the backdrop project: the daniel round.
Daniel and I hit the Bell House twice this weekend: Liam Finn and the tail end of the Luyas set on Saturday night, and then meat madness at the Brooklyn Beefsteak on Sunday. (I still might have the meat sweats from yesterday’s carnivoring (er — more on that another time … maybe))
Anyhow, walking around Boerum Hill and Gowanus provided a varied lot of backdrops for the project, and Daniel proved an obliging participant. This is the first time I’ve experimented with other cameras and film for the project: Kodak Portra 400vc in the Leica, and Fuji Pro 400H in my Pentax Spotmatic — can you tell which photo was taken with which camera?
I’m still working through what sort of backdrop works best for this project, and am wondering if there is a best backdrop at all — the pull-down metal gates offer a nice uniformity, and allow the participant to pop out a bit more in the frame, but backdrops like the brownstone (or, in previous series, promenades and windows) give the photo a broader feel, perhaps with more of a … backstory, as it were. I’m not too concerned about making any kind of firm decision one way or another; at this point, there’s just a lot of fun experimenting, and my friends continue to oblige, so I’m just going to keep shooting and let the project evolve as organically as I can.
Happy to oblige, and would encourage others to do the same. You can really get to know a corrugated tin wall, and a yellow door that pops out at you deserves some close study. Also, the end result is beautiful and intriguing.
the verticalness in the yellow door shot of daniel is amazing.