burn bag – the making of Ledge Fortcher’s new EP cover

“Burn Bag” is a new 4 track EP by Ledge Fortcher. Following the disbandment of the full line-up, Ledge returns to the stripped down sounds of a sole electric guitar and vocals. Recorded live, mixed and mastered by Konstantinos Fragkopoulos at Shellac Recordings studio, “Burn Bag” marks the departure from the noise fueled, alternative, grunge sound to much more minimal soundscapes. Nicki from Nicki Upstairs Fine Art Photography did the photo shooting/editing of the EP cover, enriching the initial photo concept with ideas and solutions, and carrying it through to its realization. So, it ‘s up to you, fellow friends and voyagers to listen, share and comment!

Exciting news everyone! As you might have guessed already, I had the honour of shooting the cover for the new EP by Ledge Fortcher, a local rock band! A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the band’s frontman, who happened to see some of my pictures on facebook. He asked if I was interested in shooting the cover for their new EP and shared his ideas about the concept. Needless to say I was over the top excited, so we decided to meet so we could talk it over.

When we met he explained to me what his main concept was, but he didn’t have all the specific details figured out, so we tried to come up with ideas together. This was a rather difficult and unprecedented task for me, because up until now I was only realizing my own concepts. I have to admit that helping someone else realize their own concept is a very challenging yet incredibly creative task! I think the hardest thing was that he wanted to keep some of the concept explanations to himself, which I respect, but it made it harder for me to come up with ideas. In the end we managed to form a concept that we both liked and then came the hard part: he wanted it done in maximum two weeks time. Which means we would have to find the location, the props and above all the time to do both the shooting and also the editing. I must add that this happened during a week which was full of thunderstorms, so I had to take that under consideration too.  Also I had already planned a mini vacation during the same period, which basically left me with two days for editing. After almost having a panic attack I decided that I could not let something like that stop me.

I proposed that we shoot in a place where I had already been and which was ideal for our concept. It’s inside the same abandoned army camp where I shot “remained“. We set an appointment to visit the place the day before so we could pinpoint the exact location and save us time. I picked wildflowers from around my neighboorhood and hanged them so they could dry and I burned a bunch of newspapers in my fireplace to take pictures of the flames so I could use them later. My boyfriend, who has become my trustworthy assistant, brought the lighter and the fuel can, so we were set to go. We had discussed that the faces of the two figures holding the lighter and the fuel can would be blurred or erased but I proposed the red yarn idea, as I thought it would further strengthen the concept.  Luckily my model (the musician himself) agreed to having his head wrapped in yarn in mid August, so we were set to go!

 

On the day of the shoot I was so nervous that I might forget something, that I brought a checklist with me, which is a good idea when there’s so much going on in a picture. In the end everything went according to plan, my model was very co-operative despite of being forced to kneel and having his head wrapped in yarn on such a warm day! Luckily we were not in a crowded place or people would be really weirded out. Special thanks once again go to my beloved boyfriend/assistant who I had running around, he was a huge help to me that day!

I feel so happy that I was given the opportrunityto shoot this picture and more so that the result was satisfying for both ends. It’s amazing how much a good partnership can inspire and motivate you!

You can listen to the EP here and also check out the band’s facebook page!

Ps. This was shot whith my brand new 50mm lens, which I am absolutely in love with! Also, this was my first time shooting with a male model!