According to Bob - "As a long-time Dead-Head, I began photographing the Grateful Dead for fun. In 1977, I had the opportunity to show my work to the publisher of Relix Magazine in NYC. From then on, my photography and artwork was published in almost every issue of Relix - even to this day.

My relationship with the magazine allowed me to get credentials to photograph many artists, and so in the 1980's, I contacted Grateful Dead Productions directly and they began using my photography for calendars, books and, later, the internet. Although I was also graphic designer with my own business, The Dead's organization primarily knew me as a photographer.

That all changed in 2000 when they were looking for a new packaging designer. A friend who works for Grateful Dead Productions recommended me to fill that role. I made a presentation and they were impressed and hired me to create a new look for the CD cover and other packaging for the 25th "Dick's Picks". Dick's Picks is a numbered series of live concert releases that were hand picked by the Dead's archivist, Dick Latvala, and so the criteria was that the design had to lend itself to a numbered series. Number 25 was a stand-alone design, but my client was so pleased with that package that they hired me to design and produce all of their subsequent CD, DVD and box set releases.

The next 11 releases that I created were divided into two series with different designs. For Numbers 26-30, I created the "stamp" series. As a fan of the band, I was already immersed in their imagery. Their song lyrics conjure up visions of the Wild West, trains, hobos, poker games, dancing bears, roses, outer space and so on, and since these were live concert recordings, microphones, tape reels, the venue and location could all play a part in the visuals.

My client ultimately chose the "stamp" design. The idea was to make the CD look like a mailed package, complete with stamp and postmark. The postmark would reflect the date of the concert recording and the stamp would be evocative of the Dead's imagery.

I looked through my childhood postage stamp collection and found beautiful stamps form South America dating from the 1930s-40s. When I scanned and enlarged the stamps, the detail was incredible. Working in Photoshop, I manipulated the images to make the postage value conform to the series number of the Dick's Picks. Then I replaced the central image and merged it seamlessly into the original stamp design. Two of the central images were from photographs I shot - the skeletons on #26 were taken in Mexico, while the rose on #30 was taken in my garden. The others I found in my collection of "old stuff".