Frank Turner Portraits! I'm Stoked.
I have a small list of people that I dream of photographing. I mean, not just live or from a distance but portraits where I have the opportunity to actually meet and interact with them. It looks something like this...
Barack Obama (go big!)
Conor Oberst
Brody Dalle
Dallas Green
Dalai Lama
Kim Jung Un (imagine!)
Frank Turner
+ Many more...
So yeah, by taking Frank Turner's portrait last week I actually get to cross him off my list. To me, this is an extremely rad thing as I love crossing things off lists.
It all came about after simply e-mailing him a few days before he was in the city for a show. It was one of those 'What's the worst that could happen...' moments where I didn't really expect to hear back but I still gave it shot. To my surprise he personally answered and agreed to set up a quick shoot before his show.
(An image I shot of Frank at the El Mocambo back in 2011. Check out the other images and my review of the show here: http://www.blogto.com/music/2011/04/frank_turner_gets_the_el_mocambo_singing_along/)
I was first introduced to Frank Turner when a good friend (hey Beav!) played 'The Ballad Of Me And My Friends' for me while relating me and my friends to the characters he mentions in the song - me being the 'official club photographer'. Ever since, I was hooked - his album 'Love Ire & Song' could easily be considered one of my favourite albums.
I absolutely love his straightforward, edgy lyrics and his mix of punk vibes with acoustic guitar. Performing live, he's a blast with entertaining stage banter, and contagious energy on stage. To me, his lyrics are so relatable and the stories in his songs sometimes echo my life. So yeah, big fan.
His day was packed with radio interviews, sound checks and TWO shows so it was a very quick shoot but I SO appreciate him taking the time to allow me to photograph him. I'm truly blown away that although I was not shooting for any media outlet he still allowed me to photograph him just knowing it would mean a lot to me.
To accommodate Frank's schedule I decided to do the shoot behind The Horseshoe, as he was playing a show there shortly after and I wanted to make it convenient for him. I chose to set up a black foam core to give the images a little more 'production value' and create something further than another photo of someone in an alleyway.
The shoot was only 15-20 minutes but everything ran smoothly and Frank was extremely easy to work with. It was clear that it wasn't his first shoot as he was pretty natural in front of a camera - could be due to his mom teaching him to always smile in photos. Well played Mrs. Turner!
Well, that was cool! It was definitely an honour to photograph someone I look up to so much.
Frank, if you're reading this, thanks a lot for allowing me to photograph you on such a busy day! If you ever need a tour photographer I'm available.
Big thanks to Mike P for helping me during the shoot!
Now, go check out his musical awesomeness: