If you follow Milwaukee music, chances are you’ve come across Samer Ghani‘s work in some capacity. The photographer and videographer is responsible for a number of band photos, album covers, music videos, and live shots at a wide range of local events. However, with COVID-19 halting concerts for the foreseeable future, Ghani has recently taken it upon himself to use his photography talents to help bring visibility to the Black Lives Matter protests in and around Milwaukee. Before he was an up-and-coming and versatile photographer, Ghani was playing string instruments in middle school, messing around on bass guitar in some high school punk bands, and dabbling with a camera in college.
On a rare afternoon this week when he wasn’t working or covering the BLM movement, Ghani opened up to My First Band host about his unique path to photography, paying his way into shows to take pictures, overcoming “imposter syndrome,” and how getting all his gear stolen was a blessing in disguise. Over the course of the hour-long discussion, Ghani also talked about the impact the pandemic is having on his work, his experience touring with Nasty Boys, the importance of quick turnaround and collaborating with others, and what it was like to take photos for (and subsequently get spend time backstage with) his musical idol Tom DeLonge.
My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you get podcasts. Music used in this show comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”) and Paper Holland (“Slouches”).