So…I know what you all much be thinking…Scharad shoots a Carnival Band?
Mr. "anti-soca" himself?
Well if you must know, contrary to popular belief, regardless of the genre or scenario, I will always be 100% an advocate for creativity. My impartial favor towards Soca music has nothing to do with the fact that the Masqueraders Carnival Band approached me to shoot their official images and sitting in our meeting, my ears perked at the sound of the phrase, “we want to give you 100% creative control.”
I mean, would you turn away an opportunity like this?
I wanted to see what I was capable of capturing. I knew the costumes would be detailed, intricate and awe-inspiring, all things that I find inspiration from as a photographer so I connected with the concept on a completely artistic level. Can you imagine, showing up at our location, the band’s warehouse to see so many moving parts? Personnel running around trying to get each detail ready? Designers putting the finishing touch on their section costumes. Models arriving to be escorted into makeup and hair? Staff on-call preparing food, snacks, and drink for everyone present. Tractors, trailers and heavy equipment preparing for the Band’s lunch? It was truly a circus and my team and I set up in the middle of all this creative chaos!
The 16-hour shoot proved to be a marathon of lights, cameras and tons of action. The band featured 4 sections, Oriental, Mayan, Grecian and African themes. For someone not immersed in the cultured, I was amazed at the amount of work and detail that went into the designing, building and finishing these jaw-dropping pieces.
One by one, we shot, re-lit, composed and constructed section after section, models both male and female were posed and pushed to give energetic, artistic and fierce stances. We added fog and colored gels for our close up shots just to make them more dynamic. To keep the models energized and hyped, there was a 6 speaker system setup worthy of any fete or concert blasting some of the hottest soca tracks…the entire time! What a time!
The energy was incredible and everyone fed from it. Section leaders, designers, staff, models, and my team all cocooned in what was occurring. The shoot was simply amazing. Once the call “Its a wrap” was made, we all cheered in excitement. We knew we achieved what we set out to, with all the hard work from every single person on board. The band will launch its website soon but in the meantime, please enjoy the images below and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram.
