Tattooed Musician in the Ruins of a Forgotten Church

[DanOstergren]

Here is another recent session I did with yet another tattoo artist while visiting my best friend in Kankakee Illinois. I actually photographed three different tattoo artists from the same shop in exchange for tattoos during this trip. The first images I shared of a different artist from the shop are here: Jack Rattlebones in The Abandoned Warehouse , and I intend to make another thread for the third artist once I have enough of those photos ready to share.

For this particular session, we started in the alleyway behind the tattoo shop in Kankakee Illinois, and then we drove out to Gary, Indiana. Once a booming steel town, Gary is now largely abandoned. The city’s population peaked at around 180,000 in 1960 but has dropped to just 66,000 as of 2025. With the collapse of the local steel industry in the 1970s due to automation, outsourcing, and global competition, in a city that was initially designed for a large population based around this single industry, Gary has struggled to maintain its infrastructure, leaving behind an eerie, decayed, and mostly abandoned city. One of the most iconic examples is the City Methodist Church. Abandoned since October 5th, 1975, it has become a magnet for photographers, urban explorers, and graffiti artists.

Dave, the subject of this shoot, is not just a tattoo artist, he’s also a guitarist, and he wanted that to be the visual focus of the session. We kept the styling raw and simple: his red Charvel V-shaped guitar, his tattoos, and the decaying gothic architecture did most of the heavy lifting. I’ll admit, I wasn’t particularly inventive with the posing. Locations like this can be overwhelming for me for a number of reasons. I’m always excited to shoot here, but I’m also a bit on edge, maybe irrationally, maybe not. Between the adrenaline and the sensory overload, I tend to default to safer choices with posing. That said, this session reminded me how important it is to slow down and push past the obvious. Next time I photograph a musician, I plan to bring a little more variety and intention to the posing. On the other hand, Dave is very happy with the photos, and I'm very happy with the new ink I received in exchange. I would also like to give my appreciation for Dave and the rest of the artists at this particular tattoo shop: despite all of them being straight and located in a small Midwest town, they are all fiercely protective of LGBTQ people. It's a good feeling to know I am safe around these people and don't need to worry about judgment from them. They were all so happy to be in front of my lens, and each of them told me that it made them feel attractive in a way they had never felt before. On my end of this, it was an honor to have them in front of my camera. I typically only visit the area to see my best friend Vinnie a few times a year, but I have since built a strong circle of friends in the area as well, who are also quickly becoming good friends with Vinnie as well. I keep referencing Vinnie; I've posted photos of him here before, for anyone curious: My Best Friend in Chicago

All photos were lit using natural light. Camera, settings, and lens info should all be listed underneath each photo. If you have trouble viewing the entire image on your screen, you should be able to just click on the image to enable the site's gallery mode, which will show you a full view of the photo.

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[terri]

An irresistible location - no wonder it's popular! Great set, although I do see what you're saying about the somewhat routine posing. Still, he looks great, and having a happy client is the objective.

Whoever this guy's SO may be, they're going to be in love with #9. Great shot!

Hearing about the decline of Gary, IN is painful. In its heyday it was the celebratory subject of a song in The Music Man.

 

[DanOstergren]

An irresistible location - no wonder it's popular! Great set, although I do see what you're saying about the somewhat routine posing. Still, he looks great, and having a happy client is the objective.

Whoever this guy's SO may be, they're going to be in love with #9. Great shot!

Hearing about the decline of Gary, IN is painful. In its heyday it was the celebratory subject of a song in The Music Man.

Thank you. It really is a sad sight to see. In neighborhoods you see houses collapsing in on themselves all over the place, graffiti everywhere, and you can see that most roads aren't taken care of. Abandoned businesses on all main thoroughfares, and much of downtown in ruins, especially buildings that housed things such as auditoriums and schools. This isn't to say all of the city is abandoned, as there were still open restaurants and other businesses, but there weren't many. There is a particular sign pointing into a neighborhood directing you to the Jackson 5 house, but I haven't had a chance yo go look yet. I have been curious to know what condition that house is in, but a quick google search tells me that it has been well maintained. Kind of sad when you compare it to how unmaintained much of the rest of the city and suburbs are.

 

[smoke665]

wasn’t particularly inventive with the posing.

What in the world are you talking about? Number 6 is over the top good with it's framing within a frame! 2,3, and 7 are solid seconds. I didn't get 5, sorry. Sometimes the subject gives you the pose without much direction, accept the gift!

 

[DanOstergren]

What in the world are you talking about? Number 6 is over the top good with it's framing within a frame! 2,3, and 7 are solid seconds. I didn't get 5, sorry. Sometimes the subject gives you the pose without much direction, accept the gift!

I appreciate that a lot. I just wish in general I had thought to give him more direction with the posing with the guitar so we could get some variety with how he posed with it.

I agree with you on 5. He was really into it though lol.

 

[snowbear]

#6 Nominated for POTM.

 

[smoke665]

I just wish in general I had thought to give him more direction with the posing with the guita

IMO it depends on the subject, some people left alone can show a more spontaneous side, some become more conscientious and stiff when you give them direction, finally there are those that are like putty you can mold at will. I find the most difficult part of location shots is my declining short term memory, I don't do well, unless 1. I've laid eyes on the location first, 2. I've planned my shot list, and 3. written it down, so I can remember.

Only tiny niggle with the exception of #5 is that just a tad more light in the eye sockets might have been beneficial, but that's always a struggle in ambient portraits. I've not been overly pleased with a reflector recently, unless I'm able to work in close. I've been experimenting with off camera speedlight (bare, modified & with CC Gels) in HSS and as fill only, with some promising results. I also have a Gary Fong Light Sphere, that I've seen others use with good success, but mastering it still eludes me.

 

[DanOstergren]

#6 Nominated for POTM.

Thank you!

 

[DanOstergren]

IMO it depends on the subject, some people left alone can show a more spontaneous side, some become more conscientious and stiff when you give them direction, finally there are those that are like putty you can mold at will. I find the most difficult part of location shots is my declining short term memory, I don't do well, unless 1. I've laid eyes on the location first, 2. I've planned my shot list, and 3. written it down, so I can remember.

It does depend somewhat on the subject, but for me personally I have higher expectations for myself when working with people who aren't experienced with being photographed. In this instance I feel that Dave and these photos could have benefited from a little more creativity on my part when it came to posing. Even now after having time to think on it I have several images in my head that I could have made with him had I taken the time to let myself relax and think, but sometimes locations like this one can be very over stimulating to me for a handful of reasons. I plan to photograph more musicians in the future, including Dave, and hope to apply myself with more creativity on those shoots, especially because I intend on returning to this church.

Had he been a professional model, or a musician who is very used to being photographed, I think the results would have been very different. One of the things I love about photographing experienced models is that I can focus on the lighting and framing, while they focus on creating photogenic compositions with their posing with some direction from me in regards to what I'm seeing through the viewfinder. Somewhat unrelated, I always kind of chuckle when I see people say things like "the photo is good because of the model" when criticizing a photo, which is often partly true. A good model absolutely will elevate a photograph, but when working with a skilled photographer, together they elevate the images to an even higher level.

Only tiny niggle with the exception of #5 is that just a tad more light in the eye sockets might have been beneficial, but that's always a struggle in ambient portraits.

It's a niggle for me as well, but one that I'm trying to be less critical over, especially in the instance of men's portraits. What I have found is that in many sectors of men's portraits and editorial photography, shadows in the eye sockets aren't necessarily a detractor in the photograph as compared with women's portraits and editorial photos due to differing beauty standards. In many instances it can actually improve a photo of a man because it adds to a sense of masculinity and intrigue, and even more so depending on the location of the shoot and the context of the photos (in this case I think it lended to the grunge look). I try not to focus too much on it, and instead try to focus on making sure there is usually a catch-light in the eyes when it makes sense, and making sure the facial features are being shaped in a way that I like (a general sense of contouring and highlighting is what I like for every portrait I take).

I've not been overly pleased with a reflector recently, unless I'm able to work in close.

To this day, a 5-in-1 reflector disc is still by far my favorite and what I believe to be my most useful lighting tool. In these photos I was able to use it for the shots taken behind the tattoo shop because I had an extra pair of hands to hold it for me. At the church however, I didn't have an assistant, so in most cases the reflector just ended up being used as something for me to sit on to avoid sitting in the grime of the abandoned location when I wanted a from below perspective of the model (typically my preferred perspective for most portraits anyways). I don't always use them for direct lighting either; they can be very useful for edge lighting too. I typically don't like using the gold side to light someone's face, but it has been very useful for gold edge-lighting. For example, in these photos I used the setting sun as the main light source, and a friend was holding the gold side of the reflector for me in order to achieve some gold edge-lighting. The only exception to the setting sun as the main light source is the last photo, where the sun had already set so I was instead using open sky as the light source, but still used the gold side of the reflector to add some edge-lighting: