To honor our troops on September 11th, Kid Rock put on a HUGE show at Fort Jackson. He invited Blackberry Smoke to share the stage for the event, and I was lucky enough to tag along and document the day’s happenings… which included a boot camp of sorts and tour of the base for the band.

Upon our arrival we were all given U.S. Army hats. Here, Brit is proudly displaying his, before getting suited up for repelling.

Paul and Charlie were all ready to go… and were having a laugh at the others getting all tied in.

Drill Sargeant Ferguson gave them a quick lesson on how to lean back and let your ‘guide hand’ stop you in the event of trouble. Here he is demonstrating how you can hold all your weight with one hand. This tower had an incline to it to prepare them for the next round of repelling action.

After the demonstration, it was time to scale the tower.

Richard went first.

Then Charlie.

Next up was Brit.

Then Paul.

And finally, Brandon.

Next up was the 45-foot tower. No incline here, and much more intimidating. This gentleman set the tone for not to do things. You can see about half-way down, his decent goes awry, and he slams hard enough to make a shock-wave. Luckily, the material he fell on is finely shredded tires – which was surprisingly soft.

This soldier was climbing down this giant rope wall. About 3/4 of the way down they would have to drop off backwards onto a giant pad filled with air. It looked scary!

Lucky for the band… there was a stairwell that led them to the top of the tower. It didn’t seem so bad from the ground – but once up top… it was VERY intimidating! Here the boys are sizing things up.

Brit was the brave one, and went down the wall first.

Richard had some solid hangtime on his way down.

Brandon repelled next.

Then it was Charlie’s turn.

And finally Paul’s chance at death.

Here you can see Drill Sargeant Ferguson recapping what they just did through the reflection in Charlie’s glasses. Everyone agreed that by the time they got about 2/3 down the wall, it got easier… and they wanted a bit more wall to repel down before they reached the ground.

Next it was off to check out soliders being trained in MMA hand-to-hand combat. We got to try Army-issue ‘Gatorade’, called Victory Juice. It was REALLY good.

After we observed the fight training… it was time for lunch! I was fascinated how the soldiers stand in line for the cafeteria. I also thought this photo was cool considering the painting on the wall.

It really was an honor to be on base on September 11th.

The guys enjoying Army food. I’m sure if you eat it every day… it gets old – but we all enjoyed the food. I thought it was really good!

So good, in fact… that I took more than I could finish. I had chicken and rice (sweet & sour-ish), cottage cheese, veggies, and a heaping of baked beans. I was STUFFED.

Stay tuned for more from Fort Jackson, as we get to enter a firearms simulator and do some shooting!

After rediscovering the magic of my photos from Africa, I remembered another photoset from long ago. After digging through notebooks of old CD-ROMs… I found another trove of images. This time… of my beloved BMW, Evelyn

From day 1, my love for this car was of exceeding proportions. The Jet Black gloss of the paint seemed forever deep, the smell of the black leather hypnotizing, and the rev of the motor… well… let’s just say that aspect was most arousing of all.

Lost in my enamour for this wondrous chisel of German engineering, I used to wander the city streets of Atlanta… forever searching for the perfect environment to compliment to car’s stunning good looks.

Armed with a (now ‘vintage’) 35mm Nikon N2000, and a 28-70mm 1:3.5-4.5 f3.5 lens, I scoured my city for cool locales, sharing an immeasurable amount of bonding time with the car that stole my heart.

Inspired by the UK magazine, CAR… I was drawn to the idea that the vehicle’s surroundings could speak at an equal volume to the subject itself. Unfortunately (for me, anyway)… in the advent of digital photography, this practice has become commonplace

Regardless, to me… there is something infinitely pure about these photos. No race-trim, no slammed stance, no battle-scars. These photos bring back some great memories when my car was brand-new, times seemed simpler, and my love for the automobile was the only inspiration I needed.

Back in 2006, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to go on safari in East Africa with my family. None of us had any idea what a beautiful and magical journey lay ahead for us. It would be a voyage that would forever change us all.

I recently came across an old disc filled with about 500 photos on it that I shot along the way. The safari company highly advised against shooting digital, since venues to charge electronics wouldn’t be readily available… so using a 35mm Nikon S90s, and a 300mm 1:4 f4, I did my best to capture Africa as we saw it.

I remember getting the photos back shortly after our return to the U.S. in ’06 and being amazed at what I brought back. Nearly 4 years have passed, and although this amazing trip resonates with me daily… I had honestly forgot about these photos. This time, upon viewing the photos… I wasn’t just impressed – I nearly fell out of my office chair… dumbfounded with the very same photographs.

As I browsed the trove of stunning images, a warm feeling crept up my spine… and I had what might be one of the most significant epiphanies as an artist to date. An epiphany so monumental that I might not ever have another one like it.

Over the past 10 years, I have been very focused on my love for video (both shooting and editing). In this focus, not only did I lose sight of my love for photography… but it also managed to slip my mind that I was even any good at it. How is that even possible?!?rn.

So with this warm feeling running through my body… I felt an overwhelming validation, as a photographer, and more importantly – AS AN ARTIST. I am convinced that part of being an artist is to encompass a sense of self-doubt… that what you are creating is no good – and can always be better. While the latter is definitely true, these photos made me rethink (and dismiss) that doubt… replacing it with a sense of confidence.

This photoset has totally re-vitalized my passion for photography. A passion that has been lying dormant for FAR too long. Yet one more way that this amazing trip to East Africa has changed my life. To think that the magic we encountered there is still having dramatic effects on my life four years later is astounding. It is another testament to how amazing Africa really is.

I figured since these images had been locked away in a closet for so long… their time was overdue to be shared.They mean to me and my family something more than words can truly convey. I hope you enjoy them.

While I was clearing out and backing up old files on my machine, I stumbled across this image that my buddy Carlos Richard shot back in August of 2007 for my cover-feature in S3 Magazine. I thought it might make for a cool skate deck, so I gave it a whirl. I think I know what deck I’ll be skating once I kill my current stick!

Check all the decks online in the Slide Style™ Deck Shop.

After the show in Detroit, we made a mad-dash down the East coast to Coyote Joe’s in Charlotte.

Showtime once again.

This venue had a huge dancefloor in front of the stage. It is hard to tell from the photo… but plenty of line-dancing was being had.

Brandon looking patriotic behind the keys.

I loved the lighting at this venue. Such rich color raining down on Brit behind the drums.

More dramatic lighting pouring down on brother Richard.

After the show it was back to the bus, and southbound… home to Atlanta.

Our second day in Detroit meant another crazy opener for Kid Rock at DTE. Hanging out backstage with the band is their friend, Billy Graham.

I don’t know what a ‘chicken wing party’ is… but Kev’s shirt was hilarious!rn.

Richard was taking it easy before the show.

Brit was in final stages of bandanna prep.

Brandon all ready to go.

Billy was on point for sound.

Lights up…

Showtime.

Paul layin’ it down.

The engraving on Richard’s bass is awesome!

Brandon laying down the keys.

The last song they played was ‘Freedom Song’. Charlie dedicated it to our troops and the crowd went CRAZY.

After the show, we had to pack up fast to make the drive all the way to Charlotte for day 5 of tour (well… day 5 for me)

Stay tuned!

After opening for Kid Rock, the guys had an acoustic show lined up at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.

I thought the lighting was great here. It allowed for some great video.

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For some reason I really love this shot of Brandon on keys. Something about the way the drum set in the foreground framed it up… combined with the green lighting just turned out awesome.

Paul having a good time.

Brit was using this resonance box for percussion. It has 40 snare spirals inside, and sounded awesome!

The girl in the photo, Vanessa, worked at the bar, and was celebrating her birthday. She hooked us up with FREE CAKE.

She told us she could ride the bull standing up. We didn’t believe her. She could… and I’m not gonna lie – it was pretty hot. Big Kev said he wanted to marry her on the spot.

Shorly after the show it was back to the bus to rest up for the next day’s gig.

Kevin and DTE crew members got the trailer unloaded first thing.

Shortly after a (wonderfully) catered breakfast, Kid Rock’s tour manager, Shakes, pulled up in this wilder-than-wild Pontiac Bonneville. I snapped a photo of Brit standing next to this crazy thing.

The car, built for Hank Jr.’s 15th birthday, was crafted by renowned tailor-to-the-stars Nudie Cohn. Can you imagine a 15-year old cruising the strip in this thing?!rn.

The dash, steering wheel, door panels, and child seat were adorned with dollar-coins. The saddle in the center-seat position was a child seat. This car was made pre-seatbelt/child-safety laws for sure.

Guns are all over this car. The door-handles, latch for the glovebox, trunk, hood, rear quarter panels, shifter, horn button… all laced with pistols.

The backstage passes were hysterical. KENNY. POWERS.

Charlie enjoying a smoke while talking to Kevin.

Guitars perched for action.

The band hit the stage for sound-check.

Sound master, Billy Kirk, surveying the acoustics.

After sound-check, Charlie and Brit had an interview with WYCD.

Shortly thereafter, it was showtime. Big Daddy Kev hyped the crown and brought them onstage.

The fellas played a great set.

More on the way from Detroit! Don’t wander too far…

Before we made it to Flint, we stopped Cumulus Radio in Toledo, Ohio where the band had a radio interview with K100..

Paul was having fun.

Even more fun once we left, hahaha.

It was back to the bus and back on the road until we arrived at the Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan.

Since we had time to kill, we went across the street to check out a consignment store, and stumbled upon this crazy mall that had it’s hallways adorned with an insane amount of wild stuff. Stuff like this old robot that once answered questions about Ford Motor Cars and a suit from Red Planet.

This chiseled-looking bicyclist sculpture, and a life-sized C3P0. There were also a life-sized Storm Trooper, Darth Vader, and R2D2. I could probably fill an entire post with the plethora of wild stuff there.

My favorite was a life-sized likeness of E.T… just hanging out at the mall. Probably looking for Reese’s Pieces.

After our stint in the crazy mall, we grabbed a bite and headed back to the bus where Charlie was messing around on the guitar.

The band pretty much had the night off, and only came through Flint to see their friend, Randy Houser. That didn’t stop Charlie from getting on stage for a song with Whitey Morgan!

Stay tuned for more as we make our way to Detroit!

I had a chance to hit the road with the boys from Blackberry Smoke for a week while they played shows en route to two sold-out shows with Kid Rock.

I went along to document video footage from the road, backstage, on-stage, etc.This is the tour bus the band calls home. This was my first time on a bus like this, which was pretty awesome! It was tough to get used to sleeping when the bus was in motion, but it was super-comfortable..

The driver, Rusty, was a cool guy that took great pride in what he did. He was always washing, shining, and polishing the bus when we were stopped.

First stop was Indianapolis, for a gig at a HUGE week-long fair. First thing I saw when I looked out of the bus was this equally enormous sculptured likeness of Grant Wood’s American Gothic.

I wandered around the fair until they were slated to be on-stage. I went for a tractor-ride around the fairgrounds that took about 45 minutes to get me back where I started.

There was a huge lot of vintage tractors. The fair had a whole commerce section of the fair revolved around farming and agriculture.

O

ld versus new. There was also an area of the fair specializing in the sale of windmills.

After a brief sound-check, the band had a radio interview on-site with WFMS. My lens was way to long to shoot in the mobile-station, so I shot from outside where you could still hear the broadcast. Richard told me I was number one. He was right! The great thing about shooting this band, is that I’ve known some of the band members for 9 years… so everyone was themselves. No awkward vibes having some random dude wielding a camera in their faces.

They hit the stage and played a great set, despite the scorching heat. I got a ton of great footage from the show.

A mother and son soaking in the music. I always enjoy the family vibe at fairs like this.

You can see it all around you… young and old.

After the show, they had a police escort to sign autographs for the fans.

Afterward, we wandered around the fairgrounds in search of deep fried bacon… and we found it. The lady was kind enough to let us have it for free. She insisted we try it with gravy, but we were all kinda like… enough is enough. Regardless… Kev was pretty excited!rn.

I ate enough to say that I’ve tried it (read: one bite). Once our indigestion settled a bit, it was off to Flint, Michigan for a Machine Shop visit to see the band’s friend Randy Houser… then onto Detroit.

More to come, so stay tuned!

I recently had the honor of revamping my good buddy Will Roegge’s logo. He wanted to give his old logo a fresh look, as well as format it with text and without. The original logo utilized lineart of a panda bear, which was a good starting point.

In addition to giving the panda some new life, I decided to do the same to the type. I will love Helvetica ’til the day I die… but I opted for the slightly more mature look of another personal favorite of mine: ITC Avant Garde. I modified the W and the R by hand, and love how the two letters interact with each other. For the non-text logo, I added some gradation to the logotype as if the panda were casting a shadow on the letters. A few subtle nuances tied the Gs together quite nice for the text version, which we opted out on the gradation for.This was a fun logo to work on, and I am really pleased with how it turned out! I am working on some other projects with Will… so stay tuned!

This is a roster representing some of the better logos I have designed over the years. Logo design was one of the main reasons I got into advertising/graphic design in the first place. I love the idea of a single graphic element capable of encompassing so much meaning, and leading the charge in overall representation to the public. In a world saturated with advertising and marketing, a logo can make or break you. My job is to make sure the latter never stands a chance.

I rolled up my sleeves and got to designing some new decks that are up in the Slide Style™ Deck Store… some of which I am really proud of.Don’t forget about the BIG F’N SALE going on until the end of the week! Prices have never been so low, so get it before it is GONE.

This new MotorMavens deck and a bunch of other designs by my hand are once again available online!I can make decks in different widths, from 7.25 all the way up to 8.25, including old-skool, pool, and longboard shapes – so if you see any decks in the store that tickle your fancy, but need a different size, just let me know! I will get re-sized and up in the store for you STAT.