Issue 268 of Digital Camera Magazine has featured my technique and band photography in this double-page spread.
Winter in Eden - Factories, nettles, freezing rain and how to be a Social Fake
North East England. Winter. What a great time for an outdoor photoshoot… More on that later.
The band are Winter in Eden and this shoot was a reunion of sorts as I first photographed the band back in 2011 for their album “Echoes of Betrayal” at the beautiful Belsay Hall in Northumberland. The image below was used on the CD and was also a poster with a special edition of the album.
Back to now and the band have had a line-up change and had a new album on the horizon, “Social Fake.” The band were clear on a concept, the album cover showed a bio-mechanical wolf in a landscape that looked authentic but revealed man-made electronic elements. A plan was born to shoot in a factory where I could use lighting to create a sci-fi aspect to the backgground of an industrial setting. The lighting would mirror the tones used in the album artwork.
We scouted the factory and I found some nice little places where lighting would work well against backgrounds that I could manipulate later in post-production.
Location scouted and all systems go for the following week.
As this was the first major shoot using a new EOS R Series camera, Canon UK kindly loaned me one of the new RF Lenses. I decided to not request some of the more exotic glass on offer and stick to only what was needed for this shoot (given that I was using my own lighting and didn’t need low-light capability) and opted for the 24-105 L Series. The wide capabilities of this lens and the zoom reach would give me everything I would need in this environment and the 8 stop image stabilisation would be a huge bonus.
Thank you Canon UK for the loner. Your generosity worked, it was so good I bought one!
And here are the results from inside the factory. Little did they know, I had another plan…
During the earlier scout I noticed a very large nettle field with a completely overgrown bus shelter (!) inside. It looked bizarre and strangely compelling… Mmmm.
As we were wrapping up inside I asked Vicky if she would be brave enough to battle the elements and do a quick shoot outside in the nettles (Vicky was the person with the no long trousers and no long sleeves - I assumed the others would do as they were told)! After promising to turn any blue-with-cold exposed skin to a more natural colour in Photoshop Vicky and the band fully committed!
This was from a week earlier. Winter arrived in the meantime.
So, the scene was set, lighting installed, nettles poised to sting. Then the rain started. It’s okay though, I had a fully waterproof winter coat on. Toasty. Joking aside, I quickly fired off a few shots and got everyone inside quickly. We all had a bit of a “was it worth it” moment until we saw the images on the back of the camera. We all agreed, this was the one…
The band used this as the main image on the huge fold-out album insert for “Social Fake” and the image was picked up by Canon EOS Magazine as a showcase for off-camera lighting in the April ‘22 edition.
3D Polaroids
With the restrictions imposed by COVID I found that, as a music photographer, new commissions were impossible. As necessity is the mother of invention I revisited some of my live music photos and took the opportunity to woodshed some of my Photoshop skills…
I love the way these pop off the page/screen - it gives new life to some older photographs that really lend themselves to this technique! Some work better than others but all are worthy of a second glance… :-)
Action and symmetry, happy with this shot.
Download 2019
Download 2019: My first time at Download ever and very cool to be there with Vega. As they hadn’t played there either the brief was simple, see what happens and get the shot!
It was a long day, lots of travelling and some trepidation when we got there because of the previous days rain and well publicised mud baths. But the sun shines on the righteous and the shine it did. None of us knew what to expect when we arrived, it was likely that we would be kept away from the main acts, perhaps even not in the same postcode as them as it’s such a vast place with very tight security zones. How wrong we were - full access, all day, meals included! It was surreal to share a backstage cafe with Matt Sorum of Guns & Roses/Deadland Ritual/The Cult and great to say hi again to Steve Stevens who was in the same queue for coffee as I was! Hell, we even got on the same shuttle bus as Geezer Butler…
Skynd
I made a conscious decision not to run around everywhere with my camera that day. For one, it just wasn’t cool pointing a DSLR at the artists backstage. They didn’t know me and trust has to be built. Secondly, I wanted to be present. To be backstage at Download was a huge privilege and I wanted to savour every moment and I’m so glad I did just that.
The band on immediately before Vega were an industrial/alternative band called SKYND. I shot these to get warmed up and in the zone prior to Vega and I’m so glad I did, what a visual feast they were! I admit that a band using triggered samples to songs solely about the escapades of serial killers probably wouldn’t have attracted me to a gig anytime soon but you live and learn, they were great! Scary, enigmatic, smart and exciting - band members named only Mother and Father and both masked and seriously creepy - and this was a daytime show!
This looked interesting and the best was yet to come…
How can you follow that? Vega did and did it superbly. The Dogtooth Stage clearly proved to be a melting pot of styles with each act. While capturing the behind-the-scenes shots of them setting up it was clear that there was some uncertainty about modern rock following industrial metal but Download and its crowd are more than diverse, they are positively welcoming. Vega, it would turn out, had nothing to fear.
Getting back to the brief, I asked if the band wanted a crowd shot at the end of their set. “ I dunno” said Nick, “depends how we go down.” Well, after just one song it was clear to me that a crowd shot from the drum riser was definitely going to happen and I clearly didn’t need to wait for any signal from the singer to take my mark.
Epic and triumphant…
This final shot says it all. Vega played against some of the best bands in the world that day and packed out their stage. The sun was shining, Whitesnake were playing on the Main Stage, Opeth just next door yet Vega pulled in a packed audience to their indoor stage with no room to spare.
Look out for their new album coming in 2020, the photoshoot for it is booked and I’m ready to tour again when they are (perhaps this time I won’t break my knee…but that’s another story)!
Vega with a few thousand of their closest friends.
Alan Clayton/The Dirty Strangers
I met Alan while on tour with the Quireboys. Alan was tour managing and also lending his voice to the Rolling Stones song “Fool to Cry” each night alongside Spike. I must admit, I’d never heard of Alan or his band, The Dirty Strangers, before but as soon as I met him I knew he had presence - such a character - and I knew I had to photograph him before the tour ended.
The perfect opportunity came at KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton. A wonderful venue in the shell of an early 20th century car factory. I spotted Alan during a lull in proceedings and asked if I could take his portrait. He had no idea why (and neither did I really, I just knew that his warmth and character shone through every time we spoke and I needed to capture this in a photo as best as possible). I can’t remember what I said, hopefully it was something like I have just written but I doubt it! Perhaps Alan will read this sometime and understand.
While I was doing some quick lighting tests Alan mentioned that the last time he had a camera pointed at him it was by Marty. “Marty?” says I, “ Yeah, Marty Scorsese.” What, wait, who? “I was with Keef when he was making Shine a Light, I was in it. And Keef’s book” Taking a second not to look surprised, I asked if he knew Keef… Keith… well. It turns out they go way back. Both Keith Richards and Ronnie Woods guested on the early Dirty Strangers records and Alan stayed at Redlands for a few months recently while he was moving house.
Alan went on to tell me some great stories about the snappers in Shoreditch, London, where you had to go back in the day for your publicity photos (sounded a bit of a racket) and how he has album credits not only for his music skills but also for wrestling some master tapes back for a dear friend no longer with us.
I knew I had to photograph this guy! We spoke some more about the ring around his neck, our families and future plans for his own band. In between all this I had to keep reminding myself to shoot. What a great few minutes I spent. Alan’s humour and warmth was contagious and I left looking forward to seeing the Dirty Strangers at the earliest opportunity. Look out for them, and if you see Alan tell him if you like his portrait!
Studio Shoot with Singer/Songwriter Issa
Recently I was contacted by Singer/Songwriter Issa to quickly come up with a set of images to support her album “Run with the Pack” which was being released in just six weeks time. Apparently a photoshoot in Italy a few weeks before hadn’t yielded the results required so a quick turnaround was needed back in the UK!
Issa’s studio of choice was York Photography Studio and all manner of technical wizardry was on hand as part of the hire. I normally shoot on location with only the equipment I can carry (and usually with just a few minutes to set up and shoot for most bands on a tour schedule) so it was a major bonus to have a full array of grip gear, backgrounds and even costume changes all on hand (for Issa, not for me). With Elara Christie as my assistant for the shoot too I knew that this was going to be a load of fun.
Having been very impressed by the wonderful work of Jake Hicks I wanted to use the opportunity of a full studio shoot to utilise coloured gelled portrait lighting. I’m well used to using coloured flash lighting in many of my band shoots (as can be seen in my portfolio) but much less so for portraiture. Jake is an excellent educator as well as photographer which inspired me to use this approach.
For most of the shoot I used a four light set up. Two gelled strip diffusers as side lights (one red, the other yellow), one blue gelled softbox at ground level to the front and a gridded key light beauty dish 45 degrees above Issa. The blue softbox to the front was used not to remove shadows but to turn them subtly blue. This, combined with the other colours combined to give an unusual and interesting colour pallet for a portrait - totally in keeping with the rock-star persona!
By feathering (moving the light slightly, varying the amount of light hitting Issa) the coloured side diffusers were used to emphasise more or less of the two colours involved. I think that these two images showing predominantly red were favourites of mine from the shoot. I love the sci-fi-esque look of these too.
Re-touching was used post-production for all images but I wanted to add a little more to one or two just to give Issa and the record company, Frontiers, more options when making their selections.
We, as a team, were very happy with the results from that evening and Frontiers went on to use the images as both the album cover and for the booklet shots. It’s always very, very exciting to go into a record store and pick up a record with my photographs featured, not least the cover shot!
Finally, Issa has used other images from the shoot as publicity photographs and these have been selected by various national music magazines in their interviews, features and reviews of her excellent album which you can buy here.
Jake Hicks runs some amazing photography courses and forthcoming events are listed here.
9 out of 10!
Sleazy Photoshoot
Fallen Mafia chose the sleaziest bar to shoot their latest publicity shots. The car park had "Police Line: Do Not Cross" tape all around it, dead rats were lying in the gutter and the biggest dog I've ever seen was watching me from the roof of the pub. I certainly wouldn't have to work hard at capturing "atmosphere"... ha ha!
The band needed a new set of photographs showing their new line-up ahead of some upcoming gigs and new recordings in the works. Unusually (for most bands I work with), they had some specific shots in mind ahead of the shoot. This is always a big help as I can plan shots in advance and make sure I have the correct equipment on hand to achieve the desired results.
First up was a traditional band portrait. The pub interior was an excellent backdrop for a sleazy rock band look. After a quick change and make-up the band were ready – they looked the part immediately, this was going to be a great shoot! I used three lights for this set-up. Key light to right front and two behind the band (one with an orange gel, the other blue). I had in the back of my mind a similar look and feel to Prince’s Purple Rain album cover. Once I added the smoke machine I think it referenced it quite subtly. #inspiration
Purple Rain (Not my image)
The band wanted some images with a fisheye lens. The references they used were distorted to the extreme. My take on this would be to use a fisheye lens to add interest to the portrait rather than total distortion, after all, the band still needed to be recognisable. Similar lighting was used to the standard band portrait to keep the theme running but this image really suited a monochrome conversion. The band were naturals and pulled of the look brilliantly, don’t you agree?
Next up I was asked for a shot which referenced Queen’s iconic “Queen II” album cover. This shot was taken in the same room as the others but lighting limited to just one to give a very low-key look. We finished off this image by pulling the poses from the original album cover. Overall, I think our shot also references the Guns ‘n Roses cross from Appetite for Destruction, especially given the image of the band.
Finally, we moved to the corner of the room for a grungy/abandoned look. Similar lighting set up to the original band portrait but with the rear lights gelled yellow and green.
Thanks to Chris, Hannah, Adas and Jack – you were brilliant and patient as ever, always a pleasure.
Steve Stevens with added flair
Steve Stevens. London.
The question always comes up in forums, talking to enthusiasts and in countless "How To" posts on YouTube etc - How do you get access? The usual answer is to shoot for a magazine/website and try that way. My answer has always been different: Networking and contacts, if your work is good then you just need to get it seen by the people you want to work with. Find the path that leads to them and you're in.
In an earlier blog post I wrote about photographing the Billy Idol band. I had no direct links to the band or organisation and I wasn't shooting for a publication. However, I was known by Californian photographer Alan Hess (who was an Adobe and Kelby Photoshop instructor and music photographer - he posted one of my photos as "the perfect example of a gig photograph"). Alan had shot the artwork for the rhythm guitarists Gibson Guitar endorsements. This was my way in. I contacted the guitarist, Billy Morrison, and showed him Alan's comment with a small selection of my work. Billy loved it and got me on board for the Glasgow leg of the tour.
The Ray Gun - Steve Stevens trademark guitar effect
Almost two years later and the lead guitarist from Billy Idol's band, Steve Stevens announced a small European tour. The first time he would be performing his most celebrated songs in the UK. You know, Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson and the Top Gun main Theme - yes, that's Grammy Award winner Steve Stevens on guitar. He was also performing tracks from his short lived but monumental album "Atomic Playboys" from the 80's. A rare treat.
Enter Mr Morrison again - a quick note to Billy to ask if he a) remembered me and b) could put me in touch with Steve's management to request access. The next day I received a wonderful email from Steve Stevens lovely wife to invite me to shoot the show and to photograph the Meet & Greets in London. Very cool Mr Morrison. Very cool.
So there's the lesson on "contacts" Where there's a link in don't be afraid to use it. Now on to Networking. During my stint as tour photographer for Vega the month before we hit a small venue in London called the 100 Club. A great little place which had hosted Metallica, Foo Fighters, various Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I spent a great afternoon quite drunk (it was my birthday) and in the brilliant company of Phil the sound engineer. Phil had a great story to tell. In fact, Phil had a hundred great stories to tell from his time with some of the biggest bands of the 80's and 90's and even had a fantastic little anecdote about astronaut Neil Armstrong which ended in the line "am I driving too fast for you Neil?" but I digress...
Steve and Franky Perez on vocals.
On to the day of the Stevens show. I hit London very early, checked in to the hotel and had a few hours to spare until after sound-check. Walking past the venue on my way for an early lunch I spotted Phil! He was sound engineer for this tour! He called me in, gave me a tour of the place and invited me to watch sound check and went on to tell me even more out of this world stories.
Not only was it a huge pleasure to shoot Steve and his band but, through luck, goodwill and meeting genuinely good people I was able to see a run-through of Steve's greatest hits in an audience of only four people. I took no photos for this upon Steve's request and simply relished the music.
Seen this pose somewhere before: The Rebel Yell solo.
Thank you to Steve, Josie, Billy and Phil.
Vega Underworld
Twelve of the Best: 2016
This year has given me some fantastic opportunities in the creative music photography field. I make no apology for heavily featuring the band Vega in this blog post - we have a very close working relationship and I've been on two of their tours this year alone so they are bound to feature amongst my best of 2016.
The year began with a photoshoot for Vega's latest album, "Who We Are" in York. Here is a collage which wasn't used on the album but the photo's are favourites of mine:
Vega Collage
The next photo, from the same shoot, is one I took in an old garage just behind their recording room in York. I used a smoke machine and speedlights as the garage had very little light and it was a dark evening in January! Very atmospheric though. The image went on to be used as a tour poster.
Vega Garage
Finally from that session (and one which is the subject of an earlier blogpost of mine here) is the composite image of the band against a barely recognisable Newcastle landmark. This image was run in numerous magazines across Europe including Classic Rock:
Vega Composite
Next up was a behind-the-scenes shoot for Vega's big budget video for "White Flag" which took me down to Cardington Studios in Bedford. This studio was used in Star Wars "A New Hope" and the latest film, "Rogue One". A fantastic place and some great images resulted:
Dan: White Flag
In the image above, behind Dan are two giant doors. 40 years ago behind those doors stood a small band of Rebels...
(not my image, I was 7 years old when this was taken)!
On to the Vega tour in May which took me and the band around the far reaches of the UK for three weeks. The image below is from London's Islington Assembly Hall. A great venue and one of the early signs that the band were going down a storm with new fans. Here is Nick feeling the love caught from behind the stage.
Vega Islington.
Mid-tour and Dan needed publicity images for his sponsor, Diril Cymbals. Edinburgh Garage provided the backdrop as the side of stage. I lit Dan with a key light to the front and a rear speedlight gelled yellow to the side.
Dan: Diril Cymbals
The final date of the summer tour took us to Royal Leamington Spa. Here is Marcus Thurston soloing like a monster
Marcus Solo
Another project came my way with long-time associate Stoneham Amplifiers. Again, you can read a full blog post regarding this shoot here. A favourite from that day is shown below with the Angel of the North:
Stoneham Amplifiers
Mid-summer took me to Steelhouse festival where Thunder were the headline act on the Saturday evening. A great location and full of happy memories spent with family and friends. Oh yes, I managed to take a photo or two along the way:
Thunder Steelhouse
On to Autumn and an opportunity I'd been looking for for a long time, to photograph Lordi in all of their on-stage gory, sorry, GLORY. I particularly like these two photographs from that set:
Amen Lordi 1
Amen Lordi 2
On to the final image of the twelve that I have selected for 2016. This was taken on Vega's December tour at the Underworld in London. The main dressing room was very much suited to this fisheye shot of the band and has become something of a location for bands such as My Chemical Romance to shoot promo images. This setup was achieved using a bounced key light front and a rear speedlight behind the band for added drama! This is my personal favourite of the year and a fitting note to end on.
Hope you have enjoyed this brief selection. Please "Like" or Comment or head over to my Facebook page for regular updates here
Vega Underworld
Stoneham Amplifiers
Once again I had the pleasure of working with Stoneham Amplifiers to produce a range of promotional shots for the new Stoneham Savage mk1 Guitar Amplifier.
I've worked with Stoneham for around three years now and every time I see their new masterpiece I'm totally blown away by the craftsmanship and attention to detail put into each HANDMADE amplifier. They are simply stunning.
For example, take the Sentinel SS1 Amplifier from 2014, below.
Even Iron Maiden don't go up to 666
Look at that font, the backlighting and the fact that all of the controls go up to 11 (so far, so Spinal Tap) but wait - the Master Volume goes up to 666! You don't get that on your shop-bought models.
Then there's the Custom Twin 50. Just look at that embossed vinyl!
Blue laser smoke not included.
So, back to the Savage mk1. The brief was to take standard studio shots and then to try to add something which will give a clue, a subtle hint, at its hand-built in Newcastle Upon Tyne heritage. The studio shots were great fun to do. The Stoneham workshop has an area set aside just for things like this and customer demonstrations. First, simple lighting...
The shot above was lit with a standard Speedlight on a lightstand at 45 degrees left front with another rear right for a side/backlight effect to add depth.
The shot below used just the single left side Speedlight.
No back or side light, just front left from slightly above.
Next, I introduced flare from the rear sidelight - love the effect!
A happy accident or light-spill on purpose, you decide!
And now for the location shots. To remind you, the brief was to convey the Newcastle Upon Tyne roots of this handmade amplifier, to show its industrial north ancestry. Nailed it.
I forgot about the "subtle" part of the brief....
Not a backdrop, actually placed in front of the Tyne Bridge.
The Tyne Bridge shots were originally planned for the 18th September. So glad I looked at the news a few days before to realise that 50,000 runners and fleet of 40 Olympic outside broadcast units may just have gotten in the way of my shoot (yep, it was the day of the Great North Run).
How many bridges can you see?
The shot above was taken on the Millennium Bridge. This tranquil scene is not what it seems. There were so many tourists on the bridge it took an age to set up. Brilliantly assisted by Elara Christie (who only needed Starbucks for payment, mmm Iced Pumpkin Spice Frap...) we placed the amplifier central on the bridge and waited and waited for a break in the crowd. We couldn't believe we could carry a huge guitar amplifier/stack onto a bridge without anyone challenging us or asking us to move. Unreal.
Finally, some "behind the scenes" photographs courtesy of Elara...
People removed in Photoshop later. My hair removed itself naturally.
Teamwork!