Check out our photo journal compiled below & learn more about the previous week of production for The City of Servers.
Like the many tourists who come to Portland, our week started with cold brew coffee and ended at one of the many breweries in the city. As we've shared on our Instagram page (read here), we've had the chance to work with several reenactment actors to recreate scenes central to particular interviewees' stories. We had our first reenactment shoot at Tandem Coffee Roasters last Wednesday, which was shot to recreate scenes from Ash Macomber's experiences unionizing a local coffee store. We had the help of several talented actors playing baristas or customers and obtained footage that will fill out Ash's story nicely.
We then made our way down to Portland's waterfront and the famous pub crawl along the docks for an interview with Joe Christopher, owner of Three Dollar Deweys and several other restaurants and businesses across the state of Maine. Following that conversation, we sat down with Shayleigh Crowley, a bartender and long-time server in Maine's restaurant industry. Our discussion with Shayleigh concluded our interviews with servers for this piece--we are so grateful to each server we spoke with who was brave enough to share their story and personal insights.
We also shot our final interview for The City of Servers yesterday (Monday) with Vien Dobui, owner of Cong Tu Bot. We will share behind-the-scenes photos from that shoot later (along with pictures of all other remaining shoots). It's surreal that we've concluded the main investigative part of this piece, but you can still engage with and help our research by contributing to our anonymous tip line project (read more here). You can also expect several exciting announcements in the coming weeks--including but not limited to screening dates, our poster design, footage reveals, and more!
Without further ado, here is our photo journal for this week of production!
About Our Set Photographer
Brief bio: I am a Southern Maine based photographer, DJ, and videographer. I first started learning how to DJ when I was 14 years old, working with my Dad, and have done it myself professionally for the last 7 years. I fell in love with the art of photography in 2020, and decided to turn my COVID hobby into a career. Portrait photography is one of my favorite styles to shoot. So many people say they don't like being photographed because they don't think they look good in photos. I believe that everyone deserves a moment to feel beautiful, and I want to help show people the beauty that I, and everyone else, sees in them. When I'm not behind a camera or in a DJ booth, I can be found on stage either acting or building sets. I also like to spend my time skiing, hiking, and spending quality time with my friends and family.
Instagram: @travisharden56
Photography website: https://tdhphotographyandentertainment.mypixieset.com/