Beady Eye

Highlight: A session with Beady Eye - basically Oasis with out Christmas.


Lowlight: I have 10 minutes to get a cover shot, and pictures for inside for a full feature!
Fill in: Just two days after this shoot, The Tsunami swept over Japan. I felt a bit churlish the week after sending an email with my commiserations followed by a request for a PO number....

Over the years i have done a few sessions for the Japanese Media - they are really into their indie British music so they often used pictures from NME stock. It had been a while though so I was surprised to get a call from a journalist I used to know asking whether I'd be interested in shooting Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye for a cover story. The main shot had to be against a clean white background.




We only had ten minutes for photos to get a full feature but 2 hours to set up. There was no knowing where we would be able to shoot and I had never been to the venue before so I took everything and the kitchen sink - backdrop, location lights, speedlights, reflectors, softboxes, brollies, sunbounces. I fully anticipated having to squeeze in somewhere tiny but we ended up in the foyer with loads of room. After getting everything perfectly set up we had to take it down again as the queue had already formed outside and people were looking in. We found another private corner to shoot but the space was limited.

We finally got it together just as the band arrived. I got a minute against the white backdrop and then a couple with them sat on the bar before Liam was shaking my hand and thanking me.

Tech spec:

White shot - White paper backdrop with band about a foot in front. A rectangular 150cm x 120cm softbox directly behind me, about 6' in height and about 6' from band. A 6' x 4' sunbounce balanced on floor angled 45 degrees up at band to fill in. Camera: F8 at 125sec. Lens: 28mm-85mm F2.8.

Bar shot: Band on bar, I stood about 8' away. Using on camera flash to light band and opened up shutter to fill in the blue ambient light.

Dog Saved my life

Highlight: A job just around the corner from where I live - and one to warm the cockles of your heart....

Lowlight: It was on a Sunday morning - the only day I get a lie - in.
Fill in: A dog saves life of a pensioner when she nearly gets run over by a 4x4.

I work for a chat mag, and normally the real life stories are pretty grim, but the occasional upbeat one reaches the pages. This one was about a doggie that broke the fall of his mistress as she crossed the zebra crossing outside her home and was nearly run over by a 4x4 driver that did not stop. Aaah! It was a huge slobbery thing (the dog, not the driver) getting it too look at camera took a little while but got there eventually.

The brief with these stories is to get every detail possible from the zebra crossing to the backbrace that the victim was encased in for 6 months to her daughter and son who arrived first at the scene of the crime. It's rather like a post forensic operation after the horse has bolted or a stills version of a crime watch reconstruction. Unfortunately the victim was not well enough to re-enact the crossing of the road for a snap...


The Zebra crossing

The family

The canine hero

The backbrace


Tech spec: I usually keep lighting to a minimum as room is usually limited. One speedlight with diffuser dome, wndow light to fill.

Slambassadors Showcase

Highlight: Every year this event just gets better and better. The cream of young Britain's spoken word performance with Linzie Kwesi as guest is bound to get your neurons firing.

Lowlight: Didn't know Linzie was performing until it was too late to inform my other half who is a big fan. Yet another memorable event he has missed out on due to young Kyle!
Fill in: This event cured me of my fear of teenagers.

The Poetry Society runs an annual event for young people for spoken word performance. The imagery that comes out of the mouths of these guys is truly humbling. I hadn't been back to the Drill Hall since the early nineties, when I used to use the darkrooms as it was close to my partners offices where I used to sleep between jobs. I did a True Blood style shoot of the finalists as a personal project as well as the commissioned work of taking the performances and press shots.




Tech Spec:
Black sheet backdrop. Speedlight with diffusion dome on lefthand side about head height. Reflector on right side. Hair light from top right.

National Poetry Competition

Highlight: This annual event used to be way over my head, but this year I actually understood and appreciated every single poem. Obviously these poets are getting better...

Lowlight: Great party, great food, great drink AND Jennette Winterson was there, but did I have time to party, eat, drink, talk to Jeanette? Do flies pig?
Fill in: Jenette Winterson is the woman who weaned me off Cinderella and Wizard of Oz (yes i was still reading those books at 15). She showed me that there was life after puberty.

The Poetry Society holds this event annually and the brief is to get a headshot of every staff member, judge, competition finalist, group photos of staff, judges and competition finalists, presentations, speeches and general atmosphere.

The celeb culture has fortunately not quite reached this final bastion of British culture so shooting is fairly stress free for myself and the subjects.

Tech Spec: I usually shoot the headshots on the sweeping staircase as the guests arrive (whilst they are still sober and the winners still anonymous). For the techies amongst you I use the 70mm end of the 28-70 zoom on F2.8 to get the background well out of focus and have a Gary Fong diffuser over the flash. I turn up the ISO to get the warm ambient light and stand slightly above the subjects on the stairs, getting them to lean on the bannister. I only get time for about three or four shots. I shoot them all landscape so they can be used vertical or horizontal.


Carole Ann Duffy

Jeanette Winterson


From L to R: Deryn Rees-Jones (judge), George Szirtes (judge), Paul Adrian (first prize winner), Sinéad Morrissey (judge)

Ted Hughes Award winner Kaite O'Reilly with proud husband.

For editorial enquiries please contact The Poetry Society.

Terrorvision

Highlight: The chance to see Terrorvision live!

Lowlight: It's been too long!
Fill in: I have photographed this band since the early nineties one of the weirdest experiences being a feature with Tony making a trifle!

The main incentive to cover this band was just to see them perform again. One of the best bands to photograph and see live, especially at festivals as Tony is the only front man I know who can get a whole crowd of 'couldn't care less - I'm only here to see MetallicaIronMaidenWhiteSnakeDeffLeppard' hardcore Reading Festival fans to bounce up and down in time, clap hands in the air and smile with just the sheer force of positive energy - no fireworks, no naked ladies, no burning guitars - just Tony.






For editorial enquiries please contact: Redferns Music Photo Library/Getty Images

Tech Spec: Nikon D700 - ISO 3200, Aperture F2.8 (to make most of light). WB - daylight/tungsten (depending on song).No flash allowed but I would liked to use it for fill in. Shutter 1/250 (Tony is a fast mover). Lighting changed very quickly so I put camera to aperture priority and hoped for best. Some of the pictures were worked on in Photoshop to bring up the shadow areas and increase contrast.