In Colour: LomoAmigos Rachel Trachtenburg and Ruby June

We’re catching up with musician Rachel Trachtenburg and photographer Ruby June on the process of shooting (and shooting behind the scenes) on the set of Rachel’s band Wooing for the music video of her single, “In Colour.”

How did you guys come to start working together?

Rachel Trachtenburg: Ruby and I met at a Rookie magazine show that my old band was playing at. We have toured together in “Supercute!” And since then have done lots of photo projects together and stayed close friends.

Rachel, Tell me a little about your band Wooing, what’s the vibe, what are your inspirations?

RT: Wooing is super new first off! It’s a project I’ve been planning on doing for a while and is now just coming into full bloom. We grab a lot of inspiration from early psychedelia and also some mid 90’s grunge. Bands like Helium & The Vaselines to The Pretty Things & albums like Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks.

We got to work with one of my favorite producers/engineers Bryce Goggin on our debut EP. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

Ruby- Tell me a little about yourself as a photographer.

Ruby June: I started photography in 2006 because I wanted to act in Hollywood films and living in Kalamazoo, MI it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. I had all these characters in my mind that I needed to capture and save and so I started taking self portraits to document them.

I love my photographs to look cinematic, I want them to feel like they’re stills from a movie! So shooting for Rachel’s video was the perfect fit!

Describe the process of planning a music video- what is it like translating a song into a short film?

RT: I’m very luck to have met John Zhao who directed and wrote the plot for our first video. We share a very similar vision and he just knows too well what I like. John and I worked for months on the storyline and casting. Originally we had planned to do a different song but once John heard “In Colour” we changed our plan and he sent me the story we ended up filming. I really wanted our first video to be different from anything I had done with past bands. It all came together perfectly and everyone involved couldn’t have been better. We even had a beautiful full moon over the weekend of shooting in the Catskills.

Did the result differ at all from your original vision?

RT: No. Everything came together just as I had hoped if not better. I was able to cast all very good friends and artists I have known since my family moved to NYC when I was nine. It was a true dream come true. The support and love was so strong on set.

Back to Ruby, what are your impressions of the Lomo’Instant Wide?

RJ: As soon as I saw the Lomo’Instant Wide I had to have it. I was hoping the functionality matched the beautiful exterior of the camera- and it did! The fact that I could do double exposures, AND the lens cap was a remote control for self portraits was insane!

What’s it like shooting behind the scenes on a set? Is there anything in particular you were looking to capture here?

RJ: While I was shooting I was also an extra for Rachel’s video! I think this helped with feeling like a part of the atmosphere and not being stuck in the “photographer” role. I really wanted to capture spontaneous moments to get shots that looked like they were from a different era.

Keep up with Rachael on Facebook. Check out more of Ruby’s work at her website.

You can follow @WooingBand @Trachtenbirdy, @RubyJune on Instagram.

written by Katherine Phipps on 2016-07-19 #culture #people #instant #showcase #instantshowcase