Matt and I had been trying to get together for me to photograph his band, Empreal, for a few months, finally we found a date that fit everyone’s schedule. We set off for San Francisco very early hoping to catch the sunrise, however, the day turned out to be a very foggy one with no sun visible during our shoot for the most part.
The band had scouted out some buildings in San Francisco that they like a lot and one they wanted photos of them walking into and out of, preferably into or out of the main door. The door wasn’t that cooperative, and I have quite a few fun outtakes of them laughing at each other when the door stuck. This is my favorite of the series, in part as they each have a different amount of their faces and heads visible to the viewer. It was funny that no one seemed surprised that I was on a ladder photographing a band walking back and forth many times.
After a few tries the doorknob gave out and came off. I insisted we use one for a portrait. From left to right the members of the band vocalists Alex and Kyle and on vocals and guitar, Matt. The doorknob was replaced after we finished this shot, even though it would have made a great souvenir.
We then moved to a stairway to get some shots with an urban feel.
Next we moved to the pier to take advantage of the fog. The first shot is a shout out to a scene in “Dead Poet’s Society”.
We had to wait a while for individuals to clear out, yet this shot of Alex and Kyle walking out of the fog was worth the wait.
During the shoot the band was also making a behind the scenes video. While Alex and Kyle were getting interviewed I took a few more shots of Matt, this is my favorite.
The whole day Empreal and I were joking back and forth that we should sneak into A T & T Park, which we’d planned to use for a background. It turns out we didn’t have to sneak at all, they let people into the park as long as you stayed off the field and within the chained areas. So photographed them inside including a shot of Matt on the trolley and several with the empty stadium behind. I can’t wait to see how Empreal uses these and other photos I took, some will be on their next CD and some for posters, I will share the results in my blog when the materials are finished.
by Danielle Stolman
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