I went on tour with the band The Great Crusades to create a body of photographic work for their new record.

the story behind these photographs:

I’ve been photographing this band regularly over the years. It’s that sort of feed-the-soul assignment — very spontaneous and invigorating. Compared to our produced ad work this would seem like a whole different animal, but there are parallels, namely: problem solving, maintaining trust, bending rules, creating a timeless moment and pushing to “get the shot.” There are differences too, like, catering is handled by Steak 'n Shake at 2:30 AM. #nomnom

my GC album cover: Not Afraid to Bite

The creativity of making these documentary style portraits always rejuvenates me. These guys are high energy performers and live a charismatic lifestyle on the road. Rolling Stone wrote, “The Great Crusades look at life through a shot-glass…” Or as I like to say, they play sooty rock-n-roll.

We toured the mid-west, which is where I am originally from. Good times.

Imagine going on a yoga retreat… ya, this was the opposite of that! ;-) Yet the trip actually centered me just the same.  cheers, SAW

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Hi there. I’m Stephen Austin Welch, a commercial director & advertising photographer. My specialties are capturing authentic lifestyle images, genuine portraits & graphic still lifes. I also shoot, what I have coined, environments and scapes. See ’em all on my site.

We shoot tv spots & still photographs for ad agencies, creative firms, companies and magazines worldwide.

Call me, SAW, (or our production company, Traveling Picture Show Company — or my photo agent, Norman Maslov) for the next visual story you want to tell.

We love to shoot!