seeing double at the birmy

Getting up close to the tiny stage in the corner of the Birmingham Hotel's cosy bandroom is remarkably easy, which partly explains why I have a few photos of musicians playing below that distinctive ceiling. All of the photos I have from said stage are black and white, and more than a couple of them are multiple exposures. This is largely because the dark walls behind the stage create a particularly apt environment for successful multiple exposures, and I feel that the dreamy/ghostlike effect is well suited to images of live bands. Often this effect is pleasantly overwhelming (see the triple-appearance of Quang, above), but it can also be subtle. Take this, from a recent Greasers show:


At first glance it looks as though this could be a single exposure, but a closer look reveals Quang's head merging with the ceiling and Dom's pants disappearing into the drumkit. There are also a couple of images of the ubiquitous drummer in there, which add to the ethereal atmosphere.


When I look at this one, also from a Greasers show, I'm not immediately impressed with the photo. But the great thing about multiple exposures (and this camera in general) is that they're always interesting, because it's a scene that can't necessarily be seen with the eye. Unless it's a really drunk eye, perhaps...

Finally, I have to include the first photo of this kind that I produced. Not because it's a great photo, but because its technical success inspired the other images in this post. And also because it was taken during an amazing gig put on by the phenomenally good Ground Components (believe me, the music is better than the photo):


There are a couple of great (single exposure) photos from that evening... but maybe I'll go on about those another time.