Universal Music Classical Conference

Highlight: The dessert at The Landmark Hotel! Private performances from the cream of new classical talent.


Lowlight: Being called into action just as dessert arrived and said dessert melting into a puddle by the time I got to return to it.
Fill in: This event held by Universal was located in three different venues, with seven artists over two days in three separate time slots. All performances were in very low light and after the Little Noise sessions I'd had enough of magenta light with blue backlight - however it seems to be a trend and the first of the sessions was exactly that - magenta and blue! The performances were extremely quiet and I was restricted to shooting at the beginning and end of each performance so it was quite limiting. But hey, I was being paid to basically hang around, hear great music and eat good food so why complain.


Tech Spec: Just bought the Nikon V1 so I can take pictures without the DSLR mirror clanging all over the place. Unfortunately the adaptor for my lenses is not out yet so it pretty redundant at the moment. Replaced the D300 with the D7000 which is also quieter than the D3 but focusing in the low light proved not so great so I had to settle for the clang of the D3. In St James Church this audible click seems to be amplified several times and made my creeping around unobtrusively pointless as every time I took a picture it was like a a thunderclap. Come on Nikon - get this adaptor out for the V1 asap.

Little Noise

Highlight: Getting to shoot from the balcony for some amazing venue shots.

Lowlight: The Lights! Blue led lights pointing right into the camera from all around the stage with four straight on spots resulting in four microphone shadows on the artists chin! All week!
Fill in: I had got a pass through the venue about a month in advance for this series of six nights, but the press pass was not sorted until the day before and because of the popularity of the sessions it was likely that I would have to shoot from the balcony for the week. It was mixed blessings. Shooting from the balcony meant I would get great venue shots and sweeping vistas, but in terms of saleable shots of the artists it was not such good news. I ended up hiring a long lens just in case, hired the wrong lens, changed it, but in the end the lovely Amazing PR made room for me in the pit after the first night so I got the best of both worlds. Fixation were a bit surprised though when my long suffering partner kept turning up every day to either pick up, drop off or cancel whopping great lenses.


Tech Spec: Blue back light is bad. Magenta front light is bad. Spotlights straight on is bad. Low lighting rig is bad. It was an all round bad situation for lighting as far as photography was concerned. Trying to avoid putting beard son everyone, giving them a pallor of a heart attack or a huge halo around their heads was most of the battle. The best one could do was wait for the artists to move their bodies so they blocked out the back lights whilst simultaneously moving the mike away from their faces. In the case of Coldplay the colour cast was so strong my best shots really only worked in black and white.

For further details: littlenoisesessions.org.uk/

www.stjohnathackney.org.uk/

www.gettyimages.co.uk

www.mencap.org.uk/

Jacqui Dankworth

Highlight: Working with Flora of Cocoloco again. The woman knows how to look after people. Getting to cover the soundcheck.

Lowlight: Having to negotiate with the venue staff for every viewpoint, despite the fact that a film crew were running around all over the place.
Fill in: Cocoloco wanted some live shots of Jacqui Dankworth's concert as part of the Jazz Festival. As with all Jazz artists, Jacqui and her ensemble were too engrossed in the music and performance to be affected by photos and as a result were a dream to work with. Luckily for me the film crew had already been there an hour by the time I arrived so they had broken most of the ice regarding photography and I got to shoot during the sound check as well as the concert.


Tech Spec: The lighting was pretty constant so easy to photograph but there wasn't much change in mood. Luckily Jacqui donned three different, equally stunning outfits and hairstyles to help ring the changes visually and there was plenty going on on stage with all the musicians. During the performance viewpoints were restricted to the back of the venue, the balcony (both only really good for wide shots) and the extreme sides of the stage which (meant I had to wait until Jacqui turned to get her expression), so I was extremely glad I covered the soundcheck. Worst of all though was the clanging sound of my camera as the music was at times very quiet. As I had the whole of the gig I kept the shooting to the loud parts of the concert and when people were clapping. Having been physically thrown out of a gig before now just because I was annoying someone by my very presence I do try not to annoy the punters!

For further details: www.jacquidankworth.com/
For editorial: flora@cocolocomusic.demon.co.uk

St John at Hackney

Highlight: The chance to use my very expensive Gitzo Tripod


Lowlight: Still getting it wrong even with the most expensive tripod head on the block - three spirit levels and not one level image. - Thank goodness for Photoshop.
Fill in: Brief was to make the Church look like it was straight out of one of those fancy, high end estate agents brochures. As the church is in need of some repair this was no mean feat. However the light was great and the space amazing.






Tech Spec: With architecture its all about attention to detail - not my strong point. Getting the images exactly symmetrical without a grid on my viewfinder screen proved more than I could cope with - especially with the super wide lens so I shot the scenes slightly wide and compensated in Photoshop in post production which included cropping, perspective control and straightening! I used a 14-24mm zoom and a 70-200mm for the details. All shot on 200 ISO for maximum detail. Wide scenes shot at F11 for good depth of field and details shots on 70-200mm at F2.8 for blurred background and good separation.

For further details: www.stjohnathackney.org.uk

The Rifles

Highlight: Returning to a farourite haunt of mine as most of my initial portfolio for NME was made up from gigs at this venue.

Lowlight: Friday night fans - great if you are drunk yourself but not so great if you have an expensive camera and trying to get through an exuberant crowd with drinks in hands.
Fill in: This was a gig for Redferns - nice and straight forward.






Tech Spec: The Forum is very hard for lighting, which I sometimes find this a bonus as the harder it is the more creative you have to be. Redferns as a music library like you to get all the members of the band, and the most challenging is the drummer. Almost always at the back and badly lit it can be a struggle. On the plus side, they have a good view and can usually spot you trying to get a shot of the them. Most are happy to look a the camera and if the light does get on them it is usually contact for exposure. Also the band's name is usually on the drum kit and that makes a nice reference.

For further details: www.london.gov.uk

Remembrance Day 2011

Highlight: Remembering to put aside a poppy specially for the occasion as usually mine is extremely curled up and forlorn by the time I get to this event.


Lowlight: Remembering I had forgotten to turn my phone off just as the two minters silence began. It was the longest two minutes ever praying no-one would ring me.
Fill in: Have covered this event that last few years for the London Assembly, usually on a Friday but today the 11th actually fell on the Friday so it was a more poignant event. Access is extremely limited as I am not allowed on the chamber floor and half the walkways round the edge are blocked by a full orchestra and choir. Boris did not attend but Ken Livingstone did so I got all confused as to when and where I was.








Tech Spec:Keeping quiet is the name of the game as every shutter click seems to echo through the proceedings. I try to make every shot count. There are only a few vantage points and getting to them involves actually exiting the chamber, going through four sets of glass double doors and re-entering it from another side. As the speakers are on both sides of the chamber one ends up doing this manoeuvre several times much to the chagrin of the people on the doors who open them for you. Dealing with the backlighting and copious amounts of glass that makes up the City Hall chamber and you have your work cut out exposure wise so I alway shoot manual and spot metre off a convenient face if possible. The light is pretty contrasty but I don;t mind if the highlights blow out a bit as I shoot it all on raw.

For further details: www.london.gov.uk

The Rifles

Highlight: Revisiting The Forum - this is the venue where I went regularly whilst still building my portfolio for NME and I still have fond memories of those innocent times when I wasn't a cynical, bitter, angry, twisted old snapper - I was a cynical, bitter, angry, twisted young snapper…



Lowlight: Yes it was low light. Well, lots of backlight, lots of flashing light but no light not he actual people. Still, i suppose it was supposed to be atmospheric.
Fill in: Shooting this for Redferns, the forum is a pretty tough venue as the lighting is quite tricky at the best of times. However it is good to keep your hand in on the difficult venues as it keeps you on your photographic toes.





Tech Spec: Although the light was bright, it was all from above and behind so I still had to crank the ISO up to 3200 to get anything to register not he faces that were in shadow. When they weren't then it was ISO 400 so I shot manually, as my camera does not do ISO priority but this is a case where it would be useful. Light was also very saturated in colour so I shot on Autobalance and did a lot of adjustment to the white balance and contrast in Aperture in post-production to make the images useable for publication.

For editorial: www.gettyimages.co.uk

Lindsay MacRae Poetry Workshop

under construction

Parliamentary Reception

Highlight: The appearance of Neil Kinnock. I was star struck for the first time in years. Making contact with the lovely jacquelyn Hynes - a beautiful irish flute player who is up for some creative image projects - watch this space.


Lowlight: Trying to look intelligent as people networked.
Fill in: The event was a reception for musicians, actors and writers to meet and lobby MPs and prominent politicians. It is always interesting to see who is truly active in this role from the entertainment sector and who just turns up for the free booze. I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of my favourite actors staying the whole evening and doing the rounds. It is a get round and chat event, and unluckily for me my social skills and political knowledge are appalling but luckily for me I have a quick get out clause - I need to take pictures. Harriet Harman and Ed Vasey headed the speeches.



Tech Spec: The terrace pavilion is a white tented affair, so I use on camera flash and a Gary Fong diffuser to get a soft light all round. Technically the brief is fairly easy - taking snaps of groups talking, particularly members of the MU with MPs. The problem is not going round too early whilst people are getting into the flow and not going round too late when people are leaving or have left. It is also remembering who you have taken already so you don't keep asking the same person for photos all the time and get thrown out for stalking. (Although some people are better networkers than others so appear in almost every shot! - another pitfall to avoid) Every event has a peak time and this one was fairly easy as the speeches were quite late in the proceedings so most people were around by the time they had started. I always love doing an event here as the head waiter is exceptionally charming and attentive to everyone's needs - including photographers, who so often get overlooked - heavy sigh!

For editorial: www.theMU.org

People's Question Time

Highlight: Having to travel only five minutes to get to work - the event was in my local theatre


Lowlight: Trying to get a sense of gravitas about the occasion when the last time I was here was when Fireman Sam was getting his hosepipe out.
Fill in: This event was the People's Question Time for Havering, and Boris Johnson and the London Assembly were under fire from Havering residents on every subject from the Global economic crisis to the terrible bridge at Chadwell Heath Train station. Being used to seeing the local panto at the venue, the atmosphere actually wasn't much different, particularly when some people from the St. Paul's Cathedral protest group stood up chanting a well rehearsed slogan before being unceremoniously escorted out of the venue by attendants who I'd last seen dealign with tiny toddlers being sick in the aisles.







Tech Spec: The organisers were not happy with previous photos as they were so dark. This was not surprising as the lighting was high in contrast., backlit with electric blue and the resulting images had been converted automatically to black and white and photocopied. Saturated blue (or any saturated colour for that matter) is not a great colour for converting to black and white and may look great in real life but appalling if not converted properly. This makes it look like your photos are bad even if it's not your fault so you have to try and prepare for this eventuality as much as possible when shooting press. I shot at a high ISO and overexposed the highlights so I had plenty of detail in the shadows. I tried to endue the focal points were well lit and the negative space made and interesting shape - so if it ended up as a black blob it would not be so disastrous. I also lifted all the shadow areas in a batch process in the post processing to give them a bit more life. This posterised the blue somewhat but the overall effect is more pleasing than a murky dark bland area.

For further details: www.london.gov.uk

The Specials at Ally Pally

Highlight: reminiscing about dancing to these guys at the School Disco…



Lowlight: All the punters looking a bit past it - then realising I am contemporaneous with them...
Fill in: On driving to the venue I remembered why I avoided it normally but The Specials could not be missed. Parking here is horrendous - the only place near that is free means a walk down some rather dodgy dark alleyways - not recommended when you have a bag full of expensive camera gear on you. So I parked about 3/4 of a mile away at the bottom of the hill and did the long walk up. Even once inside the park it is a bit of a trek to the guest list gate, and I was exhausted before I had even got my pass. Then it is a longish walk through various halls to get to the actual stage. This was the last gig these guys were playing, and the atmosphere was buzzing. Terry Hall was right on form and the energy of the band and the crowd must have been transmitted all over London. The pit was full of security so got a bit apprehensive, especially as ankle still a bit wobbly (see Gillman and Soame) , but there was no real rough stuff (at least not in the first three songs).






Tech Spec: Another reason to avoid this venue for photography - strong backlight and no front light. You have to wait for the band to look up or sideways to get any light on them at all (the theme of the week - see Tori Amos). Add to this black guys and black suits and the odds are pretty much against you. Still good for silhouettes! The drummer nearly always does a salutation at the beginning of a gig - especially large venues so be ready to get that. I cranked up the ISO to 3200 (even though it is strongly back lit you are trying to get as much light on the face and in this situation you will have to switch to manual to be sure of a good exposure), stuck the aperture on F2.8 and tried to avoid shooting into the light by positioning myself at an angle to the stage. If the lights were in shot I tried to make the most of them.

For editorial: www.gettyimages.co.uk

Tori Amos at Royal Albert Hall

Highlight: Getting into the soundcheck and Tori performing a song exclusively for the purpose of photos. The woman knows what she wants.



Lowlight: About 15 photographers all trying to squash into one place as Tori plays piano, so the optimum angle of view to shoot her is fairly narrow.
Fill in: Have photographed the lovely Tori lots of times and she always does an exclusive performance for the photographers in the soundcheck. She plays keyboards and piano, sometimes at the same time so it mass for interesting photographs and she always looks dramatic.




Tech Spec: The light was well balanced for background and foreground but it came mainly from above so to get any life in her expression Tori needed to look up. Luckily she did this several times during the song she played for us. There were about 15 of us and not much room to manoeuvre but I ended up in a space where she was facing most of the time. I shot on two cameras to get a close up and a wide without having to waste time changing lenses as one song is not a great amount of time.

For editorial: www.gettyimages.co.uk