A local musician and friend of the studio, Chris June, helped a great deal with the renovation of our space, pulling the millions of staples from the wood floor in the studio. The best way we can say ‘thank you’ is with a hook up on press photos for his new solo project.

Chris came in with fairly specific ideas of what he wanted. This is always great for me. It frees up my brain to simply worry about light, angles, and composition. Chris wanted a shot showing himself simply playing for himself, maybe before a gig. Our dressing room has a “green room” feel to it, so I dragged the large softbox over and lit it up! Shooting candid shots in a mirror is a common wedding tool for us. Using the mirror here not only added striking visual interest from the circle shape of the mirror, it also added a candid, voyeuristic feel that sells the mood Chris wanted.

The third shot is a pose that Chris had wanted to use, and I liked it. Originally it was more militaristic,but  as most poses go on a photo shoot the planned one evolved and fell into something similar but slightly more natural.

Check out Chris’s new tunes at his web page.

-Michael

The Twestival is an annual event that uses the power of twitter and social media to raise money for charity. This year the Lafayette Twestival chose to support City Foods, a local foods Co-op. Specifically the money raised was used to help out the 10th street garden that allows families and the local Boys and Girls Club to grow their own vegetables in the city at low, low cost. Five great bands played this year: Mike Reeb, J. Allen Spence, Hillary Tribbett, No Hay Banda and Gypsy Revival. We provided photography for the event. Check out the images and hope to see you there next year!

-Michael

RetroPunk is a local DJ who works in Chicago quite a bit. RetroPunk (or Jed as I know him) and I go back all the way to elementary school. Working with him was a bit of a trip down memory lane. Maybe it was this nostalgia that made us think that we were tough enough to handle shooting outside on one of the coldest nights of the year. Despite our poor timing the images we got were exactly the gritty, urban, and street style I was going for. After the cold we came into the studio to warm up. Jed was patient and open to letting me set up the moody, high contrast lighting that I love, but don’t get to use often as it does not work well for most standard portrait work.

-Michael Dick

My friend Mass Giorgini of Sonic Iguana Studios is currently recording the new album for Dusty Trip of Madrid, Spain. Mass wanted to know if I had the time to do a quick photo shoot with the band… suuuure… why not? What a nice group, I really enjoyed having everyone here at the studio today. That’s Dan Lumley of Squirtgun fame with the drumsticks – he’s tracking the album with the band. I wouldn’t recommend clicking on the images if you’re offended by tattoos, mohawks or obscene gestures!

View and purchase images here.