Who Cares?

Highlight: Working with young people in care for a front cover.

Lowlight: Very small budget for this charity. Getting suitable location and time when volunteer models could make it was tricky.
Fill in: The final location was in the Old Street Area - notorious for being hard to park and we had to hump 3 location lights with stands, camera kit, softboxes and reflectors across a main road, down three side roads and up four floors - no lift!

Holocaust Memorial 2011

Highlight: A chance to see leaders of different religions come together and agree - I'm such an idealist


Lowlight: Listening to very sad stories told from the heart. Always humbling.
Fill in: Having to take photos whilst the last post is playing - always cry!

Slambassadors

Highlight: Young kids air their views and show their creativity on stage via the Poetry Society's Spoken word competition.


Lowlight: Feeling very old next to all these bright young things.
Fill in: Watching all these talented teenagers is always pleasantly surprising.

James Blake

Highlight: New year, new artist, new venue! Agency assures me this was a no pressure gig to ease me in.

Lowlight: There was plenty of pressure, at least on my back as the place was packed and there was no photo pit! Plus The Sun and MTV wanted it - no pressure at all...

Fill in: After a year of avoiding agency gigs - finances dictated I go back - and to be honest I had missed it.

So after a year of giving up gigs to spend more evenings doing homework with my son, finances or rather lack of them made me pack the ear plugs in my camera bag and go the Redferns cap in hand. Luckily they were still keen to use me - times are desperate for everyone - and asked me if I wanted to do James Blake at Plan B. Unfortunately I scanned the email excitedly and only read the Plan B bit so I jumped at the chance. Was a bit knocked off kilter when I found out who it was and where it was, but Redferns said it was a good one to do and there was no pressure.

However, as the venue was woefully inadequate for the amount of audience, with no pit and a stage as high as the middle of my shins, just standing upright was a task in itself. And with no light and a request from the PR to shoot as little as possible (it was an acoustic gig) getting even one picture was going to be a major achievement. Now I know why I decided to stay at home and do Maths homework.




click here for Sun review

click here for MTV review

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

Tech Spec: Nikon D300 - best in low light - ISO 3200, Aperture F2.8 (to get as much ambient light as possible). WB - Flash (balanced for fill in flash). Small flash on camera forced to on (the small flash is less obtrusive for performers when close up), shutter 1/8 second (I moved the camera to get the trailing lights and extra interest as the performance was very static.

Bev Lee Harling

Highlight: Working on the images taken for the lovely Bev Lee Harling for her new album Urban Gypsy

Lowlight: Cutting out in Photoshop. No matter how I take the photos, this part is always tedious
Fill in: Bev and myself really into the art of Gil Elvgren and are paying homage to his work.

Using the material from the shoot last year, Bev and myself hope to get a set of cards out as well as the images for her album so I started trying out some ideas.