Summer Fun: All Points West Festival
This past Saturday I shot interviews at All Points West Festival with the festival organizers, Kings of Leon, The Roots, The Virgins, Animal Collective, Jessica Stam, Gossip Girl‘s Jessica Szhor, and Chromeo.
APW is inspired by the historical events that occurred at
Here is the package that came out of our shoot:
On Saturday, I showed up at the Pier 11 Ferry at 11:40am and met with the production team, then we shot stand ups with John Norris on the boat. I had never shot on a real boat before until Saturday and the first thing I noticed is how difficult it is to not let all the rocking interfere with your shot. Also, the engine is super loud and it was a challenge to make sure my audio levels were good.
Luckily it was a sunny day and the waves looked really nice on camera. I got the shot I wanted with good audio levels and then we moved on to a full day of interviews. I didn’t realize I was sunburned until 3AM the next day when I finally got home. I never burn! I guess walking around in the blazing sun with your neck exposed will do that. Radiohead was the last set of the evening but I didn’t get to see them (again). Oh well.
Meeting ?uestlove in person and being able to shoot him was fab so that made the day great regardless. The Roots never get old for me. You can watch the full package and additional segments right here.
I enjoy shooting at festivals for my own weird reasons – I like the challenges of unpredictable weather, crowds and schedules. It’s a total crapshoot if things are going to work out, and rather than freaking out about the possibility of disaster I relish the chance to see if I can still get the job done no matter what obstacles arise. The experience tests me in unique ways that I can apply to other areas of my life.
When I am working at a music festival I try to both get the job done and absorb a little bit of the fun (when it’s possible). It’s obviously not the same as being at a festival with friends, taking your time and doing exactly what you want to do. All of my festival experiences so far this summer have been on shoots, so I plan on going to a few shows on my own time and experiencing them the way they are meant to be experienced – not manipulating a camera that’s pointed at a band and obsessively listening for pops and hisses, but actually standing in the audience and experiencing the band on my own terms.
Saturday was a really long day, so on Sunday I kept it mellow and spent some time in Union Square park, taking photos.
