I had just packed my stuff away from shooting Archons when I walked back into the Tin Can and saw Secret Fun Club's sweet cobra T-shirt. Turns out they needed a group shot too. Deal! So I grabbed my gear and set up in the same street I shot Archons 15 minutes ago. As I was setting up, I saw the planes coming in directly overhead.

Sometimes I try to do things just because they're a challenge, like incorporating airplane trails. If you can see it in your mind though, you can do it.



Click on the photo see a couple alternate versions.

Lorenzo kept an eye on the sketchy dude standing on the corner while we waited for the next plane to pass by so I could try again. Mr. Sketchy's towncar made a nice background, so I thank him for that.

One thing that really intrigues me about these types of shots is that the faces turn out unpredictibly. I find that about a third of the musicians who stand still for me can't actually stand still enough to keep from blurring. I have found a few tricks for minimizing this, but some people are just jittery of that long a time frame. And that's fine. Depending on the particular way they move and how I pop the flash, it gives each person an interesting alter ego. Music is a kinetic art in several ways, and involuntary movements are just as much a part of a person's kinetic self as their dance moves..

Sometimes I wonder what my subjects think about for the 30 seconds or so that they need to freeze and stare in one spot. For the first few shots, I'm sure they're wondering why the hell they agreed to pose for me on a dark street and that they'd rather be drinking with their friends than getting blinded by a flash. But I try to get 7-10 shots or so before I let them go. So that's 4-5 minutes total of quiet time. So maybe these are like long exposure portraits of each person's contemplative state. Some people can achieve a laser-like focus, other people bounce around without even knowing it.

Usually drummers.

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