ben blood - documentary photographer » musicians

Lower Lights Burning

ben blood — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:23:04 +0000

Lower Lights Burning are releasing their long-awaited album on Saturday.
Above are a few photos I did with LLB back in the Spring, and I’m very happy
I could collaborate with them. Today they released a beautiful video by our friend
Christian Sorensen Hansen. The show is at the Columbia City Theater at 9pm.

Kaylee Cole

ben blood — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:18:43 +0000

Kaylee Cole is a dear friend and wonderful musician out of Seattle.
These are some press photos for her upcoming album release.
She’s playing tomorrow (8/31) at the Doug Fir in Portland
as well as here in Seattle at Bumbershoot this weekend!
Here’s a video of Kaylee singing Paranoid Android with the Seattle Rock Orchestra.

- -

mua – Elisabeth Prehn
hair – Loufel Estayo
wardrobe – Sara Fisher

Washington Mile

ben blood — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:24:58 +0000

It is important to support and encourage the communities that you are involved in.
Music is one of those communities that is important to me. Most of my close friends
are musicians, so I find myself attending local shows regularly – which is great!

This group is called Washington Mile. They asked me to photograph them. Listen to their music.
Their next show is on July 23 in Ballard at the Sunset Tavern.

2009 Fall Tour

ben blood — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:46:16 +0000

For the past two weeks I’ve been on a west coast tour documenting Garage Voice and The Denouement.
Currently we are in San Luis Obispo, CA after having been down in LA for the past week.
This is my 5th tour with Garage Voice and my first with The Denouement. Touring always
results in strong friendships and this tour has been one of the best. I feel privileged to be
surrounded with such talented, genuine people. Here is a short I put together tonight using
the song12 Minutes by The Denouement. I’ll be home in one week!

Also, Saturday, Nov 21, Garage Voice is having their EP release show at Q Cafe in Seattle
with Noah Gundersen. It would be great to see you there!

P.S. This video is shot with the amazing Zumi Digital. Straight out of camera.

(RSS readers, visit blog.benblood.com to see video)

kaylee cole

ben blood — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:27:56 +0000

Musician Kaylee Cole in downtown Seattle. You should go listen to her music.

karli fairbanks recording garage voice

ben blood — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:15:01 +0000

Seattle / Greenlake. In studio with Karli Fairbanks recording Garage Voice’s new EP, Freeze and Thaw. Hint: note the color casts of the photos.

karli fairbanks, garage voice, noah & abby gundersen

ben blood — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:05:47 +0000

This is a shout out to my dear friends Karli Fairbanks, Garage Voice, and Noah & Abby Gundersen. Great musicians representing Spokane, Seattle, and Centralia. Here are some photos from their show at the Q Cafe Friday.

Paper Astronomer

ben blood — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:46:36 +0000

These are my good friends Mike, Nick, Casey, and Bryan of Paper Astronomer. Just some shots for fun. I had a blast using some projection techniques. I love experimental lighting. Also, notice Bryan sportin’ a Le Grand Cru shirt! If you don’t know about Le Grand Cru, check them out at Le Grand Cru. And be sure to check out Paper Astronomer too :)

Tour (191 photos)

ben blood — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:05:40 +0000

Here is a photographic journey of my adventures traveling with Garage Voice, Noah Gundersen and his sister Abby. We had about 26 shows in 29 days throughout the west coast.

This tour was quite adventurous compared to the others we have been on. We were stuck in the snow in a ditch in central Oregon, ate waaaaaay too much Mexican food, slept in the van zero times (yes!), saw the Redwoods, Red Rocks, and Redlands, ate too much Subway (once), drank more coffee than ever before (me), realized that Utah is actually beautiful, met wonderful people, bought a cowboy hat, and became family with everyone in the van.

Bellingham, WA

The two shows in Bellingham were great. One at Western and one at Three Trees downtown. Friday night we had an intimate round of music including local musician, Seth Martin at friends’ house. You can see some photos from that in a previous blog post.

Santa Lucia – Centrelia, WA

Q Cafe – Seattle, WA

Garage Voice celebrated their album release (Let Us Reconcile) show at Q Cafe at the beginning of the tour. Over 120 people came to the show that night.

Tacoma Mall – Tacoma, WA

No, no. We didn’t play a show at the Tacoma Mall. Noah and Abby’s friend Alana works for Nordstrom and wanted to give Abby a facial. She offered to take care of the guys too – only Bruce was brave enough :P

Camelia Lounge – Pearl District, Portland, OR

Ah, it was refreshing to be in Portland. After touring a week of Western Washington, it actually felt like we were on tour now. Our good friends Breanna Paletta and Justin Bennett stopped by and guest appeared on one of Noah’s songs.

The Hanger – Sisters, OR

The drive to Sisters was one of the most beautiful of the tour. Snow covered mountains filled with Evergreens, roads curving along the river, foggy lakes filled with nothing but tree stumps. It was very surreal. We listened to Steven Delopolus for the perfect soundtrack to the scenery.

(House Show) – Eugene, OR

The smallest venue / house.

HWY 101 – Crescent City, CA

This was David’s first time (since he was two or three, which doesn’t really count) seeing and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Yes, he went and dove and rolled around in the waters of the Pacific at dusk. First day of the tour not having a show. Thank goodness – we drove 10hrs+ this day from Eugene, OR to Ukiah, CA where we stayed with our good friend Doug. Thanks for making us feel at home Doug!

Pacific Union College – Angwin, CA

After the main show, we were invited to play another private show in the girls dorm chapel. First night of tour sleeping in a bed. Yesssssss!

San Francisco!

I have been to San Francisco twice on tour – it’s been wonderful, but I still feel like I have never been there. Both times we’ve had only a few short hours to be immersed in the city. If you ever visit (or live in) SF, you must eat at The House of Nanking. You HAVE to. The best Chinese food I have ever eaten. You will feel like you’ve been deceived all along eating Chinese food that is actually American.
The Best Chinese Food Ever – 919 Kearny St, San Francisco

Modesto, CA

Mexicoke (Coke made in Mexico with pure sugar, not unhealthy corn syrup.) was a favorite of the tour. I also enjoyed chocolate milkshakes. I may have had five of them.

The Denouement – Erwindale, CA

The Denouement. These guys are EPIC! I’m always amazed by their shows. We’re trying to bribe them to go on tour with us – we promise lots of milkshakes =) You may have seen these people here.

Loma Linda, CA

California was beautiful this time of year. Think about walking out of your house and still thinking you were inside because the temperature didn’t change. Walking in orange groves. Saturday afternoon lunch. Amazing. Hats off to our friend Mdot of Le Grand Cru for helping promote this show =) Thanks roomie!

Phoenix, AZ

I’m really glad that Chevy decided to show up at our show.

Sedona, AZ

I was asked by Karli Fairbanks of Crunk Roost (an independent Spokane music publication) what are the three most important things about going on tour. I could name a number: wi-fi, good rest, a GPS, having a good sound guy, …, the list could go on. However, being in the van with seven people for thirty days can really affect your mood. It did mine. To keep everyone happy, Noah pointed out that it’s important to change the day-to-day routine up. For example, climb the Red Rocks while driving through northern Arizona. We did.

Our Hotel – Flagstaff, AZ

Southern Utah

Another long drive. In lieu of visiting the Grand Canyon we chose to arrive at our destination (Provo, UT) at a decent hour of midnight – instead of 3am. Our second day off. Much needed.

Provo, UT

Provo and it’s people were very friendly to us. Thank you. No thank you to your residential parking enforcement and it’s tickets.

Cedar City, UT

Another 10 hours in the van

We reached Nampa, Idaho after driving all through the night after the Cedar City show. Oh sweet goodness how I’m thankful for floors to sleep on. To Bruce’s parents: Thank you so much for taking such good care of us. And your food was amazing!

Flying M – Nampa, ID

Lincoln School – Walla Walla, WA

I was tired of taking pictures at this point in the tour. Thanks to everyone for encouraging me to push forward.

Merchants Ltd. – Walla Walla, WA

One of my lunch favorites.

House Show – Spokane, WA

I can’t say enough how good it was to be back in Spokane. It almost felt like being home. A big thank you to the 5 ladies who let us invade their home. Thank you. Kelly, your guacamole recipe has been a big hit here at home :)

Caterina Winery – Spokane, WA

The last show of the tour. Bittersweet. Throughout the tour, the bands had been learning each others’ songs and played almost two full sets together as one band. Epic.

Bruce’s Haircut

David’s sister DeAnna is an excellent hair stylist. Goodbye to Bruce’s two year old hair.

As we drove across I-90 and Seattle peaked out of the west tunnel of Lake Washington, I smelled the aroma of coffee. No joke. I really did. Bruce was sitting behind me drinking a Frappacino.

It was soo gooood to be back in Seattle. Home.

Mr. Smith

ben blood — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:07:58 +0000

Beacon Hill – Seattle, WA

The Globes @ Neumos

ben blood — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:31:35 +0000

Seattle, WA 20090113

In other news, I just finished collaborating with Patrick Toney of Garage Voice to shoot a promo video – using only still images. The new album is entitled, Let Us Reconcile, and is predicted to be released in the next month.

The bigger news is I’ve been invited to join them on a west coast tour this Spring. In 2007 I spent six months with them on the road documenting their travels of the United States, and it was an amazing experience. I have some fresh ideas I can’t wait to try this time.

If there are any photographers in OR, CA, AZ, NM, NV, or UT, who would like to meet up, give me a shout!

Also, for your inspiration and curiosity: The Inauguration of President Barack Obama

Martyr Reef Promo

ben blood — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:24:09 +0000

Shawn

ben blood — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:51:34 +0000

Part 4 of a 4 part series.

Erik

ben blood — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:22:57 +0000

Part 3 of a 4 part series.

Esteban

ben blood — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:21:18 +0000

Part 2 of a 4 part series.

Naphtali

ben blood — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:54:32 +0000

Part 1 of a 4 part series.

Martyr Reef

ben blood — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:46:38 +0000

Friends, I present to you Martyr Reef. Lead singer Naphtali, and former drummer, Ryan, are good friends from high school. These are a few shots from Friday night. I hope you can feel their energy, which they sure do not lack!

Showbox @ the Market – Seattle, WA

I have loads of images I can’t wait to share with you! Stay tuned!

Justin Bennett

ben blood — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:38:31 +0000

Friend and musician from Portland – Justin Bennett. Keep out an eye for his new album and tour dates in the next month. Thanks to Breanna for helping assist with the shoot! It was good to see you both again. Thanks for the excellent egg and avocado sandwich!

Black & White

ben blood — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:53:57 +0000

These are my boys. If you are a regular viewer, you know that they appear frequently on my blog. I had the life-changing opportunity to travel the United States with these guys last summer, fall, and winter. They are each like brothers to me. Bruce requested these photos to post on their website where you will find the story behind them.

Also, thanks to all who keep tabs on my work. I know a lot of you promote me without me even knowing it – thank you so much!

The Globes

ben blood — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:30:23 +0000

The Globes. These talented guys create a wall of great sounds. I had a chance to hang out with them while they were recording for their July album release. They have shows this weekend at the Q Cafe and the Mars Bar. Check them out!