renegade

I love shooting at night. I see an infinite number of fixed studio lighting situations all waiting to be pulled from the dark and interpreted. What the night reveals and hides can be used to benefit the intentions with the picture. Last week, I embarked on a little journey with AVIUS (of 3 the Hard Way, Winner of Westword's Best New Album this year)--check:

http://www.myspace.com/aviusmastermind

We hung out in North Denver for a few hours. I lived in the area (5 Points) throughout the summer, and often photographed kids playing in the alleys. When I walk through the neighborhoods in this area, I am wonderfully overwhelmed by the sense of community--and not the type of "community" that makes me want to curl up in a ball on my dogshit/ornament/picnic- free lawn. Lets just say its not exactly a gated community.
First, we shot illigitimately (illegally?) in a train depot. Before long, we were escorted from the property. Anything goes during an artist shoot so long as you have humble intentions. Then, we spent some time by this old building playing with the flash and his motion. Finally, we shot in front of these back-hoes. AVIUS suggested we shoot in front of them, to bring a working-class energy back to images that may normally glamorize the subject. I thought it fit nicely with the empty truck beds we had just shot in front of. Furthermore, I found it important to integrate concepts of labor into the images, as it brought in a rustic tone that AVIUS had requested be part of the beat of the images. 
As a photographer who wants to invoke meaning, I still must be aware of the i I have a bit of a difficult time directing the subject because I think of shoots as interactions, not staged events. mpending requirement of showing the subject in a manner that they like. Shooting AVIUS was really lovely because i directed him even less than I normally do (save for the funky motion shots).he didn't have to do much, but his intention came through in the images. What resulted was quiet and mysterious. 
For All of the images, visit
www.flickr.com/katelevyphotography