Photography will always be my primary passion but unfortunately it never held any nostalgia value for me. I wasn’t lucky enough as a child to have any major exposure to film cameras besides my dad’s Pentax K1000 which he could never trust me with. It was rarely used and only brought out for major family events like birthdays or vacations. Nostalgia for me always has been in the categories of comic books, television and movies.
Even though it’s almost been a decade living in Brooklyn and Manhattan, my upbringing in Australia was very heavily influenced in US pop culture. I still have memories of my dad taking me to my first movie at the movie theater which happened to be the R-Rated Robocop and yes I was seven at the time. From then on, it was all downhill while enjoying the decadence of 80’s action and horror films. I don’t think my parents, friends and especially myself had had any respect for the MPAA ratings.
Whilst I have many ideas for future photo projects that could meld my passions in photography and my nostalgia for 70’s/80’s action/horror films, I had an itch to scratch.
The Manhattan Meathook Massacre
This was my first attempt of recreating a classic 80’s horror poster. I relied heavily on my photography and typography. The New York Ripper heavily influenced this piece but what is unknown and adds atmosphere to this piece was the foggy skyline that was taken on September 11th. The 70’s and 80’s brought great creativity in the shock factor for movie titles, therefore I had to put as much energy into an original title.
I Heart Human Hearts
I’m not a born and raised New Yorker but I already share the frustrations of the invasion of the tourists especially during rush hour. Don’t get me wrong, in other cities where I am a tourist, the tables are flipped and I become the jerk — so nothing personal! I remember coming up with this title seeing the streets flooded of tourists wearing I Heart NY.
Pope Fiction
Maybe this is where I jumped the shark and lost the plot. That said, if I had the money to produce such a film, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second! Anybody who loved Ashley Laurence from Hellraiser, Sherilyn Fenn from Twin Peaks and Nicolas Cage from that new movie he’s in every month for the past decade would want to see this film made! Kickstarter anyone?
Downtown Zombies
After seeing Planet Terror which remains to be one of my favorite movies in the past decade, I just wanted to recreate the logo and apply my photography to it.
Return to the Brooklyn Bloodbath
Personally, I feel I got lazy here and I didn’t give enough energy and thought as the previous pieces. This is my Superman 4: The Quest of Peace.
