Last week I whipped up a poster for the Boat show at Backspace on June 17th:
First I got to work in my old-fashioned, hands-on way, using construction paper and scissors to craft the image I wanted. The general idea was to have it be semi-literal in the vein of having boats and little mittens and confetti in an ode to two of the bands’ names, while also having some conceptual imagery to go hand and hand with it. I wanted to have there be two mirrors on a curved oak stand. There’s a vagueness/duplicity to the image so that it can also be interpreted as eye glasses and a mustache.
Here are my process shots:
Then, for the first time ever, I was the one to also hang them once they were printed. In the past it’s always been a game of trying to spot a poster once it’s been hung. I could traipse into the typical areas such as Hawthorne, Belmont, 39th and Alberta and pretty much be assured a glimpse. Or more often than not, I could have a friend report back to me with an exact location they’d spotted a poster of mine at. Sometimes it’d be in the window of Everyday Music. Sometimes it’d be right outside of their house on SE 12th, sometimes it’d be across the street from Potato Champion, or a very specific pole on 38th and Belmont. This time since I was hired as poster hanger I was the one in control of their placement. And let me just tell you, my mind has been a swirl in proper poster hanging etiquette. I’ve done it once before with Winter is the New Summer propaganda, but that wasn’t date specific. This was and so I was paying more attention to the dates on the posters already on each pole, seeking to cover only posters whose events had come to pass. On a postering spree with Darren in SE on Friday night, he said he aims to cover whatever the most boring poster is. Sehr interessant.
Here’s an on-the-street glimpse care of my Wednesday night efforts on Alberta, followed by a shot from inside Backspace where they hang in full color:
Milagres Publicity Shots for Kill Rock Stars
Gee golly gosh! It’s about time I finally post this! This being the publicity photos I shot of Milagres on behalf of Kill Rock Stars. Originally on the calendar to happen during the craziness of SXSW, the shoot ended up happening in Portland at the end of March.
The night prior to the shoot I got to see them for the first time at Mississippi Studios. Another band I also saw for the first time that night? Wild Ones! Be still my beating heart. I later did their publicity shots too, but that’s a whole ‘nother post… Back to the story at hand… the ever trusty Evan and I took off, trying to pin-point a location day-of due to the rain making my #1 pick Elk Rock Island inaccessible. And due to continued rains, you still can’t reach it! Along the way, we gathered bricks, mirrors, paper and fabric for the holy grail of prop materials.
I’d estimate we shot for around 3 hours along the Spring Water Corridor Trail, accomodating color and whimsy for the lenses of both my Hasselblad and my digital Canon camera. There was plenty of humor – from best tour bathrooms to grilled cheese sandwiches. These blokes are awesome! So awesome! I love when you can love a band for their music and who they are as people.
I was in my hotel room in Austin when Marisa and I were first exposed to Milagres’ dreamy-goodness by way of the group’s track “Glowing Mouth.” On repeat it played.
Who knows what materials these photos will turn up in, though turn up I hope they do! Album is out in September, so we shall see… The shoot was quite the conglomeration and exploration including experiments with double exposures. I do really like the shattered mirror images though.