Jimmy Sullivan

"The world lost an amazing drummer two days ago.
To say I was devistated is an understatement. I've been a fan of the band for as long as I can remember, and when I was walking around my secondry school pretty much on my own cause I was "different" or "uncool" - it was their hoodie that protected me from their words.

Upon hearing the news I dug out his drumsticks and it felt like I was holding onto part of a legacy, and I'm sure I can speak on behalf of all UK fans when I say our thoughts are with him, the band and his family at this time. "


This was my tribute to one of my favourite drummers of all time - Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan of Avenged Sevenfold who passed away aged 28 on the 28th December 2009 from natural causes.

I didn't really know how to express my feelings and emotions about it, people were starting groups on facebook etc but to me, it didn't help me deal with the loss by joining a group.
So I took out his drumsticks that were given to me a few years ago, placed them on my bed, and using a 50mm f1.8 (I used this to get as much light as I could into the image), I focused on the end of the sticks and took the above photo.

I edited it in Adobe Lightroom, and chose a high black and white contrast preset, altering the settings to my own personal preference.
I chose black and white because to me, it enforced the idea of "the past", a "memory", and it was also in respect to something really sad.
The white sheet was used to place them on because to me, white is a symbol for innocence and purity.

I like the way it came out, it's nothing fancy but the sticks were his and used by him at one of the last UK shows he performed in. Drumming was his passion and life and so even though theres technically not much to the photo, the meaning and PAST behind the sticks means a hell of alot more.