A Cold Night in Brooklyn [Rf Photo of the Day]

Photo © Kirra Cheers

Australian-born, New York City-based photographer Kirra Cheers (a Rf 30 Rising Star from 2012) says she loves making photographs of fellow artists. “They inspire me. It pushes me to approach my photography from a different perspective,” she says. So when she saw the music video for the Flume & Chet Faker song “Drop the Game,” which showcases an emotional and dramatic hip-hop dance performed by Storyboard P, she tracked down the dancer’s agent and asked to arrange a portrait session. “I had never seen hip-hop like this,” Cheers says. “It was lyrical and dark, smooth yet disjointed. It was mesmerizing to watch someone tap into a dark reality and create something beautiful. I wanted to photograph him in much the same way.”

Storyboard and Cheers met on a cold night in Brooklyn. The portrait was taken on the steps of a church using off-camera flash. When the weather became unbearably cold, Cheers held out for about ten minutes before heading inside—just long enough to capture this dramatic frame.

(Shot using a Nikon D800, SB 910 off-camera flash and a Sigma 35mm lens.)

Check out more Photos of the Day, and email rangefinder@emeraldexpo.com for submissions.