I was contacted by Allen “King of the Oldies” Hill to inquire if I might be available to come to the Continental Club and shoot some promo shots for the new incarnation of the El Orbits.
Since David Beebe is about to undergo surgery on his voice box he will be taking a hiatus from the band for about a year.
Thomas Escalante, lead singer for Clouseaux, has already moved in to the lead singer position with David doing backing vocals and playing bass. With David gone the vocals are covered but there is a need for bass guitar. That’s where Allen comes in.
With all these changes there’s a need for new promotional material, hence the request for my photographic services.
Truth be told, I was pretty nervous. I don’t mind going out and shooting casually because there’s nothing riding on the results. When shooting on spec there is an expectation and failure means disappointment for more than just the photographer.
Still, it was an opportunity I wanted to take advantage of and I agreed to do it.
The results were not everything I had hoped for. I don’t own professional lighting gear and they wanted the picture on the stage at the Continental Club and the lighting there is pretty bad.
My current photographic preference is to shoot without a flash. This results in shots that are a tad grainy and “soft”, but look cool when reduced in size. In hindsight I should have shot a few with the flash just so they would have had that as an option.
I sent over the files from the images I thought were most usable and Allen determined that this one would do the trick:
Click image to see full size
In other photographic news I sold another picture at Sig’s Lagoon. I’ve doubled my sales revenue!
Dude, I think that’s a really good picture, actually. I don’t know a great deal about photo composition and lighting and all, but I think this picture does capture the flavor of the band well: clean-cut, but laid back and ready to have a good time. I love the way everyone is smiling so big, it makes me want to hire them for a party. Good job.
Seconded. I like it very much and it looks very professional.
And remember what I said about selling your second photo? That’s when it becomes more than a hobby, IMNSHO. See you guys soon!
Sure looks like Allen’s face was lit…with light, I mean. Not that he was drunk. Though he may have been drunk, I wasn’t there for the photo shoot.
Anyway, nice shot.
I am so sad about David’s leaving. We’re planning on hitting all of the remaining CC shows and the last show at Sambuca.
Where’s Steve? He’s not quitting drumming for them, is he?
That is a great picture, btw. I love Jim in this one.