The concept for "The Discovery" drove me crazy for about a year before I finally cracked it. Proof-of-concept shots with the Astronaut and the rocket haunted me... what was it missing? I liked the contrast of the explorer and his discovery against the stark, inky black background.
But it still needed something.
This specific piece was originally created for Bear & Bird Gallery's Out of this World art show, which I had to drop out of, unfortunately. The original idea was inspired by the classic black & white Twilight Zone. At the time I shot it, though, I was also binge-watching Unsealed: Conspiracy Files and Unsealed: Alien Files on Netflix. What can I say? It's a guilty pleasure.
The first, initial image that emerged from that brainstorm session remains intact, but now with a delicious, candy coating of terror... two very different alien encounters with two very different species. The Astronaut's thrill and joy of discovering proof of intelligent alien life is short-lived, only to be replaced with abject horror seconds later.
The Astronaut is a 4" GI Joe custom figure I built specifically for this photo. Composed primarily of a 25th Anniversary Ace, the paint job is loosely based on the mid-60s NASA spacesuits worn by the Gemini crews. I hand-built the rocket from scrap pieces on my workbench, and the tiny spaceman is a scale model figurine. The large alien in the background was in a random box of toys I had to sell (I remembered last-minute), and the stone "alien" head is an aquarium decoration, of all things.
With "The Discovery" now out of my brain, I've moved onto other, more ambitious dream projects...
