Negan Cosplay
Back in Southern California, I worked with an outstanding paralegal, Don Barbee. One of the things I admired about Don was his love of the horror genre and the dedication he brought to his cosplay.
For some years now, he has been focusing his cosplay on the character of Negan from the comics and AMC show, The Walking Dead. I know Negan is a bad guy, the leader of a group called The Saviors in the zombie apocalypse world. Negan is easily recognized by what he carries - a barbed wire wrapped bat named Lucille - and his signature line, “Half your shit belongs to me.”
I was in Southern California in early November for my stepson’s wedding and I approached Don about doing a proper Negan photoshoot. I did some online research and found the town of Amboy, out in the Mojave desert, somewhere between Barstow and Twenty-Nine Palms, along Route 66. I wanted something that provided open desert vistas and a post-apocalyptic environment for these images. Sure, it meant a bit of a drive to get there (and man, driving back after sunset on a moonless night meant the brights stayed on until the freeway was in sight), but getting it right means making the effort.
Amboy has a storied past and has been used frequently for movies and shoots. It features Roy’s Motel and Cafe, and the bungalows alongside it, as well as an old car, was the spot to start the shoot.
Let’s be honest here - there is something about Negen + Lucille + car trunk that just doesn’t bode well, y’know?
Across the road from Roy’s is an abandoned church plus some out buildings. The church was locked up but we could gain access to the buildings.
DISCLAIMER
I did not see any “no trespassing” signs but that does not mean they are not private property. That being said, we undertook this knowing we could be trespassing. Also, the condition of the buildings, as well as the amount of broken glass, could also pose a risk of injury. I am NOT encouraging you to go to this site and visit these buildings - that is your own choice. If you do, I suggest you wear closed toe shoes with sturdy soles and use caution when moving about. We were there in daylight hours (I wanted the contrast of light and shadow the desert sun can give) but any visit after the sun goes down should be done carefully and NOT alone.
A technical note - travel to Southern California for the wedding meant I had to travel very light, i.e., carry on only, because I actually had a wedding to shoot in Chattanooga the day before the California wedding, so I did not want to risk having a checked bag get lost since I would leave Tennessee on the morning of my stepson’s wedding and rely on the time difference to be there for his 2:00 pm ceremony. Because of that, I had a Godox AD200 and a MagMpd sphere and grid for my lighting when I wasn’t using natural light only. As I have said before, the term “game changer” gets thrown around too often but Godox and MagMod truly have products where it can be used.,
There was one outbuilding that was trashed but had an upright piano still sitting in the middle of it. Incongruity makes for interesting compositions with a character like Negen.
Half your shit belongs to me
Sure, Freud could have a field day explaining the symbolism of Lucille, but . . .
As I mentioned, I had done some research on this spot and thanks to a YoutTube video I watched, I knew a short distance away from the church as a “graveyard.” I am using quotations because I asked the fellow behind the counter at Roy’s whether this truly was a graveyard. He sad it was and that the wooden crosses there had had metal tags attached that had since fallen off. Yeah, I don’t think so. The crosses and grave sites looked too :arranged” and there were no metal tags lying about. I suspect that it had been built there for a music video or film in the past, and anyone knowing the story is welcome to post it in comments. Nonetheless, we entered it with respect, just in case it was someone’s final resting place (after all, a lesson learned from the TV series Dexter was that a grave is a perfect place in which to hide a body).
This is where I learned a little back story about Lucille, the murderous baseball bat. Negan was married to a woman named Lucille prior to the zombie outbreak, whom he loved. She was hospitalized with cancer when the outbreak occurred but Negan would not abandon her. The hospital lost power, Lucille’s life support gave out, and she died - only to be resurrected as a zombie. But Negan could not bring himself to dispatch her and ran, bringing with him regrets that he could not put his wife to rest. So, Don suggested that we use the graveyard to create a scenario where Negan is looking at the graves and happens to find one with his wife’s name - not her actual one, but her name - and has an emotional moment.
Another technical note - the name was applied by my using a displacement map in Adobe Photoshop. Ain’t hard, Google it and you will find instructions. Photoshop will come into play a little later on.
A shoutout here to Don’s girlfriend, Raven. She not only braved the trip to the desert but she was invaluable as a V.A.L. (voice-activated light stand) and Kicker Upper of Dust for dramatic effect. And a cheerleader for Don and me - thank you, Raven!
The sun was starting to get low and warm when we went to the last outbuilding. The blast of that sun allowed for some good natural light shooting. Again, you have to be careful in places like this - a lot of broken glass, a lot of rotting subfloor.
In the back of this hoiuse was a room with a bathroom. On the bathroom wall, someone in the past had spray painted “You are my dirty needle.” Don asked me if I could change that to “You are my dirty girl.” It seems Negan, when he is feeling particularly affectionate to Lucille the Murderous Baseball Bat, calls it his “dirty girl.” I told you Photoshop would come into play again. Let me follow with a couple showing the original graffiti.
I mean, it’s heartwarming, isn’t it? A boy and his baseball bat - what could be more apple pie American?!
As night approached, we used the blue hour to grab some shots on Route 66. Because once the sun went away, it became DARK.
I really enjoyed myself with this shoot. I had a willing subject, a great location, and the ability to take my time and plan out shots. If someone is willing to put this much effort into their character, they should have professional images to show that. Conceptual portraiture is wonderful and welcome any cosplayers to contact me about memorializing your work. Sure, cell phone pics at conventions are okay, but you deserve better if you’ve given your time and resources to making a character come to life.
How much would it cost? Half your shit . . . okay, less than that. Give me a holler if you want a conceptual portrait session!