The album starts with a lively introduction that grasps your attention as the audience and pulls you in as a crowd member. I enjoyed listening to the reactions and voices of the crowd, it was intimate and captured an authentic moment in the ’60s. The way James Brown manipulates his voice with crescendos followed by instruments is truly incredible. He can transform simple lyrics into a dynamic and fluid song. One of my favorite examples is in the song “I Don’t Mind,” where he repeats “I don’t mind” many times with a few simple beats following it. His voice is stunning, I’m impressed with his ability to create a set/album that can be repeatedly listened to many times over and have it not get boring. With all this time spent listening to the album, I began to wish I was there in the crowd dancing to Brown’s radiating voice. I was drawn in by the crowd’s voices and energy, which compelled me to focus on capturing the individuals. To create these photos I played the album and had people dance to it, capturing their movements through a flash-long exposure. I projected the live performance of James Brown over the top to incorporate the visual imagery related to his music. I wanted to create photos that represented the crowd’s emotions, happiness and energy.
