Saturday, August 16, 2008

James Knapp

The Leading Questions project is one I have thought about for some time. I'm really excited to see it come to fruition.

When selecting subjects I try to consider not only how I think they will interview but if I feel a strong concept for their portrait. My first subject, composer/trumpeter Jim Knapp, was an easy choice. I have known Jim since 1995. I performed in his jazz quintet for some time and have always been a great fan of his compositions and playing. Jim is also a very intelligent, witty person. He really enjoys language as can be seen by some of the clever titles he chooses for his compositions.

At the end of June, 2008, I contacted Jim regarding the Leading Questions project. Because of his wit, I thought Jim would be a great first subject. I had a feeling Jim would understand the concept without my really having to explain it to him, or provide examples that might steer Jim down a less intuitive path. I feel that Jim hit the nail on the head, providing a perfect first outing for the series.

After receiving Jim's completed interview, we scheduled a photo session. I really wanted to shoot Jim with black and white film and chose Ilford FP4+ to do so. We shot Jim's photo on the stage of Poncho Concert hall at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where Jim is a professor. It had been a while since I had been to Poncho and I initially envisioned shooting Jim, sitting in a chair with the trappings of the stage behind him. I imagined curtain riggings and theatrical tools littering the background, but was disappointed to find that my memory of this stage was not accurate. It has none of the things I imagined. (Note to self, never trust your memory, always do a location scout in advance) I however, made due with the situation and instead decided to turn Jim around so that his back would face the seating of the hall.

I set my lights and did a few tests. Now, the tricky part of working with subjects not used to being photographed, is getting them to look relaxed and natural in front of the camera. There is a real art to this. When conceptualizing this shoot, I knew that I wanted to get a shot of Jim laughing. Jim tends to be a fairly quiet, low-key person, who will surprise you with a sudden outburst of laughter when something strikes him as amusing. I wanted to catch this element.

During the session, Jim was his usual self, patiently waiting for me to set up my gear, engaging in a little bit of small talk. To get the image I wanted, I gave Jim a little bit of direction regarding how I wanted him to sit in the chair and then I casually started telling him jokes. (Now, I didn't just go straight into a comedy routine, I tried to keep our conversation natural, but just happened to have a few jokes to share.) I lift my head from behind the camera so that I could directly engage him but kept my finger on the shutter release waiting for the perfect moment to fire. I must admit that I had trouble telling jokes fluidly as I was trying to watch Jim closely while operating the camera at the same time. In the end, I got several images of Jim that I really like and decided to go with the shot above as it really typified what I wanted to communicate about Jim Knapp.

Here are a couple of shots that I considered as well:



Thanks to Jim for his cooperation.

Here is a link to Jim's interview, hosted by SeattleJazzScene.com

www.seattlejazzscene.com/?p=733

This is Jim's site:

www.jimknapporchestra.com/


Technical Info:

Ilford fp4+ shot with a Mamiya RZ67. 110mm @ f/5 1/400th second
White Lightning X1600 through 4' octabox as key. Alien Bees B800 through 4' strip light to rear and camera right. B800 shot into hall in background.

Triggered by Pocket Wizards

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