For Maia Von Lekow’s shoot at Bar Oussou I really wanted to create a strong sense of narrative, but one that doesn’t exist purely in the realm of ‘the performance’. Therefore I decided to create a narrative that starts at the beginning of the bands performance, but rather than finish shooting when the band ceased to play, I kept shooting until the band had packed up and left the bar.

I’m attracted to this narrative because most gig photography focusses purely on ‘the performance’ and the most visually obscure, interesting or energetic moments that occur within a performance. For me, this feels quite selfish, shallow and one-sided. It’s easy to focus on what WE get from musicians and the grandiose things that performers do to entertain an audience, but is it really tapping into the art of musicianship and the connection that artists create with their crowd?

With my narrative I wanted to draw attention to the way in which the musician serves the audience. The way that musicians, through music, connect with an audience, how they bring energy and light to a room, how they create something of beauty and rhythmic harmony, how they inspire people to laugh, clap and dance, but most importantly how they leave this sphere and return to their ‘everyday’ life in a somewhat thankless way.

At the start of my PB3 I wrote:

The lights, they guide me, to look at you

All alone, but in a room full of people

I wonder who you are? And why you do what you do?

I think of me, and wonder, what do i mean to you?

All alone, but in a room full of people.

Who are you to me? And what do i mean to you?

With this small poem I really wanted to draw attention to the fact that being a musician is, in a way, quite a lonely and thankless task. Musicians are just regular people that essentially live somewhat generic modes of existence, but for that small moment of time, each week, where they perform, they become something else. They give themselves over to the room, and they give themselves up for the sake of the performance. They take on characteristics and modes of being and moving that please the audience, that amp up the energy in the room. They loosen their bodies, they go with the rhythm and they move unselfconsciously all in the name of art, all in the name of connection and all in the name of entertainment. Then, once the performance is over they exist the stage and in a mundane why they go about coiling cables and unscrewing drums, whilst the audience stands around talking and drinking, then they drive on home. That’s what I really wanted to capture in my narrative and thats what I really wanted to focus on throughout my shoot.

Personally, I thought the shoot went really well. I generally always love shooting because there are so many gems that appear before your eyes, so many great moments that unfurl themselves, that if your lucky you can capture. Throughout this shoot I captured a many number of these moments and hopefully have managed to construct the narrative that I set out to create.

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

After doing some research on photo essays over the past week, I’m keen to start my pre-production planning for my upcoming photo essay for PB3. I contacted my partner Irene to get some information about the person she has chosen to supply me for PB3 but didn’t hear back, so I’ve decided to go with a friend of mine Maia Von Lekow. Maia Von Lekow is a Kenyan singer and multi-instrumentalist who has an upcoming gig in Brunswick at Bar Oussou. I’d love to shoot her gig in the style of Hungarian photographer Anna Dobos, whose work I covered in my previous blog post.

Equipment:

• Canon EOS 60D DSLR (my personal camera)
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM Lens
• Stage Lights

For this shoot I’m gonna use my Canon EOS 60D and Canon 50mm prime lens rented from RMIT’s AV Loans. I’m keen use a prime lens because it’s a better quality lens, with higher quality glass and better optics than my own Canon 18-55mm lens.  It also has a very low aperture so I can capture fast moving people (such as musicians whilst performing on stage) in low light conditions without having to pump the ISO too high, which would make the images super grainy and less sharp.

Subject:

• Maia Von Lekow performing her latest album with her Australian band

Maia Von Lekow usually resides in Kenya but she’s coming to Melbourne to build up her Australian fan base and perform her latest album. Maia will be performing with her Australian band, which essentially means the people she plays with whenever she’s in Australia. Her Australian band consists of James Davies on drums, Troy Downward on guitar and Chris Frangou on bass. All of these musicians are good friends of mine, the last name mentioned being that on my partner, which is how I originally came to know Maia.

Location:

• Bar Oussou – Sydney Rd, Melbourne

Bar Oussou is a quirky bar on Sydney Rd that has a rotating roster of diverse musicians. The bar features a front room, with a small stage (which is where Maia will perform), bar and standing area, a middle room and a beer garden. I’ll be taking photos of Maia whilst she performs in the front room. The front room has a cool setup for photographers: because the stage is in one corner of the room, and is surrounded by two large windows there are multiple viewing angles of the stage. I hope to utilise a lot of different angles for Maia’s shoot, hopefully getting some ‘through the window’ shots which should look pretty cool.

Time:

• 9pm – 12am

As this gig is on at night this shoot is going to have really interesting lighting and super saturated colours. The stage at Bar Oussou will offer super saturated coloured lights, that will caste over the performers and the room.  The various buildings, bars, streetlights and cars nearby will offer a number of different coloured lights in the background of the images, or perhaps reflected off the glass windows.

Goal:

• To capture my subject in their natural environment.
• To frame the setting as it’s own character, informing the narrative surrounding the subject.
• To construct a narrative throughout the photo essay, consisting of a beginning, middle and end.
• To act as a ‘fly on the wall’ capturing images, without informing what the people do within the images.
• To have a final product that feels as if it accurately represents my subject and their environment.
• To create a narrative that is engaging visually and intellectually, promoting thought within the viewer.

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson