Samer Ghani first started photographing Milwaukee musicians and concerts in 2016. By 2019, he was a full-time photographer and had become as much of a fixture in the local music scene as the artists he was capturing.
From Brandi Carlile to Death Cab For Cutie to Buffalo Nichols, Ghani has taken thousands of images that capture the magic of live music in venues of all sizes. His new photobook, “Memories of a Street Cat,” is dedicated to this formative chapter of his life.
“It feels surreal that something physical is coming out of so much time of work... Thinking about the book, I realized I’m not even the same person that I was when I started shooting," Ghani says. “And I think this is great way for me to not necessarily close a chapter, but honor a part of the journey that got me to where I am as an artist and as a Milwaukeean."
Published by Milwaukee-based Daybreak Magazine, the 271-page photobook features almost 400 concert photos and portraits, along with commentary from artists collected by Milwaukee Record's Matt Wild.
"I felt it was necessary to have Tommy Moore [of Daybreak] really take an objective stance and take the time, transparently, to sift through thousands of photos to see what made the most sense. So I'm really grateful for his patience in that process — it's something I just admittedly couldn't have done myself," Ghani says.
He says his brain "turns off" when he's shooting, allowing him to rely on the instincts he's cultivated over the years.
"I go into the hunt and I get really narrow-scoped ... and I'm just paying attention to the intuition: is something about to happen? The song is building; the artists are moving in a way that they weren't before, so they're obviously about to do something," he says. "Those kind of calculations are running [by the] millisecond in my brain."
Looking at the photos featured in the book spanning the past decade, Ghani credits this period as the one where he got to cut his teeth as an artist and build the skills he relies on everyday. "I didn't really think I was at the summit of a Mt. Everest, I thought I was chipping away at rocks on the beach for fun. And it only became a 'Mt. Everest' when I allowed it to, when I saw that it could be," he says.
Even though Ghani doesn't shoot as many concerts today, this foundation helped to make him a full-time artist, capturing a wide range of other projects and formats since.
"If there's really anything to take away from the book or my journey ... it's your hobbies don't have to be hobbies and your passions are just that. They can define you and they can take you all across the world if you let them, if you're patient enough with yourself," he says.
"Memories of a Street Cat” comes out Wednesday with a free release party at Cactus Club, featuring music from Klassik, Garden Home, Living Room, Known Moons and El Sebas.
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