Below is a set of landscape images that I took, while on a location scout for a music promo shoot with
Passenger.
I guess you could call this Part 2 to my first ever blog post, (scroll down) which had the same theme. You may have noticed that I shoot a lot on location, and for this reason I spend an inordinate amount of time stressing about finding new and exciting locations for every shoot, which in turn helps to give the final images a unique feel. As a photographer, I am constantly challenging myself to come up with fresh ideas and ways of shooting a portrait, and this usually begins with finding a suitable location for the subject. For some shoots, ill spend up to 2-3 days before the shoot, randomly driving around, hoping to stumble on an abandoned warehouse, a vacant back lot, a delapidated building, an interesting looking textured wall, or the way a shadow falls on a certain angle across the same wall. With other jobs, Ive been tipped off as to the whereabouts of a quarry, sand dunes, a spiral staircase, a window that is a certain size etc If you follow me on facebook or twitter, you're probably sick of the sight of my pleas for HELP! with finding a location. Then there is the complete opposite scenario, where due to time restraints, I havent had the luxury of scouting for a location and I have to just go with it, and the make the most of what is immediately available.
Whatever the case may be, when all the stressing and running around is over with and I am about to begin the shoot, I just remind myself that every shoot is a unique combination of a multitude of elements, starting with the person/subject, the pose, the facial expression, the lighting, the styling, the composition of the image etc I keep repeating the mantra 'keep it simple' in my head, and then I begin to relax a tad. To create a unique image, it is not essential to have a spectacular location, but it does help to create a narrative around the subject, or create a world for the subject to step into. This can work wonders especially when your working with a subject that does not enjoy having their photograph taken, as it gives them the opportunity to step outside of themselves and let down their inhibitions, just long enough for you to be able to take the shot, and even if this doesnt happen it can act as a welcome distraction. That being said some days I do prefer the sanctity of a studio shoot, especially with the horrendous weather we've been having lately...
17.2.2012
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I was recently contacted by
Cold Chisel
management with an exciting, but daunting brief. I was set the task of taking images that would be projected onto a gigantic screen at the back of the stage, during the bands live performance of the classic 'Breakfast at Sweethearts'.
For those of you that aren't familiar with the lyrics, its basically a song about the transition between night and day in Sydney's Red Light district-Kings Cross. The songs protagonist is sitting in a cheap diner on the main drag, coming down off speed, enjoying his breakfast and taking in the sights and sounds.
The brief sounded simple enough - capture the mood of the song in a series of landscape images. However, the instructions were a tad scary at first. I was required to roam the streets of the Cross between 4am-6am, the morning after the Melbourne Cup. My first thought was, 'someones going to jump me for my camera', my next reaction was 'grow some balls ya big blouse'. At this point, its fair to say that I wouldn't have cut it as a war photographer. So I gathered my balls, and a friend... I tell a lie, it was actually a friend first and my balls second, and dragged my sorry arse out of bed at 3am.
The song's chorus begins with the proclamation "Hey! street sweeper clear my way", so being a regular sherlock holmes, I struck up a conversation with this fellow in the image above, who was leading the morning clean up. As soon as I mentioned I was shooting for Cold Chisel, and capturing images for 'Breakfast at Sweethearts', he went off on one! First, he showed me where the originals Sweethearts used to be (its now a newsagency), and then he told me that when he first heard the song on the radio back in '79' at the tender age of 17, he was compelled to come and visit the Cross for the first time and eat his breakfast at Sweethearts. He even went on to tell me, and this is when I thought id struck gold, that the waitress in the song Anne Maria, still works as a door bitch at this establishment below that goes by the name 'Love Machine'. Unfortunately, as you can see by the picture the 'Love Machine' had closed for the night, and Anne Maria was nowhere to be seen, but for the trainspotters out there, this is where you can find her on any given night, just make sure you get there before 4am.
26.7.2011
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At the beginning of 2010 I was invited by the Vines to document the demo and recording sessions for the upcoming LP 'Future Primitive' (a very cool name for a rock LP I must say!). At the time I had very recently purchased a Canon 7d and was only just getting to know the camera and its features. Up until this point in time I had shot everything on film, and was in the process of making a very reluctant transition to digital. Since this transition the challenge for me has always been to make my digital work look more 'film like'. Using different types of editing software, I have been able to come very close. Just how close, ill let you decide...???
26.7.2011
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Firstly, welcome to the new look Angelo Kehagias Photography website and blog, and thank you kindly for dropping in. What better way to start a photoblog than with a magazine cover shoot. After the success of the Belles Will Ring promo shoot, the band requested that I photograph them for an exclusive Street Press Australia cover shoot. The image was used for both the cover of Inpress Issue 1177 and is on the cover of this weeks Drum Media, so keep an eye out for it ! It was also accompanied with a feature article which included a double page spread of one of the images from the original shoot, which you can view here in the editorial section.
Like I do with most of my shoots I set out for a location scout a few days before the shoot. I used to just take a few quick happy snaps on my smartphone, but I decided recently that these location scouts would be a perfect opportunity to capture some landscapes, so the 7d and the tripod are now full time travel companions.
This shot below is what clinched it for me as far as the location was concerned. I liked how when I exposed for the shadows the surrounding highlights would blow out creating an eerie atmosphere that looks very much like a snow covered landscape. Hi 5 to
Ansel Adams
for inventing the zone system ! I didn't expose the exact same way for the final portrait shot, but I still managed to capture the beautiful distorted shadows of the wooden pylons in the water, as you can see in the cover shot above. Another Hi 5 to the Inpress editor for not cropping too tightly and leaving this detail in!
Sometimes it rains and I freak out about damaging the equipment, so I just shoot from the car, and sometimes even through the windshield. I dont know about you, but I like it when there are a few raindrops sitting on the glass of my lense, that cause irregularities and distortion in the image.
I may not end up using all these location for the shoot, but I put them in a location archive for future reference. Priceless!
10.7.2011
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