Shooting the underground - Audrey Alexandrescu
Vancouver based photographer Audrey Alexandrescu has been shooting the underground music scene for years.
She tells us how shooting a live event is more than a moment captured by a photo; its about the artists’ passion, the connection to the audience and a community - a culture.
Audrey’s affinity with the underground bass and dubstep scene began when she began shooting concerts and indie album releases at age 15. In this feature, she shares the art of translating a live atmosphere to a still image and what makes the ‘perfect shot’.
thook at Belden, California.
I’ve been shooting concerts since I was 15 years old. At first I would cover small shows with sometimes as little as 10-20 people in dingy record stores or tiny studio spaces in the east side of downtown Vancouver of mostly album release parties of indie bands, and other cult favourites among the hipsters in Vancouver. Eventually I graduated to bigger concert venues, theatres and outdoor arenas, and then eventually accepted a weekly residency at a nightclub at 23. During that time I got to shoot some of my favourite artists like sumthin sumthin, um.. and Abstrakt Sonance.
Up until that point I was slowly discovering my love for electronic music, and after some exploration it eventually lead me to where I am now - in love with underground bass music, deep dubstep, and the culture that surrounds it all. Landing a residency with a night that was devoted to bass music made 17 year old me absolutely ecstatic, and really solidified how much I loved being in the scene and shooting those events and artists.
womprat
The past two summers I had the opportunity to shoot some Canadian and international music festivals, and that’s when I really got to dip my toes into the bass culture. I quickly realised that shooting dubstep artists is like any other artist, but for me requires a bit more patience. Capturing the moment in a way that does it justice, and allows the viewer to briefly place themselves into that very same atmosphere, is a complicated task. I gotta admit I’ve missed what could’ve been the “perfect shot” more than once because I got too lost in the set and decided to dance for a minute instead of shoot.
seeing it afterwards brings you back to that exact moment in time - that’s always my ultimate goal
When you’re watching a band perform, there’s always movement - the drums are going, the guitar is being strung, and you’ve got a singer belting their heart out.
abstraktsonance
For me, it’s easier to shoot nonstop and feels guaranteed you’ll get some great shots. Shooting dubstep artists on the other hand, often they’re so focused on what they’re doing that their facial expressions will freeze with a look of extreme concentration and they move only when necessary - until they drop the slapper. That’s the art in shooting them - it requires me to really pay attention to their unique movement, when they get excited, their expressive nuances before or immediately after a transition. When you actually get the shot it’s such a satisfying feeling (thank you burst mode). But even more so, seeing it afterwards brings you back to that exact moment in time - that’s always my ultimate goal. Granted, affording the luxury of stage access for a whole set is also assuming you don’t have to rush off stage after a minute or two. For those cases I’ve learned to make it a habit to watch the DJ’s from the crowd or backstage first before shooting to give myself a bit of time to study and synchronise to their flow.
To me, capturing a DJ is less about just them, or just the crowd, but more about the whole of the unique elements that make up a given moment of passion and connection between performer and audience. Facial expressions, hand gestures, eye contact/direction they’re looking, crowd interactions, the framing of the venue etc...
shinythings
My three steps for every single artist is: watch, wide angle, and then go in for the portraits. Sometimes I switch it and go portrait and wide angle first, but the two are just so complimentary it always helps me really get in the zone and do my best. Live portraits are something I try to do regardless of what type of artist I’m shooting, but I specifically love it with DJ’s and juxtaposing those with wide shots of the stage or crowd. They’re up there by themselves capturing the attention of everyone and balancing such power in a way. It’s hard to get a really good look at them up close and feel that intimate moment with them and connect in that way unless you were lucky to get in the front row, and front row isn’t 5 feet back from the stage.
I would love for someone to see one of my photos and see the passion in an artist’s eyes, or be able to imagine what that set must have been like, whether that’s because of the lights, the visuals, the artist, or a combination of it all.
Shambhala
Being able to capture an authentic moment always has its challenges and although I’ve gotten my own process down pretty well, there is always more to learn and new obstacles to face. I don’t think my passion for shooting dubstep artists will ever fade because of my connection to the music and the culture and the people I’ve met through it.
This is the community I’ve felt the most accepted by and has given me the most opportunity to grow and connect with other like minded creatives.