It’s all about the angle

I am sure modblog reader are familiar with “the myspace angle”, you know, the one where people hold the camera way up high and photograph themselves below. That angle has been proven to be able to take off well over a hundred pounds if used correctly. In a similar fashion photographers often take pictures looking up at there subject, therefore creating the illusion of the subject towering over them.

Well that is exactly what photographer Simon Jacobs did when photographing Dave Bastard for this picture. You see I knew Dave on IAM years before meeting him. From his pictures I thought he was a giant beast of a man, boy was I shocked to see he was just a few inches above oompa loompa height!

bastard2

Don’t let his small stature fool you though; with his extensive tattooing, muscular physique and extensive gun collection he is one bad ass MoFu! He is also one of the best blackwork tattoo artist in North America, a continent that often overlooks top notch blackwork by stigmatizing it as “tribal”. Check out Dave and his wife Lea’s work here.

The Actors of the Past


Good day, folks! We should have an exciting announcement (that some of you may already be aware of) a bit later on, but let’s kick things off this week with this cutting work by the one, the only, The Absolute (more from Iestyn). What you see cut into Alice‘s arm up there is a Vajra, which, as the infallible Wikipedia explains, is a weapon “that has the symbolic nature of a diamond (it can cut any substance but not be cut itself) and that of the thunderbolt (irresistible force).” Indiana Jones will be by to battle you shortly, Alice.

At a Glance


This backpiece comes to us—surprise, surprise—from Marc at Swastika Freakshop in Radolfzell, Germany. It’s not just Marc’s technical skills as a tattooist that impress me (although they’re off the charts), but his aesthetic: The designs he comes up with seem so bizarre sometimes, but what they really indicate is a thorough understanding of the human form, and it’s a style that, ultimately, is equal parts complementary and jarring. All of which is to say, Marc pisses excellence, plain and simple. He wakes up in the morning and pisses excellence.

See more in Tribal and Blackwork Tattoos (Tattoos)