SHAWN BRACKBILL ______ PHOTOGRAPHER

Billboards | The Head and The Heart | The Kills

2011-07-12T10:17:00.004-04:00

A few of the photos that I shot recently of The Head and The Heart are featured on the cover and inside the July 9, 2011 issue of Billboard magazine. Please check it out if you see one on the newsstand.

In billboard news of a different kind, one of my photos of The Kills is looming large on billboards around Los Angeles, CA. Waiting on some cool photos. If you see it, please snap one and send it over!

Update: Some shots of the billboards!

The Kills

2011-06-06T09:33:00.002-04:00

In late January of this year I photographed The Kills for press photos to accompany their recent Domino Records release Blood Pressures. We also shot some Polaroids to be used as the lead images for a project I coordinated with the band and Polaroid.

Polaroid x Dossier Journal

2011-06-06T09:09:00.003-04:00

In December 2010 I continued with a few ongoing projects for Polaroid. Having shot backstage at NY Fashion Week for 2 seasons, I shot an editorial exclusively on Polaroid film for Dossier Journal. Featuring models Lyle Lodwick and Coco Young in Simon Spurr, Marc Jacobs, Philip Lim, Mandy Coon, Siki Im, Dolce and Gabanna and more. Here's what Dossier said about the piece...

Photographer Shawn Brackbill began using Polaroid cameras and film to shoot fashion last fall during New York Fashion Week, where he discovered the unique emotional bond that the instant film creates with its subjects. “In all of the backstage chaos,” he recalls, “I found that the Polaroid camera really put my subjects at ease. They’re familiar with it and they’ve used [the cameras] with their friends and family. There’s something about Polaroid that feels intimate and more casual.” Inspired by this experience, Shawn expanded his experiment, using a variety of the brand’s cameras and films to capture models Coco Young and Lyle Lodwick in studio. The resulting images, which you see here, recall an era before digital cameras and evoke the nostalgia of a lost scrapbook. As Lyle explains, “When you shoot Polaroids, you are making history. [It is] an artifact that, for this moment, is the only physical record of what just happened. It’s in my hands, developing before my eyes. You caught it just then. And here it is. It is now a window into that moment. You are instantly overcome with nostalgia—as if you are looking at the image you just took through your children’s eyes.”

Joey

2010-11-22T23:40:00.005-05:00

In late October, I shot a fashion editorial for Joey. "Up All Night" was the inspiration for the issue. You can see it here. Joey Issue No. 2 . I was trying to work out a different take on "Up All Night" and came up with the idea of doing a sunrise shoot. I love the light around dawn so this was the perfect opportunity to shoot in that light. The morning of the shoot ended up being one of the last days before daylight savings time kicked in so the sun didn't rise until 7:20 am. With the hard work of Chloe Harstein, stylist, and Sarah Graalman, hair and make up, we were able to get out the door and into a cab to the location by 7:10 am. It's always nice to work with a great team including model Tina V from Next. Below are the images and layout from the magazine and a few outtakes as well.

Laurel Halo

2010-11-22T13:02:00.002-05:00

In mid-October I worked with musician Laurel Halo on press photos for her new 12" that will be released by Hippos and Tanks on November 30th. We had talked up a few location ideas for the shoot but the week before, while scouting for another shoot, I came across a location that we had to use. I pulled some Risto clothing for the shoot from Nouveau PR. I had photographed backstage at the Risto shows in the past and thought his clothing would be the perfect compliment to Laurel's vibe.

Dachas - SNOB Magazine (Russia)

2010-11-18T11:44:00.008-05:00

In mid-October, I took an assignment to photograph three NY families at their Dachas for Snob Magazine (Russia). In Russian, Dacha refers to a country house. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacha All three families were really nice and welcoming. Each of them invited me to join them for a meal and tea. It was a great project to work on and couldn't have asked for better weather to travel upstate for both weekends. Please scroll down to see the pages from the magazine and some outtakes or check out the slide show and see even more.

Anton Ioukhnovets and his family photographed at their house near Putnam Valley, NY

Stepan Pachikov photographed at his country house near Wurtsboro, NY

Michael and Lily Idov photographed at their country house near Andes, NY.

Teengirl Fantasy - XLR8R Magazine

2010-11-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

I photographed the band Teengirl Fantasy (True Panther Sounds) for XLR8R Magazine, in early October. They were traveling from Oberlin the day of the shoot to play a Fader Magazine sponsored show at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg. We had intended on meeting up around sunset but the band was stuck in traffic and running late. I headed over a bit early to the venue and scouted a few night time photo locations. In the end, I'm glad they were late.

Lister

2010-11-15T22:40:00.002-05:00

In mid-September of this year, I met up with Australian artist Anthony Lister in Brooklyn to photograph him as he was finishing up a large scale outdoor piece on the corner or Roebling and Metropolitan in Williamsburg. You can find more of his work here... Anthony Lister's Website

The Foals - MOJO Magazine

2010-11-15T22:38:00.002-05:00

In the end of Sepetember I took a quick trip up to Boston to photograph The Foals for MOJO Magazine. I had met and photographed the band before, both in NYC and in Seattle, WA for the Sub Pop 20th anniversary festival. The guys are super nice and we had a great hang as well as a nice shoot. Below is the spread from the magazine and larger versions of the selects.

Michael Gira | Swans

2010-11-08T20:01:00.003-05:00

In September, I was asked to photograph Michael Gira for Self-Titled Magazine. He took some time out from SWANS rehearsals, for their fall tour, to do a quick shoot in Brooklyn, NY. Here are the selects that ran in the newest issue of the magazine which you can check out here...

Michael Gira in self-titled

New York Fashion Week S/S 11

2010-10-13T10:46:00.001-04:00

Last month, I photographed at NYFW S/S 11 for Dossier Journal. 24 shows and presentations in all including Marc Jacobs, Siki Im, Parkchoonmoo, Risto, Vena Cava, Ruffian, Gary Graham, Mandy Coon, Frank Tell, Odyn Vovk, United Bamboo, and Jeremy Laing, which are represented below. These are some of my favorite images from the week. Click here to view as a Slideshow

Click for the Dossier Journal posts

SALEM

2010-10-12T12:05:00.002-04:00

I photographed the band SALEM late this past summer for XLR8R Magazine. This one ended up being a cover story which I was very excited about. I had figured out how to shoot in camera multiple exposures with my Nikon digital camera. I thought I'd do some experimenting on this shoot and was really happy with how it came out. The issue is out now!

NY Fashion Week - Patrik Ervell

2010-08-26T10:51:00.003-04:00

For the last 4 seasons, I've been covering New York Fashion Week for Dazed and Confused. I've often shot the same designer's shows a few seasons in a row. I thought I would collect some of these images on the blog for a bit of a retrospective. Up first is Patrik Ervell. I always enjoy photographing his shows because of the synchronicity of the clothing, models, and light. Everything comes together perfectly.

Azari + III for XLR8R Magazine

2010-07-15T12:08:00.002-04:00

Up next is a shoot with Azari + III, that I shot in late May, for the most recent issue XLR8R Magazine. I showed up at the band's hotel, not really knowing what to expect at all. I did a little scouting of it online before heading out to meet them. We ended up working for about 40 minutes on the shoot. Just walking through the public areas in the hotel and setting up some shots. I really enjoy shooting on the fly like this, see something try it out and move on. Got a ton of great stuff from this shoot so I'm posting quite a few outtakes as well as the pages from the magazine.

Band of Horses for MOJO Magazine

2010-07-10T21:45:00.005-04:00

Here are some photos from my most recent MOJO Magazine shoot with Band Of Horses. I was only going to have about 30 minutes to shoot with the band and they wanted to meet at their hotel in midtown, so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I went a day early to scout out locations and, oddly enough, ran into one of the guys in the band on the street. Seeing that there was nothing suitable in the area, I decided to scout out some locations in Central Park, which is what we went with.
On the shoot day, I met up with the band at the hotel and we all walked up to the park together. I took advantage of that time as well, by shooting some casual walking street photos. I really enjoy working within time constraints like this. I feel it keeps everyone on their toes but also we are done before the band gets too antsy. 2 locations, 25 minutes. Below is the spread from the magazine and some other favorites from the shoot.

Washed Out and Small Black - self-titled magazine

2010-07-08T09:44:00.007-04:00

The newest issue of self-titled magazine features an interview with both Washed Out and Small Black together. I loved the Washed Out 12" that came out on Mexican Summer Records last year so I was excited when they asked me to shoot the photos for the story.
We met the bands at Webster Hall in the East Village and I suggested we go for a walk and see what we could find. Most of the images from the story were shot on the fly, while the band was doing the interview. Since it was as much a conversation as an interview, I wanted the photos to have that quality. Really happy with how this one turned out. Below are the pages from the article and a few outtakes.

Washed Out and Small Black in self-titled magazine

United Bamboo A/W 2010

2010-07-06T13:26:00.004-04:00

Miho Aoki and Thuy Pham

Thom Browne A/W 2010

2010-07-06T12:08:00.002-04:00

This was the first time I had been to the Park Avenue armory for Fashion Week. Even after this show, I still had no idea about the enormous room just beyond the lobby doors. To me though, the lobby is more impressive and I was stunned when I arrived to photograph Thom Browne's A/W 2010 show. As a fashion designer, so much time and money goes into presenting your work in this way. I was very grateful to have quite a bit of time to photograph backstage at this one.

Three As Four A/W 2010

2010-07-06T11:16:00.003-04:00

This is the second Three As Four show that I've photographed. They are always super creative and interesting. With such a busy schedule that week, I was only able to photograph the backstage and not the actual show. I really prefer the backstage so usually this is not a problem. Here are some favorites...

Mandy Coon A/W 2010

2010-07-06T09:59:00.008-04:00

I never had a chance to post up photos from the A/W 2010 NY Fashion Week on the blog. Since the recent redesign, and the larger photos, I've been wanting to get some of my more recent work up here. While some of these images are in my portfolio, I really wanted to present the images by show as well.
In this post are photos shot at Mandy Coon's A/W 2010 show for Dazed Digital (Dazed and Confused UK). This was the last of 27 shows that I shot that week. Lot's of work but so many great images.

Sheryl Crow for MOJO Magazine

2010-07-01T10:32:00.005-04:00

The second MOJO shoot was with Sheryl Crow. The shoot was at the studio that she was working in, Electric Lady, in Manhattan.

The Hold Steady for MOJO Magazine

2010-07-01T10:21:00.004-04:00

I had 2 shoots earlier this year for MOJO Magazine, a music magazine from the UK. The first was a shoot with The Hold Steady for a feature on Record Store Day, which is now being celebrated in the UK as well. We shot at Sound Fix records in Brooklyn. Here's the shot that ran in the issue.

VISION Magazine

2010-06-02T10:45:00.002-04:00

Last year I was asked to contribute the New York City section of a city feature to VISION Magazine out of Bejing, China. They ran features on NYC, Paris, Berlin, London, Tokyo, and Moscow. Here are the spreads from the magazine...

New York

2010-05-28T14:52:00.003-04:00

Haven't been doing alot of traveling since the beginning of the year so I've been in town alot. Here are some scenes from the city that I've shot over the past few months.

BRAHMS

2010-05-28T13:24:00.007-04:00

I'm finally getting around to revisiting some of the shoots from the past few months. Shot with BRAHMS on a suprisingly snowy afternoon in late February. We were working to get some new press shots for the band to be released with a few new tracks. Here are some of my faves from the shoot. The last of the band's three residency performances, at Pianos in NYC, is this upcoming Tuesday, June 1st. http://www.brahmsband.com/home.php

A few live shots from their show at Mercury Lounge on March 29th with Lemonade and Delorean.

Cold Cave - self-titled magazine

2010-01-15T11:50:00.005-05:00

Yet another shoot from October 2009. I photographed Cold Cave again, but this time in New York and for a full feature in self-titled magazine. I'm really happy with the image selection as well as the layout. Thanks to Nouveau PR for the Risto and Thomas Engel Hart clothes. You can see larger versions and read the article here... self-titled no.6

da ra Goy

2010-01-12T11:33:00.000-05:00

In early November of 2009 I shot the look book for da ra Goy, a new t-shirt brand for sale at ROGAN, with models Lyle Lodwick and Jennifer Massaux. Soo Park did the hair and make-up and Chloe Harstein did the styling.

The Netherlands

2010-01-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

In late November of last year, I traveled to Amsterdam for 2 photo exhibitions that would take place in Holland. The main exhibition was in conjunction with a music festival called Le Guess Who? that took place in Utrecht. Below are some images from the trip. Hoping I can make it for the festival again next year.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Utrecht

Evan Dando

Utrecht

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Ashley

Le Guess Who Exibition

Holy Ghost - XLR8R Issue 130 - Nov/Dec 2009

2010-01-11T15:51:00.003-05:00

I photographed the band Holy Ghost in October of last year for XLR8R magazine. We shot in Brooklyn at Nick's apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Sufjan Stevens

2010-01-07T10:17:00.005-05:00

Last October, in the midst of fashion week, I had a shoot with Sufjan Stevens for Signal to Noise Magazine. We shot on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, near the studio where he was rehearsing for an upcoming tour. Here are the pages from Issue #56.

Dix Magazine

2009-09-28T13:11:00.004-04:00

This summer I was invited to be part of a project put together by fluonoir, a design group in Bordeaux, France. They asked ten photographers to shoot on the theme Black for the first issue of DIX. I talked to my friends Lyle Lodwick and Yael Greenberg, who had worked with me on the Cale Parks video, about collaborating on this project as well. We shot over 2 days at Hotel Delmano and in my backyard in Brooklyn. Lyle and Yael did most of the styling and we pulled together a nice selection of clothing from Iris Loeffler, Risto, Tim Hamilton and Thomas Engel Hart. Thanks to Nouveau PR for letting us pull from their showroom. Below are some of my favorite images from the shoot, though there are more. Sounds like Collette will be carrying the magazine as well!

Cover!

Cold Cave

2009-09-25T14:33:00.002-04:00

One of the incentives for making the trip to Philadelphia for the XLR8R feature was the opportunity to shoot Cold Cave. Big fan of their music! Here are a few outtakes and the XLR8R photo.

XLR8R Philadelphia Feature

2009-09-25T13:37:00.002-04:00

I took a trip down to Philadelphia for 2 days in late August to shoot a feature on the city for XLR8R magazine. Something like 10 shoots in about 24 hours. Below is the layout from the magazine.

New York Fashion Week S/S 2010 part 1

2009-09-25T12:44:00.002-04:00

I spent a week earlier this month shooting NY Fashion week for Dazed and Confused. Definitely a busy but enjoyable time. Below are some of my favorite images from the week.

Julian Louie

Ideen

SPURR

Erro

New York Fashion Week S/S 2010 part 2

2009-09-25T12:40:00.000-04:00

Shot for Dazed and Confused

Tom Scott - This was a particularly great one. Perfect styling and lighting in the Chelsea Hotel.

Patrik Ervell

Anthem Magazine

2009-09-25T11:21:00.005-04:00

In July of this year I did a few shoots for an upcoming issue of Anthem magazine. Sadly that it will not be going to print as Anthem has halted their printing for now. Here are a few of images of Julian Casablancas, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Yeasayer shot for that issue.

The shoot with Julian was a chill one. We met on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Walked it to Dumbo to eat some Grimaldi's Pizza and then back. Super nice guy.

The Place To Bury Strangers shoot was to accompany an article about them and their gear. Much of it was built by the band members. This one may still find a home elsewhere.

Yeasayer shoot was short and sweet. They were packing that night to head out to the Pitchfork festival. Met up with them a La Superior. Wish I would have had time for a taco!

One At A Time Video

2009-08-14T10:01:00.006-04:00

Late last month I shot the photographs that we used to put together the video for Cale Parks' song "One At A Time". I'm really excited with how it turned out and hope to work on some more video projects in the future.
We shot everything over a few days in Coney Island, West Village, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Everyone worked so well together that we were able to get most of it in just one or two takes. Adam Bennett did an amazing job on the editing. Just want to give a big thanks to everyone involved in the project. Cale Parks, Adam Bennett, Kendra Smalter, Eric Lodwick, Yael Greenberg, Brian Jacobs, Iris Loeffler, Simon Henderson, Seth Hubbard and Andy Desantis at Polyvinyl, K&M, and Cameo Gallery.

If you click through to the Youtube link you can watch the video in High Quality.

Credits "One At A Time" - Cale Parks (www.caleparks.com)

Video by Shawn Brackbill and Adam Bennett

Photography by Shawn Brackbill (www.shawnbrackbill.com)

Editing by Adam Bennett

Women's clothing by Iris Loeffler (www.irisloeffler.com)

Starring - Cale Parks, Kendra Smalter, Brian Jacobs, Eric Lodwick, Yael Greenberg

This video was shot using only still photographs.

To Swift Mars

2009-08-04T11:22:00.002-04:00

I shot the album art and helped with the layout for Cale Parks - To Swift Mars (Polyvinyl Records) a couple of months ago. The official release happens today! Keep your eyes open for the video to drop soon as well.

One At A Time

2009-07-26T13:04:00.007-04:00

I spent a few days last week shooting a video for Cale Parks' song "One At A Time". We had decided to shoot the entire video with still photographs and then edit them together. Because of impending rain, we decided to head out to Coney Island on Monday afternoon, instead of Tuesday to shoot the final scenes of the video. The rest of the images we shot on Tuesday. Below is a selection of stills from the shooting so far. This Wednesday we will be working on the "live performance" section of the video. More to come...

TV On The Radio

2009-06-26T11:33:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I traveled to Washington state to photograph TV On The Radio for an upcoming issue of MOJO Magazine. The photos were shot at the Columbia River gorge during the Sasquatch music festival. This isn't the color image that the magazine chose but it is one of my favorites from the shoot. They are running the black and white portraits.

Sasquatch Festival

2009-06-26T11:29:00.004-04:00

Here are a few more portraits from the Sasquatch Festival.

Annie Clark (St. Vincent)

Mike Watt

King Khan

Antony Photos in MOJO Magazine

2009-05-04T10:04:00.003-04:00

The photos of Antony Hegarty that I shot in January are in the current issue of MOJO Magazine (UK). Please pick it up if you see it. They look great in print. Here are the layouts.

Table of Contents

The Interview

Patrick Cleandenim

2009-04-04T09:29:00.004-04:00

Had a great shoot with Patrick last week for his "Orange Moonbeam Floorshow" record. He works at a vintage store in Soho and pulled some nice pieces for us including some vintage YSL. Below are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

Here is a track from "Orange Moonbeam Floorshow".

Kurt Vile

2009-03-05T16:19:00.009-05:00

I photographed Kurt Vile last weekend in Philadelphia, PA for his upcoming release on Mexican Summer records. Below are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

Here is the track "Freeway" from his last long player. This song was my introduction to his music and is now one of my favorite songs.

Dub Mix

2009-03-04T15:36:00.002-05:00

I had my reggae and dub records out for a Jamaican themed shoot on Monday. Perfect timing for New York's biggest snow storm this year. I figured I'd record some vinyl for a new mix, while I had them out. Enjoy!

Portraits

2009-03-04T10:04:00.004-05:00

I've spent the last few years working on an ongoing series of portraits. No Commercial Value editors Amir Husak and Prem Sooriyakumar have thoughtfully curated some of the highlights here. They are housed in the top left box.

www.nocommercialvalue.org

Here is what the creators of the site have to say...
"For our week no. 3, we are launching our first installment of theme-based showcases at www.nocommercialvalue.org
This week is dedicated to the art of portraiture.

Portraits have been around for a very long time. The earliest known examples are the funerary portraits of ancient Egypt, which were preserved thanks to the dry climate of the region. Since then, this art form has evolved both technically and philosophically. It is undeniable that the art of portraiture played a global role in how we see and understand each other. Some have manipulated it to seduce the masses and substantiate dictatorial powers. Some have avoided it. Some were obsessed with recontextualizing it. Just think of all the iconic portraits of our lifetime such as those of Che Guevara, Marilyn Monroe, Mao, Lennon, or more recent ones such as Shepard Fairey's widely reproduced rendition of Barack Obama. Portraits remain to be a testament of times and people.

To reflect on this art, we have prepared six boxes of intriguing portraits that range from photographs of rock musicians to video portraits of unusual uncles.

Week 3 | Content:

'Portraits' by Shawn Brackbill
A selection of 10 portraits from Brackbill's intimate black and white series on rock musicians.

'Ukraine's Cossacks' by Guillaume Herbaut/Oeil Public
Photo Documentary consisting entirely of portraits that document the warrior culture still present among modern-day Cossaks.

'Untitled (a selection)' by Terttu Uibopuu
A variety pack from her large collection of colour portraits.

'This is not a Fiction Movie' by Catalina Martinez.
An experimental video portrait of the filmmaker's uncle who refuses to throw anything away

'Untitled (a selection)' by Kristen Freeman
Drawings on grid paper portraying public figures and author's friends

'Te Mata: Ethnological Portrait' via Radio New Zeland
Audio podcast from Radio New Zealand explores the issues of colonial portraiture of the other through a discussion with Roger Blackley, who curated a show called 'Te Mata: Ethnological Portrait'. The show featured controversial turn of the century portrait busts of Maori individuals originally commissioned by Dominion Museum."

New York Fashion Week A/W 09

2009-02-20T11:35:00.005-05:00

I've been covering New York Fashion Week for Dazed and Confused. Here are some of my favorite images from the week and a slideshow at the bottom.

DJ Frank Voodoo funk will be spinning some African records at a party this evening. Here's a recent fave of mine.

Akwassa - Be Yourself (And Don't Let Nobody Be You)

Julian Louie

Macqua

Patrik Rzepski

Chris Benz

Tim Hamilton

Telfar

New York Fashion Week A/W 09 Part 2

2009-02-20T11:28:00.004-05:00

Patrik Ervell

Cushnie et Ochs

Mountains

2009-02-12T18:44:00.007-05:00

I photographed the band Mountains for Self-Titled Magazine a week or so ago. Extremely nice people and a great band to boot. They're new record is out on Thrill Jockey. Get it here

Here's a track called "Map Table" from their new LP.

Antony

2009-01-30T22:40:00.003-05:00

Photographed Antony of "Antony and the Johnsons" for MOJO Magazine this week. Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.