was the only time during the entire project that we were ever together.

I photographed the kids in full costume on my set, complete with hand make-up.  Kosar even provided fake feet for the teenage Wolfman, played by Wyatt Zirkle, Rod’s 12 year old son.  His plaid suit was made by my friend Celine Collins (she played the victim in JACK THE RIPPER) at her store MonkeyWrench Clothing in downtown KC.  Wolfman’s date was played by Arinna’s friend Fee Pauwels, a girl I’ve known since she was in grade-school with my daughters.  She did not enjoy the giant eyebrows I gave her one bit.

I photographed Kosar’s sculptures on the same set, under the same lighting, to ensure both parts would fit together seamlessly when combined in Photoshop.

Dracula was played by my 12 year old nephew Nate.  Dracula’s date was played by Arinna’s friend Mary Burke.  The height difference was important to me.

Arinna’s friend Andrew Gleason played the part of Frankenstein.  2 weeks later they really did go to a school dance together.

As always, my wife Jen assisted as well!

A special thank you to my sister Sarah.  She added lace and roses to Arinna’s dress and shoes, and made all of the flower corsages for the shoot.  And a big thank you to Kevin Kinkead at Boomerang in Westport, Kansas City’s best vintage clothing store, for giving me such a great deal on all of the fantastic retro clothes!  And lastly – thank you to Margaret of London for inviting me to be part of this project!

See you next time!

Hi kiddies!  This is my new project MONSTER PROM.

This project was a commission from Sony UK utilizing their new full-frame Sony A7 camera.  I re-imagined iconic monsters Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman as teenagers posing for their Prom photos.

Virtually all Americans are familiar with the classic Prom photo.  We’ve all seen them, and most of us have even posed for them.  I love Prom photos.  Nothing captures the quintessential awkwardness of adolescence like the Prom photo.  It is the final game of dress-up before entering the adult world.

Monsters are the perennial outsider.  Did any of us ever feel more like monsters than we did as teenagers?  Bodies changing beyond our control, sprouting hair, developing acne, braces, bad haircuts.  The self-consciousness of adolescence comes with the realization that the villagers could turn on you at any moment.

There is a long-standing tradition of teenage monsters in the Horror genre, starting with I Was A Teenage Werewolf and I Was A Teenage Frankenstein, both from 1957.  Modern variations on the teenage monster movie include Carrie, Teen Wolf, The Craft, even Twilight.  Wes Craven’s Scream could easily have been titled I Was A Teenage Slasher.

A lot of wonderful people helped me with my teenage monster project.

My eldest daughter Arinna (from my photograph BABYSITTER) played the part of Frankenstein’s girlfriend.  She also did a wonderful job helping me cast my project, and recruited several of her friends to be models.

All of the girls’ hairstyles were done by my friend Nikki Moreno.  Nikki specializes in retro Pin-Up portraits with her company Vixen Pin-Up Photography.  Not only did she do everybody’s hair, but Nikki was also a crucial photography assistant.  She provided set elements, like the silver tinsel backdrop, as well as lighting equipment.  I could not have done this shoot without her.

Candy Cunningham – Nikki’s partner in Vixen Pin-Up Photography – did wonderful make-up for all the girls.

Rod Zirkle, a graduate of Tom Savini’s school of make-up, did a great job airbrushing monster hands for the boys.

I staged the photo-shoot in my own home.  Here you can see Rod airbrushing Frankenstein’s hands in the middle of my living room, surrounded by teenagers.

The real star of this project is my friend J. Anthony Kosar, and his special-effects team at Kosart Effects – Neil Viola, Scott Mitchell, Stevie Calabrese, and Matt Kapolczynski.  This was my 3rd collaboration with Anthony.  He also created the make-up effects for my zombie photo LAST STAND and my upcoming film BLACK LULLABY.

I met Kosar in a parking lot in St. Louis, roughtly half way between Kansas City and Chicago to collect his fragile monster sculptures.

You might ask, “Why make sculptures?  Why not use make-up appliances on the models?”  This was so that Kosar would not be limited to the proportions and facial structure of a real person.  This way the eyes could be set further apart than a real person’s face would allow, a neck could be thinner than a real person’s neck, a mouth shape could be extended beyond the physical limits of make-up.  I encouraged him to create stylized character designs, knowing that they would be fleshed out with amazing realistic detail for my camera.

I photographed the kids in full costume on my set, complete with hand make-up.  Kosar even provided fake feet for teenage Wolfman, played by Wyatt Zirkle, Rod’s 12 year old son.  His plaid suit was made by my friend Celine Collins (the victim in my JACK THE RIPPER project) at her store MonkeyWrench Clothing in downtown KC.  Wolfman’s date was played by Fee Pauwels.

I photographed Kosar’s sculptures on the same set, under the same lighting, to ensure that both parts would fit together seamlessly when combined in Photoshop.

My daughter Arinna and her friend Andrew Gleason, who played the part of Frankenstein.

Dracula was played by my 12 year old nephew Nate.  His date was played by Mary Burke.

A special thank you to my sister Sarah who made all of the flower corsages.  And a big thank you to Kevin Kinkead at Boomerang in Westport, KC’s best vintage clothing store, for giving me such a great deal on all of the retro clothes!  And lastly, thank you to Margaret of London for inviting me to be part of this project.

See you next time!

The very first screening of my short Horror film BLACK LULLABY will take place on Friday June 27th in my hometown of Kansas City at the Screenland Armour Theater.   It will be followed by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD!   This one-night event will include a Q&A with me and my cast, prizes, vendors, and even beer specials.  Tickets are $13 and include a signed original print!  Seating is limited.

To buy tickets visit: http://bit.ly/BlackLullabyScreening

Hope to see you there!

There is a 1-page article in this month’s issue of Fangoria Magazine about my short film BLACK LULLABY and my recent MONSTER PROM project!

Thank you to writer Jessie Robbins and Editor-in-Chief Chris Alexander for your continuing support!

My photograph made the cover of The Art of The Living Dead Dolls book!  This book is an artistic homage to the record-breaking doll line, and contains over 100 images from more than 80 contributing artists.

I made this photograph in the basement of my house, using twigs and branches, a fake moon, and a lot of dry ice.    My daughter Shiva assisted me.

Congratulations to Living Dead Dolls on their 16th anniversary!

Hi kiddies!

I have launched a 2nd website to showcase my work as a freelance photographer-for-hire.  Many people are unaware that beyond my work as an artist, I am also an active commercial photographer – shooting various projects for personal clients, book publishers, record labels, and ad agencies.  My clients have been as diverse as rapper TechN9ne, Sony, Living Dead Dolls, and Busch Gardens.  No project is too big or too small.  Not only do I have a unique vision for each one of my photographs, but  I am also fun and very flexible to work with.  If you have a project in mind, please check out my new website and give me a shout!

My short film BLACK LULLABY will be screening at the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival in San Diego this coming Saturday night!

This is a great festival – check it out if you can!

My short film BLACK LULLABY will be screening Saturday night at the opening of the 4th Annual MALEFICIUM Dark Art Exhibit at the Kosart Gallery in Chicago.

This fantastic art show is curated by FACE/OFF champion and frequent collaborator J. Anthony Kosar – who created the incredible Boogeyman for my film!

There is a nice article about my work in this month’s issue of Scream Magazine, the UK’s number one Horror magazine!

My short film BLACK LULLABY is being released online for Black Friday!  Anyone, anywhere can now watch it on my new ProVimeo site – BlackLullaby.com - where you can ‘rent’ a viewing or even download a copy to own.  Check it out and tell your friends!

A large exhibit of my photographs will be on display this weekend as part of the Horror Festival in Brussels, Belgium at the De Warande!

The show runs from Jan. 29 – Feb. 2

Thank you to Annelies Nagels for including me!

My short film BLACK LULLABY will be playing this weekend at Panic Fest in Kansas City!

It will be part of the Best Shorts of 2014 on Sunday at 3:45 pm at Screenland Armour.

Thanks to Tim KC Canton for including me!  Hope to see you there!

Want to see BLACK LULLABY but can’t make it?  You can watch it online on my ProVimeo site!

I just launched a Kickstarter campaign for my next ambitious photo project!  This image will be based on H.P. Lovecraft’s story The Shadow Over Innsmouth and stars the great Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, Silver Surfer) as well as movie-worthy creature effects by FACE/OFF Champion J. Anthony Kosar!

This is my most ambitious project to date and we have thrown together an amazing array of rewards that include signed prints, unique collectibles, and original masks!  Check it out and tell all your friends!

WHAT IS INNSMOUTH?

My new Horror photo called INNSMOUTH is based on H.P. Lovecraft’s story The Shadow Over Innsmouth. This image will feature the human victim of the story being pursued and surrounded by a terrifying mob of amphibious people called The Deep Ones, as he tries to escape from the decrepit seaside town of INNSMOUTH.

TV’s FACE/OFF Champion J. Anthony Kosar is creating all of the monster effects, and the human role is going to be played by famous actor Doug Jones, who was Abe Sapien in the HELLBOY movies, as well as The Faun and The Pale Man in PAN’S LABYRINTH (among many others)!

On Friday April 24th J. Anthony Kosar and his team will create a character from our current INNSMOUTH project as part of a live demo at the wonderful Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo C2E2 event in Chicago!  It will even be live streamed!  Check it out if you can!

Please help spread the word about our project!  More updates coming soon!

As part of the INNSMOUTH Kickstarter campaign I am releasing my short film BLACK LULLABY to view online for FREE! until the campaign ends at Midnight on May 17.

This 4 minute film is the climax to my classic photo series dealing with childhood fears called AFTER DARK, MY SWEET.  Like my photos, this film features my daughter Chloe and regular model Bob Barber as the Boogeyman.  Special make-up FX by FACE/OFF Champion J. Anthony Kosar.

Don’t miss your chance to see my film!  And please be sure to check out our newest project called INNSMOUTH – based on the H.P. Lovecraft story The Shadow Over Innsmouth, starring Doug Jones (HELLBOY, PAN’S LABYRINTH) and featuring more amazing creature effects by J. Anthony Kosar!

Please help us make more art!