DEAN KARR

The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22nd, 2025, only weeks after his final performances both as a solo artist and alongside the original Black Sabbath lineup (at the “Back to the Beginning” benefit concert). Back in 1996, you directed Ozzy in the music video for “I Just Want You“ (from 1995’s ‘Ozzmosis’). What was it like working with him and what is your favorite memory of Ozzy while growing up? Working with Ozzy on our first music video was an experience unlike anything I had ever dreamed of. A true “pinch me” moment is what I call it. I was so very young and just rising on the scene, when suddenly I was given the job of directing my all time rock ‘n’ roll hero! I can vividly remember driving to the sound stage on our first day of shooting. It was probably 7 a.m. and I had “Snowblind” by Sabbath cranking at ear-blistering volume while endless tears were rolling down my cheeks. I told myself “You are now going to go give something magical back to the man who has filled your life with the most important music to get you through all the hard times and good times!” Completely surreal it was and we got along beautifully, with mutual trusts to work together towards making one of the best Ozzy videos to date! It was SO important to me to request that he please did not wear his round glasses or pull his hair back in a slick ponytail. He had gotten very comfortable with that look around this era and I wanted to bring the Ozzy Osbourne of 70’s Sabbath years back in front of my lens!

In the past, we’ve geeked out over scanners as you scanned original prints with resolutions reaching 4,800 dpi. With the level of fidelity needed in your work, let’s talk about cameras! What was your first camera, what is your current camera of choice and what is the thing you still love about film that digital cannot replicate? I’m very happy with all of my current gear and have fully welcomed digital gear into my life. Currently I shoot with a Nikon D850, I’ve always been a Nikon guy and have intimate knowledge of the D850 inside and out. My scanner is an Epson Perfection V850 Pro, which have a few complaints with, but it’s definitely the best scanner on the market for what I need to get out of it. My printer of choice is a Canon Pro-1000, which has revolutionized my ability to sell archival gallery prints and was a total game changer after owning 3 shitty Epson’s prior to owning this ultimate piece of pro gear! I am moving up to the larger Canon Pro-2600 printer in the next couple months, which allows me to print up to 24” wide and as long as I want! My first cameras were a Pentax K-1000, then my Grandfather gave me his Canon AE-1. Once I discovered the larger 2 1/4 negative format, I never picked up my 35mm SLR until much later in life! The Mamiya RB67 was my favorite new toy, giving me big negatives 6x7 cm in size. I was renting 4x5 view cameras to photograph many of my assignments on, since I was able to manipulate the plane of focus and create extremely artistic portraits with shallow focus just on subjects eyes and blowing everything else in image out of focus. The only problem was the 4x5 view cameras are huge and clunky and you have to compose everything under a dark cloth, the viewfinder is upside down and you have to load giant pieces of film into the camera one by one. It was around 1994 that I discovered a the Fuji GX680, this camera changed EVERYTHING! It had the same ability to change the plane of focus as my huge view camera, but was a handheld camera which took roll film. You can see the results of this camera in most of my work, where the focus is kooky are extremely artistic. The Fuji GX680 took care of everything I had shot from 1994-2015, then digital destroyed the film industry and all of my photo labs were going out of business and I had to invest in a digital Nikon. Also at this time the recording industry died a hard death and everyone I knew at record labels was let go and a lot of them had to move back in with their Mom and Dad’s to get through the reality of having to learn a new trade. Several got their real estate licenses. Thank God I had made quite a name for myself by this time and was still in demand. The budgets sucked big time and then around 2016 they sucked even more! Record labels couldn’t afford to have me shoot my Fuji GX680 any longer because it was too expensive to shoot film! I had no choice but to embrace the digital revolution to accommodate their crappy budgets. I was still very active in directing Halloween Horror Nights T.V. commercials for Universal Studios every year and Howl O Scream T.V. commercials for Busch Gardens in Tampa. Those were my big bread and butter jobs every year.

Since we’re talking about film cameras, let’s go back a bit further… You’re an Los Angeles transplant from Washington state. What was it like moving to California? When you arrived, where did you first setup home base? I moved to California in 1989 to attend Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. It was the premiere art school internationally and I had just previously finished my 5-year BFA at Washington State University, but hadn’t learned much more than how to party and chase girls. Art Center taught me extremely technical stuff that wasn’t part of my prior University’s curriculum. I lived in a flop house with 5 other student in Alhambra, just below South Pasadena. I was loving the new life in California and found myself out seeing live music a couple nights a week. Around 1991-1996, Los Angeles was the coolest spot in the entire country for unsigned bands, as grunge was on it’s way out. On any random Monday night at Club Lingerie you might see Jane's Addiction, Tool, STP, Sublime, or Rage Against the Machine. Often several of these bands were playing together on one given night! The Mentors from Seattle were now a local band here and I never missed a show of theirs. Also, local horror rock band Haunted Garage were amazing! I befriended all of these bands early on and watched them rise to the top, Los Angeles was the new Seattle around this time. The bands and myself were all climbing the rock and roll ladder rapidly, all driven to make it count!

When was Kastle Karr originally built? From what I’ve seen online, Kastle Karr seems like an inspiring location for photo and video shoots. For the short period of time I lived (and worked) in Hollywood, driving through the Hollywood Hills always felt surreal and mystical.

After renting in the hills so far too many years and paying ridiculous rents, I decided to buy my first home. I looked at about 6 homes and I fell in love with the old world charm of Kastle Karr as soon as I saw it! Turrets, stained glass, spiral staircases, wrought iron, chandeliers. Just needed a paint job and to pull the horrid carpeting out! I’m only 8 minutes away from the Hollywood Bowl in secluded Nichols Canyon. Lush green hillsides, nice size lots so nobody is invading your privacy. It’s completely removed from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood and swarming with all sorts of wildlife. Often I have deer in my back yard, lost of exotic birds and ground hogs, as you know I have a pet squirrel for the last 3 years. Weirdest animal yet was seeing a large mountain lion appearing on several neighbor’s ring cameras, while walking down the middle of our street at 4 a.m. I do miss Seattle a lot and will eventually live in both cities. I visit family several times a year at the moment.