DALE MAY BIO

Dale May grew up outside Philadelphia in Chadds Ford, PA, raised in a family immersed in the arts. Dale’s grandfather was a big-band drummer and band leader in the ‘20s and ‘30s, and his grandmother was a supper club singer. Dale played the drums from age five and was also artistically inspired by his neighbor, the American Contemporary Realist Painter, Andrew Wyeth.

Dale moved to NY to study painting, color theory, and art history at Parson's School of Design. The foundation of these first few years shaped his current aesthetic style and he graduated in 1993 with a BFA in Photography.

Dale left Parsons and went on to work with iconic photographer Joyce Tenneson, who had an influence on him with her ethereal effects. At this point, he continued working with fashion and still life photographers, including Jose Picayo. Dale chose to apprentice with photographers that were both commercial as well as recognized fine artists, and was particularly drawn to a painterly style. Working with still-life photographers provided Dale a technician's training in lighting, equipment and post production.

Dale’s early work in the commercial realm was character-driven, color-intensive photo illustration with a conceptual feel. In the late ‘90s, Dale became well-known within the music industry for his very creative and illustrative work with artists, a reputation that persists to this day. It was with applications in post, first used for his work in music and entertainment photography, that Dale came full circle with digitally manipulated, stylized work bearing meticulous detail. This artistic fusion, and Dale’s unlimited creativity, made him a great advertising hire.

Dale has photographed Christina Aguilera, Isaac Mizrahi, Moby, Wyclef Jean, Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Gene Simmons, Nathan Lane, Dave Grohl, Casey Affleck and musical groups Black Sabbath, Evenescence, Slipknot, AFI, Fallout Boy and System Of A Down to name a few.

Dale works with the inspiration to make the unthinkable real, as well as ... believable.