Italy-based Emanuele Camerini feels like the kind of guy you could see going off the grid for a year and coming back as the next Ralph Waldo Emerson. This first impression of him might not be too far off; as Emanuele puts it, he likes his work to fall somewhere between documentary imagery and abstract visual art.
When the self-proclaimed “mouthpiece of the vinyl community” MINT Magazin reached out asking Emanuele to photograph German musician Michael Rother, they requested a more “abstract” or “experimental” approach to the portraiture.
Michael Rother is the former guitar player of Kraftwerk — basically Daft Punk before Daft Punk — a founding member of NEU, and a lauded “krautrock legend.” MINT interviewed Michael about prog and psychedelic music, wanting Emanuele also to take a somewhat psychedelic approach.
I work with a few German magazines and newspapers, and the client found me through our network of colleagues and friends.
Emanuele’s ability to view projects from a unique perspective was a significant draw for the magazine. They specifically wanted classic portraiture along with something a little bit more “trippy,” so Emanuel utilized a kaleidoscope to accomplish the task.
He chose a clean and usually empty park for the shoot, but upon arrival, he found an unexpected food market had taken over the spot.
I had to find a way to work around it. Luckily, I managed to find a nice clean location just next to the park where we could shoot.
Once settling into place, he viewed Michael through the kaleidoscope to portray the artist’s new-age tendencies. Michael has been an extremely influential person in the music world since the ’70s. David Bowie is cited as having been a huge admirer, and bands like Radiohead and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were influenced by Michael’s groundbreaking musical explorations.
You probably haven’t heard of him, but with his new album released on November 20, 2020, maybe that’s changing. Listen to his title track, and you’ll quickly see that Michael is no stranger to breaking the rules, giving him and Emanuele some common ground. Whether it’s stripping things down, layering things up, or diving deep and dissecting the minutia of a project, Emanuele always appreciates an opportunity to experiment.
I loved having the freedom to experiment with classic portraiture. Of course, I also appreciated being able to meet such an interesting musician and artist.
See more of Emanuele’s work at emanuelecamerini.it.
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