Joshua Hoffine is one of the most prolific modern day horror photographers in the world, at least that’s my opinion. When he granted me an interview I had a serious fan girl moment. I love Horror and I love art, when you combine the two you get something amazing.
About five years ago I came across a horror picture that was completely captivating, the title of the photo, “Hands”. A woman in a ball gown being pulled through the floor by a mass of hands. I had to know more about the artist. When I found Joshua Hoffine’s website, I was blown away. What I though was a painting was actually a photograph. Hoffine’s skill and talent are off the charts. He captures a scene and with a flair that is rare to find.
‘Hands’
KM “How old were you when you discovered your love for photography?”
JH “I started making photographs shortly after graduating from college. I discovered a polaroid camera and was immediately enraptured. I graduated from Polaroid to film and a darkroom, and later to digital, and have stayed with photography ever since.”
KM “What made you choose horror photography?”
JH “I love horror movies. I grew up watching scary movies and reading Stephen King. At some point, after being a photographer for a few years, it struck me that there was no such thing as ‘Horror photography’. There were horror movies and novels, and comics, and games, and bands, but no horror-genre photographers. I started making horror photographs and so I found my place in the world.”
‘Robot’
KM “Where do you draw your inspiration from?”
JH “Horror movies, Jungian psychology, my own fears – past and present, and the fears I notice in my children.”
‘Swarm’
KM “Out of all your photos, which is your personal favorite and why?”
JH “Wolf” was my first complete Horror image, and in many ways set a template for everything that followed. That makes it especially precious to me. But I tend to love best the photo that I’m trying to make next.”
‘Wolf’
KM “Is it true that the young girl in some of your photos is actually your daughter?”
JH “True! But it is actually 2 of my daughters. Several images feature my daughter Shiva, including ‘Wolf’, ‘Basement’, and ‘Bed’. And several feature my daughter Chloe, like the clown image ‘Balloons’ and ‘Devil’, as well as my short film ‘Black Lullaby’. My eldest daughter Rin is featured in ‘Babysitter’. I also use my nephews and nieces when I need babies!
‘Devil’
KM “A lot of your pictures feature makeup and props by J. Anthony Kosar, how did you two get together?”
JH “Anthony and I met at a convention a few years ago and hit it off right away. He is a spectacular talent. He can draw, paint, sculpt – and like me he works heavily with his family. We started production together on our zombie photo ‘Last Stand’ just as he came out on TV’s FACE/OFF on SyFy. By the time we unveiled the finished image in New York he became the FACE/OFF Champion for Season 4. We’ve stayed friends and work together every chance we get.”
KM “You and Anthony are currently working on a new project together, can you tell us about it?”
JH “We’ve just launched our 3rd Kickstarter campaign for a new image called ‘Innsmouth’, based on H.P. Lovecraft’s story ‘he Shadow Over Innsmouth’. This image will feature the human victim of the story being pursued and surrounded by a terrifying mob of amphibious people called The Deep Ones, as he tries to escape from the decrepit seaside town of Innsmouth. Anthony is creating all of the monster effects, and the human role is going to be played by actor Doug Jones, who was Abe Sapien in the ‘Hellboy’ movies, as well as The Faun and The Pale Man in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (among many others)!”
Concept art for ‘Innsmouth’
KM “Why choose a Lovecraftian theme?”
JH “I discovered Lovecraft a few years ago when Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine commissioned me to shoot a project based on Lovecraft’s story ‘Pickman’s Model’. I’ve since become smitten with his writings. He deserves his title as the Inventor of Modern Horror. Part of what makes him intriguing is the long-standing tradition of other artists contributing to his ‘mythos’. ‘Mythos’ refers to the way his stories are all loosely connected and exist in the same world, like Tarantino films. Other writers, beginning in his own lifetime, began writing homage stories that riffed off of his mythos, making it even grander. This tradition includes contemporary writers like Neil Gaiman and Stephen King. This year marks the 125th anniversary of his birth, so I thought this would be a wonderful time to do another Lovecraft project.
H.P. Lovecraft
Anthony and I were also interested in making a sequel to ‘Last Stand’. In the story ‘The Shadows Over Innsmouth’, the human victim is being chased through the streets by an entire city full of monsters out to get him. The imagery is similar to ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’, or any modern zombie movie, but exists first in ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’. As with our zombie project ‘Last Stand’, we wanted ‘Innsmouth’to be populated by a horde of monsters, not just one.
‘Last Stand’
KM “When will the artwork debut?”
JH “Much of our campaign is aimed squarely at Lovecraft fans, so we are going to debut the finished image at NecronomiCon, a city-wide Lovecraft festival in Providence, Rhode Island -Lovecraft’s hometown-the weekend of August 21.”
NecronomiCon Convention Information
KM “Where can people see your pictures/artwork ?
JH “My Horror photography can be viewed on my main website at: https://www.joshuahoffine.com . I have a softer, gentler website for commercial clients at: https://www.hoffinephotography.com . And you can ceck out the details on our new ‘Innsmouth’ project here: https://tinyurl.com/innsmouthphoto .
KM “If you could give any advice to artists who want to follow in your footsteps, what would it be?”
JH “Follow your instincts and don’t be afraid to break rules.”
KM “What movie coming out in 2015 are you most looking forward to seeing”
JH “I’m a child of the 80’s. The new ‘Mad Max’ movie has my full attention!”
KM “What is your favorite Horror movie and why?”
JH “I have several favorites in each subgenre! ‘Poltergeist’ might be my all time favorite. The remake is the movie I’m least looking forward to seeing in 2015!”
Be sure to stop by Hoffine’s website, where you can purchase copies of his pictures and watch his short film ‘Black Lullaby’. Follow Hoffine on Twitter for more updates.
This is the link for Hoffine and Kosar’s ‘Innsmouth’ Kickstarter Campaign . They are offering fantastic perks!
‘Innsmouth’ Kickstarter Information
‘Ripper 1’
