I'm excited to kick off this new "Rapping with..." feature on the blog with my buddy Ian Keaggy. Ian is a musician (bass player in that band with all the super catchy tunes, aka Hot Chelle Rae) motorcycle enthusiast, and photographer. I've always been intrigued by photography. The fact that you can capture a moment in time and keep it forever- pretty amazing when you think about it. OK first "Rapping with..." on the blog!Here we go...
Touring with Hot Chelle Rae you've been around the world and back about three times in the last several years, where was your favorite place to shoot photos?
Having the opportunity to travel around the world for a living, while simultaneously fulfilling a dear passion of mine is perhaps one of the greatest blessings. I take photos everywhere I go, whether it's using an iPhone or a DSLR, there's no excuse these days to not be able to capture what you're seeing/feeling. Whether it be on the streets of Tokyo, the beaches of Hawaii, or drowning in history in Berlin Germany, I'm snapping pics 24/7. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with. But I have to say, some of my favorite photographs I've taken have been outside of Auckland, New Zealand. A friend of mine, Rowan, picked me up on a day off and took me surfing for the first time. Had a blast, but after surfing we went to a secret spot him and his buddies frequented. A bay, that you had to traverse around the most heart wrenching cliff to get to… like, you slip, you die. It was along a wall that was being battered with bone crunching waves, and the weather was particularly extreme that day. Needless to say, I survived, and made it around to the bay. The photos that followed managed to capture the strength and intensity of the sea that day, and seal the memory with me forever.
New Zealand.
First interest in photography?When I was 16, I started developing my interest in cars. I began working on them and modifying them and wanted to photograph them. I bought a 35mm Canon Rebel, and began shooting my cars, my friends cars, then soon enough I realized I never left home without it. I was shooting all the time. It was a pivotal introduction into a world I didn't realize would later bring me so much joy.
How would you describe your style?Cinematic...
Tough Decisions: Black and white or color? That is tough. Some photographers consider black and white to be a cop-out because it's pretty easy to make just about anything look good in black and white. Sometimes you can salvage an unusable photo that is color, by converting it to black and white. I think it's just best to have a healthy balance of both in a portfolio.
Candid or posed?
Both! When photographing people, most of the time they HAVE to be posed. They're in a photo shoot, ha. However, when I'm shooting backstage in venues I enjoy the candidness of my band mates and have gotten some fantastic photos.
Favorite picture you've ever taken? Oh man, I don't know… that's like choosing your favorite child as a parent. Well one of them I took of a girl in Union Station in Downtown LA. It was a couple years ago, but I shot entirely with natural light and at the time, was easily the most successful image I'd made. I felt like a pro when I was done with it haha. So at the time that was my favorite portrait I'd taken… but my favorite landscape was in Lake Tahoe. I was on shore and had a long range zoom with me and managed to shoot this photo of these rocks in the middle of the lake that these two kids were playing on, I actually have a 60x40 print of this and it just feels amazing to me.
Lake Tahoe.
Thank you Ian for being my guinea pig! One of my favorite photos of Ian's is below... I get a chill just looking at it don't you?!
Ian's band and their contagious tunes here.
And more Mint here:
