Were the subjects of True Norwegian Black Metal receptive to the idea of being photographed?
“Yeah, for the most part. Some of these guys can be kind of media shy, but I showed them examples of the work, and told them my intentions. On my first trip I met Gorgoroth, Enslaved, and Nattefrost. Everybody was willing to give me an hour or so of their time.” Did the aims of the project change over time? “It may have become a little more critical as it went on. I came into it with a pretty open mind. I liked the music but I was no expert, that’s for sure. I was just there to observe and photograph what I saw.” How do you mean ’critical’? “Well, not critical, exactly. In the beginning I was looking for iconic, tough black metal photos ” the fire breathing, the upturned crosses. But as I got to know them, I got more into to portraying them in ways they weren’t necessarily used to being portrayed. Maybe a little vulnerable, at times. I love that classic black metal aesthetic, those old Xerox-style black metal photos, and that’s one thing that drew me to black metal in the first place.
