Athletes Recreate Iconic Album Covers For ESPN. All The Images, Side by Side Comparisons and Behind The Scenes Shots.

ESPN Magazine's Music Issue has a fabulous photo editorial that I simply had to share with you (along with some 'behind the scenes' shots). Photographed by Mattias Clamer, 14 athletes, all with a good sense of humor, let themselves be transformed to emulate musicians and recreate iconic album covers from the past few decades.

Below are the shots for ESPN, the original album covers, side by side comparisons and images from the set.

NFL Players Trent Richardson, Marshawn Lynch and LaMarr Woodley as Run-D.M.C. (Album: Ultimate Run DMC, 2003):


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


NFL Players Trent Richardson, Marshawn Lynch and LaMarr Woodley as Run-D.M.C.(Album: Run DMC's Greatest Hits, 2002):


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


Olympic Gold Medal Sprinter Allyson Felix as Beyonce (Album: Dangerously In Love, 2003)


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


Olympic God Medal Swimmer Ryan Lochte as the baby on Nirvana's Nevermind Baby (Album: Nevermind, 1991):


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman as Michael Jackson (Album:Thriller, 1982):


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman as Michael Jackson (Off The Wall, 1979):


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson (and wife Chanra) as Bob Dylan (Album: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, 1963)


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


Motocross Racer James Stewart as Rick James (Album: Street Songs, 1981)


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:



U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Forward Alex Morgan as Katy Perry (Album: One Of The Boys, 2008)


Side by Side:

Behind The Scenes:


MLB Players J. Upton, E. Longoria, B. Phillips, G. Stanton and S. Victorino as Devo (Album: Freedom Of Choice, 1980)


Side by Side:

Behind the Scenes:



The Cover of the ESPN Magazine February Music Issue:


Another cute feature is that the athletes have each compiled playlists you can find here.

Lado Alexi's Hauntingly Beautiful Amazones.

Russian-born and German-based fashion and beauty photographer Lado Alexi has many stunning images to his credit. His impressive clients include Vogue, Estee Lauder, Swarovski, YSL, Tush Beauty, Triumph Lingerie, HYPE and Icon Magazine to name a few. But his series of portraits titled Amazones II blends beauty with incredible makeup and styling for such hauntingly gothic portraits, I wanted to share them with you here.



Used on the cover and in a Fall 2011 editorial called Witchcraft in HYPE Magazine, the model is Yulia Petrova, with stunning make-up by Loni Baur, hair by Karim Amerchih and fabulously styled by Nadia Rath who frequently works with Alexi. Only 6 of the 7 images (all shown here) from the series were used in the publication.








In a brief interview with Art+Commerce, Lado answers a few key questions about his photography and inspiration:

What interested you about becoming a photographer?
– Strong interest in film and fashion. The fascination of capturing mechanically time and the visual power one single image can develop. As a son of actress and a doctor in Moscow photography was a good way to reflect the world around.

Where do you find inspiration to make your photographs?
– Mostly in cinema - but also art, music and daily observation. Sometimes also a certain mood, or thing that happen in the world.

What do you most like to photograph?
– Faces and people.

Who are your favorite photographers?
– Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, NIck Knight and many more.

See more of Lado Alexi's beautiful photography here.