Making album art is definitely one of my favourite things to do. Roam approached me with an album title and a brief of creating something colourful that reflects the ups and downs of life. I found it really tough at first. Went for a zillion walks to try and trigger some ideas. Deciding just to try to write an email with some loose directions, the ideas began just flowing out. From a picture of a dog jumping up to catch a frisbee to a kid on a rollercoaster looking absolutely terrified. Writing things down is so important, I never would have got those ideas just walking around thinking.
We decided on the helium balloon struggling to stay up above a cactus. thought process being that no matter how high you get there's always something to pull you back down to earth. Initially I wanted it to be a distant image of a balloon, running low on air and falling to the cactus below. But for some reason it just didn't have enough conflict or tension about it so I changed tact and went for a close up image. 50 balloons later and scaring myself every 30 seconds as they unexpectedly popped, I got the shot that would eventually be the album cover. It needed to have the perfect tension just before it popped and with enough pressure to see the cactus needles pressing the balloon. not an easy task. Shot with a Canon 5Dmkiii and a Sigma Art 50mm lens and if I remember correctly just a speedlite for the final image.
The album is out now and it's a banger. Check it out and to see a few more images head here -> https://www.roam.uk.com/