Last month I did a shoot with the multi-talented members of the Joe Kalius Project in Manchester. The collective, formed last year, features some of Manchester’s most promising talent and they do it all; produce, sing, MC, DJ, promote events, you name it and one of them can probably do it (apart from take pictures, which is where I come in).
So after arriving at the home of Dom Hz, I find out that one member (pun intended), Smithy, is asleep at home and nobody can wake him. Luckily, we’re not too bothered and I get to listen to some of the upcoming music Dom & his fiance Helen have been making, under the name of Stak One (watch this space, some great music coming from these two). Eventually, Smithy and Al Sonar join me, Dom, Helen, Sparkz and Rema-D and we set off around town to get some shots.
I don’t know what it is I do to end up consistently doing promo shoots on freeeeezing cold Manchester nights, but it seems to be an annoying pattern (maybe it’s just that 300/365 Manchester nights are freezing). We wander round some alleys and railway arches before deciding to get on the top floor of the car park above Retro Bar. Once we get to the top it (as could be predicted) starts raining. It’s not to bad at first, we still manage to get a great shot, but as the downpour increases we decide to take refuge, and this is my downfall. Slipping on the soaking stairwell steps I take a comical tumble and I whack my elbow and hand on the concrete, luckily the most important thing, my camera equipment, was saved by my bones.
With the downpour showing no signs of stopping we took shelter in the newly refurbished Attic venue thanks to Al having installed the new soundsytem days before. Once inside we could get some more shots in peace. I had one particular idea of everyone crowding round some decks and all doing something different. You can check all the final shots below, I think we did a pretty good job given the weather and my near-hospitalisation.
A promo shoot for the Joe Kalius Project in Manchester, January 2012