Aztek-TV by Red Cathedral

1996 Was a very good year for videogames. Production of the Playstation 1 was going through the roof. Nintendo countered with the Nintendo 64. Duke Nukem 3D, Super Mario 64. Tekken 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3 became legends. Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Command and Conquer, Quake, Pokémon, Dead or Alive, Star Ocean and Resident Evil all debuted. For me the survival horror of Resident Evil was something new. A different atmosphere than zombie-shooters like Doom or Wolfenstein and even more addictive. Luckily in 1996 I was working in the videogames industry .. so playing all night could even happen at the office. Not even Parasite Eve, Silent Hill, Nightmare Creatures, Bioshock, Deep space, The Last of Us, The Evil Within, .. grapped me like that first night of Resident Evil.. that first time of being a vulnerable human in a world of zombies.  And yes then there were the sequels, and the movies, and the novels & comics and the animated series and the remakes. ( Full list )...

The 1st costume event in.. nearly 2 years? You can't believe the ecstasy of opening those tickets in the mail, getting that CovidSafePass in time and hearing that it would not get cancelled as feared ( unlike Castlefest ). Preparing the cameras. Getting ideas for shots. Actually smiling. Thank you Elftopia . However there was a little hick-up. I could blame it on traffic jams making us arrive extremely late.. but it wasn't that. It was exactly as feared and predicted in this post : I didn't dare to make photos. Have I gotten scared of walking up to people for a picture? Have I lost so much self-confidence? Did I stop trusting my technical instincts? Did I start doubting my gear? Haven't I talked to live strangers for that long? Is this what people call a panic attack or anxiety? I guess a bit of all of those. Meade helped a bit. Spending some time on the event finally got me clicking again.. but by that time the fair was closing its gates. So I returned home with on...

 So better beware every shadow.. First seen on Flickr

This was the reaction of the barbarian faun to the notification that Castlefest 2021 has been cancelled. We can only hope the best for Elftopia, now that Trolls-et-Legendes has postponed it's fair to 2022.  Actually.. such events have been so long that I don't even remember which kind words I should use to convince the beautifully costumed creatures from the fantasy fairs into posing for my camera. Should I Zoom or Facetime them? " Hi, you on the other side of the path.. would you mind if I took a picture of your gorgeous creation? " My fear is that I'm not the only one with these questions rushing through the head and while I will try to talk to the costumed humans, some other photographers might resort to sniping from afar with 200mm to 600mm telelenses and refuel that silly <Cosplayer/Photog> feud because some not-cleary-thinking photogs caught some cosplayers unaware .. or even worse: snapped them while taking a huge bite of a sandwich. Not the most el...

A Flemish models photographer ( but only during the weekends ) send me a PM telling me that as long as i continued to make images with strange costumes, weird headpieces and " other bizarre items " no serious and self-respecting model would even consider working with me because such images simply don't belong in a model's portfolio. And he got me thinking.. because.. he is probably right. And I do make pictures without the things he pointed out.. BUT If a model (m/v/+) takes everything so seriously that they would never consider shoots with fantasy/scifi/historical/horror/.. elements then maybe a collab might simply not be a good idea. I like having fun and doing strange stuff when i feel like it. It’s always good to take a step back and look at your life through a different perspective. O-well, maybe he meant it well and he simply wasn't very skilled in the fine art of Constructive Criticism and basic grammar? So I went to check out his pictures: 70x model in s...

Everybody has the right to make a wise and educated choice for themselves. And I accept their choices as long as their choices      * do not endanger/hurt, the Planet, the animals, my few loved ones or myself,      * do not limit or inhibit my right and ability to make my own choices. Freedom means having the choice to be free.. or not. More from this series on Flickr

For us Europeans February 12 2021 was a palindrome date. (12022021.. Just look at the beauty of those numbers, so I just had to make a picture on that day.) And eventhough i´m living in it.. 2021 still sounds like pure scifi to me. But i can´t seem to choose between a #cyberpunk scifi like Shadowrun or a purely #dystopian world as projected in the Purge and something way more #postapocalyptic . I guess we´ll wait and see. Namaste. And there is an Instagram version More on Flickr

The Romans adapted the Greek term  βάρβαρος in order to refer to anything that was non-Roman. The Romans indiscriminately characterized the various Germanic tribes , the settled Gauls , and even the raiding Huns as barbarians. For the Romans, and subsequently for all following generations up until today, a barbarian is a human who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive (such as a tribal society). Any barbarian was looked upon with disdain. Still those Barbarian hordes conquered the mighty and civilized Rome. The laughing barbarian is on Flickr

We wish you a very Apocalyptic 2021! Before you whimper and whine because you couldn't party on New Year’s Eve or celebrate it with friends & family: think of all the elderly, the poor, the sick, the homeless and the disabled people who spend EVERY NYE all alone. Think of all those people who work every time while you celebrate. For you it was 1 year of abstinence, for them a lifetime. Maybe next year you’ll invite a poor, disabled or elderly family member or friend to your NYE party. And in that case 202021 has taught us all something. Namaste Greetings from Winter-ish Haspengouw

Have a safe Friday the 13th! May there be BLOOD! More horror on Flickr    

 Enjoy my favorite holiday of the year. The full set is on Flickr Link to the Instagram version

 How about trying to set up some images that give a feeling of a warzone? That was a nice challenge, now you decide if it worked. Reenactor: BelgianBeerBugBarney Costume: D Company, 2nd Airborne Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The guys who took Pegasus bridge during D-day. Assisted by the ladies E & B  The complete series is on Flickr      

Lockdown time gave me the opportunity to do several little tests with a variety of Steampunk masks. Do you like these little strange portraits? Should i do more of these? More from these mini shoots on Flickr

Who would have imagined seeing all those masked faces in the European streets? Original publication & other shots on Flickr .

A small cyberpunk inspired shot for a world that is almost invisibly yet inevitably changing into the dystopian vision of the cyberpunk writers of old. Originally published: https://flic.kr/p/2eFgYP3

In times of Covid-19 the dead are everywhere around you  #corona2020 #lockdown2020

This virus is teaching us very important lessons.. the same lessons dystopian scifi movies & disaster/zombie-movies have tought us.. Survivalists were right: instinct quickly takes over once society's foundations are lightly shaking, freedom & privacy are swiped off the table in the name of safety and the authoritarian states are doing better than democracies.. and spreading their wings on waves of propaganda. (Check this VRT NWS article ) Let us remember the fallen and see what the future brings.

Hunters, killers & believers all join forces against the zombie horde during Halloween season. For some horror should be limited to the days of Halloween..  for others everyday is Halloween..  I belong to the latter group.  More horror on Flickr . 

Have you checked my FB-page or Flickr recently? It has been a while since the last upload of images & more importantly: since the last event/shoot. Busy times at work & I started looking for a new place to call home. Today a few images of the huge 2019-backcatalogue have been added to Flickr , together with the very first 2020 pictures. More new pictures will surely be made during Rise of the Trolls & Fantasy Fest . Looking forward to doing loads of events, trips & shoots in 2020! Namaste 

The 1st Belgian fantasy event of 2020. Every 2020 February weekend had its own heavy storm scorching the land.. yet Rise of Trolls created a very short moment to forget the heavy rain and destructive winds. More images on Flickr .

Urbexing at an abandonned & most definately haunted morgue in former Eastern Germany.    More images on Flickr .

If you were wondering how many Belgian steampunkers roam the lands.. then behold this gathering on Flickr . Uchronicité,  a gathering for the steamy souls & clockwork hearts.

Some samples made during a workshop Eye Auto Focus (& video Slow motion) I gave for Sony.. I made a mess of the place.. whoops. More images on Flickr

Every year movie & comic book characters parade through the streets of Brussels.. not as human-sized characters but as giant balloons.  More images on Flickr .