Steve Birnbaum says, “Sometimes I find myself getting lost in Google Maps, searching and searching until I come across something familiar.”
Birnbaum, a New York-based filmmaker, discusses his passion for meticulously locating music photoshoot sites in order to recreate them through his own photography. This project was inspired by a similar one that combined war photography and present-day locations, and Birnbaum began with family photos in 2010 before focusing on film and TV locations. He eventually honed in on his love for music and has been pursuing it since 2017.
While it’s not an entirely original concept – photographer Alex Bartsch did the same for British reggae album covers – The Band Was Here now has a quarter of a million followers on Instagram. Here, you’ll find Birnbaum revisiting the exact table in a bar that Woody Guthrie sat at back in 1943 or the precise street location in the Bronx where a 14-year-old Tupac was photographed on a moped back in 1985. “When I’m there, and I line it up, and it feels right … it’s a total buzz,” says Birnbaum.
He has discovered the sites used for many popular albums. These include the wall (which is now a garage) where Michael Jackson posed for Off the Wall, the fire escape behind Prince on the cover of Purple Rain, and the stoop where Bob Dylan sat for Highway 61 Revisited. He was even able to access the apartment where Taylor Swift’s 1989 album cover photos were taken, after being informed that it was up for sale and scheduling a tour.
However, it is not solely about taking new pictures of well-known images. It also highlights and appreciates obscure shots that involve discovering unexpected places such as buildings, parking lots, tattoo shops, or sidewalks. Birnbaum is not hesitant to delve into the details and geek out. He has successfully tracked down the exact bathtub featured in the photo on the CD cover of Nirvana’s In Utero from three decades ago. Additionally, he not only located the hotel that provided the backdrop for Radiohead’s OK Computer album cover, but also gained entry to the room where Thom Yorke captured the same image.
This has turned into a huge project. According to him, he can spend hours on a single image without finding anything. He gets caught up in trying to find the location. He is currently still searching for the spots where Smashing Pumpkins and Violent Femmes took their album covers, and is eagerly waiting for a response from the building owner where Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was photographed.
He has a precise approach to his research, using various resources like books, magazines, and past interviews with photographers. He prefers to work independently and enjoys the process of uncovering information. He also relies on contact sheets from original photoshoots, as they often contain valuable clues about the photographer’s process and the timeline of the photoshoot. By looking at contact sheets, he can track the movements of people on the day of the shoot and gain insight into their creative process.
Unfortunately, there are occasions when he puts in a lot of effort to locate a place, only to find out that it is now a massive construction site. He laments, “New York has transformed into a city of towering buildings and glass structures.” It saddens him to think about the history and the individuals who once occupied that space, now completely erased. However, this experience has made him more aware and grateful for his surroundings. He reflects, “It’s remarkable how much we walk past without noticing. Music history surrounds us.”
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The project has been proven to evoke unexpected emotions. The artist reflects on tracing a photo of John Lennon, who was tragically killed just a block away from where the photo was taken. Similarly, the artist felt emotional when visiting Kurt Cobain’s abandoned home in Hollywood to capture the spot where he and his daughter posed for a photo in 1992. Despite being in the public domain, the artist struggled with whether or not to share these family photos out of respect for the individuals depicted. The project holds a more personal significance when it involves real people rather than just movie characters.
However, other than the occasional twinge when reflecting on the heartbreaking past of his beloved bands, this has been an invigorating endeavor that has materialized cherished recollections. “As I was growing up, I was surrounded by these visuals,” he recalls. “I would flip through magazines and they were constantly there. Music photography was a major source of inspiration for me, and now being able to physically stand in the same spot, it’s just incredible!”
Source: theguardian.com
