Chas and Dave

Highlight: The only photographer here so  got the pit to myself.

Lowlight: Forgot film! Searched high and low but could not find any film. And as only photographer in pit had to go through the charade of pretending to take pictures calmly, whilst all the time panicking about what I was going to do. Chas and Dave were posing wildly and everyone was looking at me with admiration as I clicked away. Got out of the pit after three songs, only to discover some film tucked away in a pocket of the camera bag for just such an emergency and had to talk my way back into the pit for a few more songs! Chas and Dave were a bit bemused to see me back again...
Fill in: Last job of the year and the pass was confirmed late so I wasn't really expecting to do it. Still forgetting film was something I'd done for a few years now. Luckily I know I'm so disorganised and have film everywhere - in car, in coat pockets, even on my keyring.
Tech Spec: Big tip of day - keep spare film with you at all times. I have a small case as a keyring on my carkeys. It just so happened I didn;t have it with me today but the thought is there.

For further details: www.redferns.com

Pythia

Highlight: Tim getting stuck in traffic - he's best when he's mean and moody



Lowlight: Saxon (Emily's baby) hogging the limelight - even when asleep - never work with children
Fill in: Pythia needed new PR shots and who was I not to grab the opportunity to photography five hot musicians. Emily, never one to miss an opportunity, arranged to do the shoot at her work place which just so happens to be a fabulous church. Tim however had to travel three hours in the London rush hour to get there and understandably not in the best frame of mind when he arrived. However, professional that he is, he got on with it and the mean and moody shots that resulted were the best I have of him yet - and the aura filtered to the rest of the band who all also looked FAB.


Tech Spec: Emily wanted a huge arched window in the background. My poor long suffering partner had man flu but I showed no mercy and insisted he climb out onto the window sill (30 feet in air as we were on first floor) in wind and rain to fix up a backlight. This was the main light that I allowed to bleed around the band, which meant careful positioning to avoid flare; then the front light was just a large diffused fill light (1/3 fill in) and placed right behind me to avoid reflection in the window. I had to stand on a huge step ladder (brought upstairs by my long suffering partner) to get eye level with the band. The ivy was painstakingly grown grown courtesy of photoshop.

For further details: www.pythiamusic.com

Elio Pace

Highlight: Seeing Elio Pace in his element at the legendary Ronnie Scotts. The guy is a force of nature.

Lowlight: Job was after a long day photographing a christening. Elio offered me a ticket to the gig - an unexpected surprise that I could't take advantage of as had to turn the pictures round from both jobs pretty sharpish. Fill in: Have worked with Elio before on the Wogan show, but had not seen him in full flight. I got to the sound check and it was all go. Elio was choreographing every move and the small stage was being prepared as if it was a fill on arena tour that was about to take pace. 
Tech Spec: I was glad to do the soundcheck as the restrictions at Scotts are just that - restrictive - and the two songs I got for the actual performance were from the narrow alleyways where waitresses and waiters charged round with plates of burgers and chips. Room was so limited I even had to ask a punter if I could store my bag under his table.

For further details: http://www.eliopace.com/Weekend_Wogan.html

New Order

Highlight: Are you kidding? These guys' music showed me the meaning of sexual tension.

Lowlight: That was a long time ago....
Fill in: This was an agency job at the Troxy - not my favourite venue - light is usually bad and there is nowhere for photographers to wait. We were pushed from pillar to post whilst waiting to be led in.
Tech Spec: Saturated light! And dark. It was a case of waiting for the singer to look up and grab him whilst he had a bit of illumination on his face.For further details: http://www.redferns.com

Poetree - Trafalgar Square

Highlight: An hour working completely on my own - It is rare you get left to your own devices!


Lowlight: Cold!

Fill in: The Poetry Society commission a poem every year to go around the Trafalgar Square tree gifted from Norway and I an commissioned to get a record of the display.

Tech Spec: Such a static, large object means that the only variation one has available is the time of day, unless you have the budget to draft in film set lights. I could only shoot midday which was not ideal but at least the weather was dry if a bit chilly. The Square is always full so there is always the crowds to contend with. I basically aim to get the tree from as many angles as possible (all sides, high, low, far and near) on all lenses (wide, standard and long) and all formats (portrait, landscape, close up, wide, panoramic, diagonal). This covers you for all eventualities - covers, websites, newsletters, banners etc. The shoot took about an hour with most of that time spent waiting for people to get out of the way - or get in the way in some cases!

For more info www.thepoetrysocietry.org.uk

Whitesnake

Highlight: Getting to shoot a real rock band!!!

Lowlight: Trying to avoid the waving mike stand - David Coverdale is lethal with dat ting!
Fill in: There is nothing like a real rock star to get your music photography juices going and Dave Coverdale does more than deliver. Lit with spotlights like daylight If you don't manage to get him with the mike as a phallic symbol then you should just pack your Billingham and go home. With David at the helm of a gang of gyrating guitarists, his mass of permed golden hair that doesn't need a wind machine to look wind swept, his sprayed on jeans and every cliched gesture packed into one rock god body suddenly I wasn't in the forum any more. We were win the biggest arena in the world!

Tech Spec: Lighitng was too good - the ISo didn't go low enough and the white shirt was potentially a problem - thank the rock god David didn't wear black. The only technically hard thing about this gig was editing the images down to a reasonable number. I kept mainly to wide angles to show off those Rock God postures and ensure I didn't chop off the end of David's mike!


For editorial: www.redferns.com

PPL Xmas Party

Highlight: Seeing the lovely Fran Nevrlka, Chairman of PPL - one of the sincerest people at the upper echelons of the Music Business.

Tom McGuiness and Fran Nevrlka

Lowlight: The PPL balloons being knicked within minutes of being put up - give them back who ever it was!
Fill in: PPL is one of the nicest companies to work for in the music business and a lot of it is down to its Chair. Fran Nevrkla is the real deal - passionate, intelligent, eloquent and understated. His influence permeates the company and doing his Christmas Drinks bash at The Avenue is always an oversubscribed affair. It is a long job as nobody ever wants to leave and the crew near enough have to bully the crowd into submission.





Tech Spec: The last few years of this event have been a frantic scramble to be in time for the Music Week deadline, much of which involved me wandering round the party balancing a laptop trying to find an internet signal, getting a small sign of life and taking half an hour to send one highly compressed file whilst still trying to take photos of the party. This year, the deadlines lave been moved - Hurrah - so could relax and enjoy just photographing the party. It's a struggle as it is standing room only and a case of burrowing through the bodies then pumping out one's elbows to get enough room to take a group shot on a very wide angel lens - not flattering but the alternative is to use a cattle prod and Nikon have not brought one out yet - I suppose I could use my monopod...

For editorial enquiries: www.ppluk.com

Musicians Union Parking Protest

Highlight: A protest I would go on anyway- where was the NUJ?

Lowlight: Rain. and I forgot raincoat for myself and cameras despite having at least five ponchos for myself and four for the cameras. I had to buy one forma tourist shop which had Union Jacks all over it.

Fill in: I had photographed three of these protests already and was wondering how I was going to get anything different, but Dave from the MU had a trick up his sleeve and organised the event right outside Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It gave an instant lift to the pictures.

Tech Spec: Tip of the day - remember wet weather gear for any outdoor event.  I can thoroughly recommend stormjackets as a reasonable solution for camera gear if you don;t want to break the bank but are fed up of using plastic bags. go for the pro one which has a handy hole for holding the lens.

more info:  http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/rain-covers/b3023

Jill Scott

Highlight: Good singer, good set, almost good lighting which is good enough for me after the experience of Little Noise.

Lowlight: Trying to get into the pit - Brixton Academy was rammed and I virtually had to burrow my way in through the bodies.
Fill in: Shooting for Redferns, this was a great gig with a huge set and great dancers. Brixton Academy can be great or can be awful and this time is was great and Jill certainly had the moves.
 
Tech Spec: Fairly straightt forward. Hardest part was keeping up with Jill and making sure you were on the button when she danced into the good light. I had two lenses - one long and one wide as Jill was all over the stage and one needed to be flexible. Most of light was from above but luckily Jill kept her head up!

For editorial: www.redferns.com