The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolution so far? I have a couple photography related resolutions that are coming along pretty well. All of my work is backed up on at least two drives in an organized fashion (thank you LaCie). The other is well under way (see below). And yes, Seattle Athletic Club, I promise I’ll be by soon. But I digress… Last Thursday I brought the Explosion to Office Nomads for their January open house. My friend Alexandra, who is their community cultivator, asked if I would shoot portraits of their guests. The theme was to be loosely based around “new year’s resolutions.” We originally talked about shooting on white seamless, but I when I scoped out the space the night before the party I realized I just had to shoot against that green wall and chalkboard. Coincidentally, the chalkboard played perfectly into the theme.
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Atlas Clothing, a stylish vintage threads shop in Capitol Hill, hosted their one year anniversary party at Sole Repair Shop. The evening was replete with a full bar, hip guest list, runway fashion show and a photo booth. Julie Harmsen, the photographer shooting all the promotional and event imagery for the party, asked if I could lend an extra lens or two and help document the evening. As I had recently acquired some new lighting equipment, I offered up the idea of building a photo booth to capture the oh-so-debonair party goers.
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Spiritualized.
Neumos. Seattle, WA.
September 14, 2008.
EXIF.

On my 27th birthday (September 14, 2008), the Spiritualized tour rolled through Seattle. Unlike most bands that play Neumos, Spiritualized parked buses, not vans, on the street outside the Seattle club. After nearly two decades of music, front man Jason Pierce and Spiritualized at least deserve the extra leg room and air conditioning that a luxury tour rig provides. It had been at least six years since my last Spiritualized concert. Chris Brown and I drove to Detroit and Chicago during the early part of the decade to witness Spiritualized live. While the performances were great, I’ll never forget a girl in the audience who sat on the floor and read a book during an entire show in Detroit. (continue reading…)

Barack Obama Victory Rally. Broadway & Pike, Capitol Hill.
Seattle, WA. November 5, 2008.

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Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. Live at Neumos.
Seattle, WA. October 11, 2008

What’s better than free live music? Not much—although getting drunk to help kids might be close. Local bars and spirit makers sponsored a week in Seattle known as “A Drink for the Kids.” On certain nights, participating establishments donated a portion of their sales to The Vera Project, an all ages music venue in Seattle. The week culminated in a music extravaganza at Neumos on Saturday, October 11. New Zealand’s The Ruby Suns opened up with Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band playing second before headliner Tokyo Police Club. Julie won a couple of tickets from The Stranger and took me along. I, of course, invited the Nikon and a few lenses. (continue reading…)

Robin Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes.
Capitol Hill Block Party. July 26, 2008.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 105mm.
Aperture Priority. 1/100 sec @ f/5.3. ISO 400.

The Fleet Foxes are incredibly good. Like disgustingly, filthy good. I mean that literally and figuratively. I caught the Fleet Foxes on Saturday at the Capitol Hill Block Party. They played during that space in the day where you are not sure if it’s late afternoon or early evening. That ambiguous hour complimented their timeless sound well. Listening to the Fleet Foxes feels like the first time you figured out how to use your dad’s record player and dug into some Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel. Even though the Fleet Foxes sound like everything you’ve ever heard, their music rings with an urgency and newness that is unmistakably born of this generation.

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United State of Electronica. CHBP Main Stage.
Capitol Hill Block Party. July 25, 2008.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 200mm.
Aperture Priority. 1/125 sec @ f/5.6. ISO 400.

Two months ago it was not raining in Seattle. Another one of Seattle’s delightful cliches happened to be center stage: music. The annual Capitol Hill Block Party took over the intersection of Pike & Broadway during the last weekend in July. I, with camera in hand, hit the two day festival with Sharat (among others). In addition to a great lineup, the weekend was sufficiently stocked with hipsters, hipster altercations (the now infamous Peter-chair incident), Girl Talk nonsense, and PBR.