In Conversation with Gareth Pugh

Highlight: A second chance to see the Tudor Exhibition at Buckingham Palace

Lowlight: Very! Almost as bad as conference for Arqiva, but much redder so everyone looked like they had sunburn - luckily the weather has been nice so red faces did not look too out of place.

Fill-in: Having already met Gareth at his studio it was interesting to hear him talk about his work with re-nowned fashion commentator Colin McDowell. I got a chance to look round the exhibition properly which was useful as my son has the life and times of Shakespeare as his homework so I could fill him in on the clothing of the day.

Tech spec: F1.4, ISO 6400 and still I was struggling. Had to wait til Gareth or Colin looked up to get a well lit shot. Used body as a tripod as shown me by Independent Photographer - Laurie Lewis many years ago (basically bracing your arms into the sides of your ribs and with one leg forwards of the other, whilst pressing camera hard into your face. Uncomfortable but it works.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/event/in-conversation-with-colin-mcdowell-and-gareth-pugh

Arqiva 2013

Highlight: Working with Jack Barron - cool as a cucumber.

Pic: Jack Barron

Pic: Jack Barron

Lowlight: Two photographers and still had to woof down dinner

Fill-in: Normally I do this event on my own which means running between the stage and backstage and  the office to get the celebs arriving, performances, awards presentations and sending it up to the internet straight away. This year, for the 40 year anniversary there were twice as amny celebs, a party and a conference to cover as well, so there was a budget for two photographers - phew. Jack Barron stepped into the breach but even so , we still only had 10 minutes for dinner in our 12 hour shift.

Tech spec: Fast lenses for conference as light was appalling; we had to ask the venue technicians to climb up and sort out the spotlights so the stage actually had some light on it! I used fast lenses,  ISO 800 and shots RAW for the performances and on stage shots; Jack used on camera flash for the red carpet and Bowens Gemini 500s with brollies for the backstage awards.


http://www.commercialradioawards.org/ArqivaAwards2013/Home.html

Beady Eye

Highlight: Revisiting The Camden Centre (last time I was there was the NME Brat Awards over a decade ago)

Lowlight: Not having a photopass on the door - DON"T THEY KNOW WHO I AM!!!

Fill-in: The pass was arranged via Sony Japan Record company who book me to take photos of their events in London for the Japanese Press. I am not taking photos for the UK press, or the UK Record Company, or the Japanese Record Company so getting a pass is a bit long winded as I don't fit into any department, but eventually I had ticket and pass.

Tech spec: Usual gig lighting - blue, red, dark, top lit. The rule of thumb is look for the angles when the light is down and as soon as the light comes up snap away. I had to get all the band members so it was pretty tricky - but Liam is always good for photos.

State of the Nation with Boris Johnson

Highlight: Hearing all the gripes of the Greater Spotted Londoner

Fill-in: Held at Central Hall, Westminster, this event is a chance for the ordinary Londoner to come and put questions to the Mayor, currently Boris Johnson. This year it was broadcast live with Nic Ferrari on the mike.

Tech spec: The main obstacle was ensuring I could go freely round the building to get as many angles as possible as there was not much action which meant getting a lot of security on side. There was security for the building, security for Boris, security for the event - all of which I had to be verified with and took at least half an hour. But investing time in this at the beginning makes life much easier when you are running round under pressure.

Nutkhut Stilt Walkers Rehearsals

Highlight: Watching the stilt walkers rehearse

Lowlight: Not being able to stay all day

Fill-in: Ajay of Nutkhut called me to photograph his stilt walker rehearsals at Greenwich Theatre. It was pretty dark as the space was painted black but it was moody.

Tech spec: Lots of black to had to shoot it all on manual. Very low light - so 3200 ISO, F2 on my 50mm and 85mm.

Royal Collection - kids workshops

Highlight: Trip to Windsor Castle and catching up on my history

Lowlight: Dragging a load of lights up from the car park and not needing to use them.

Fill-in: This is part of an on-going commission to document the education programmes for the Royal Collection. Pix of kids so i can't show them to you or I would have to kill you.

Tech spec: Shooting against the light, in long narrow rooms so light was very contrasty and spot metering essential.

Tudor Exhibition Launch - Buckingham Palace

Highlight: Sneak preview of Tudor Fashion Exhibition with breakfast included.

Lowlight: Not getting enough time to see exhibition

Fill-in: It was a social media launch of this exhibition so I was taking photos of people taking photos with their ipads and smart phones. It was launched at breakfast so we had pastries and croissants, tea and coffee served with a bone china tea service.

Tech spec: Very low saturated light so I took everything RAW to give myself plenty of adjustment leeway in the processing.

Jazz Awards at House of Commons 2013

Highlight: Stan Tracey's Speech - what a legend!

Lowlight: Moira Stewart being particularly shy about having her photo taken - and she was the main presenter!

Fill-in: This annual event is THE Jazz award event of the year, held on the Terrace at the Houses of Parliament. It is always a great schmooze for the Jazz world.

Tech spec: If you have a shy one like Moira, ensure you get at least one in the bag early before anyone else, telling them that if they do this one they won't have to pose for any more.

Vaisakhi 2013 - Trafalgar Square

Highlight: Free Mango Smoothie Stall

Lowlight: Everyone getting free mangos on the VIP tour of the stalls apart from me...

Fill-in: A whole day documenting on the most colourful spectacles in Trafalgar Square of the year.

Tech spec: Whatever the weather I always carry my storm jackets and raincoat for my camera bags - been caught out too many times.

http://www.london.gov.uk/get-involved/events/vaisakhi-2013

Sony Showcase

Highlight: The rooftop gardens on a sunny spring day. Seeing Everything Everything.

Lowlight: Last minute job so forgot to have lunch and had to make do with sneaking as many olives and peanuts from the bar as possible.

Fill-in: 6 acts, scattered round the venue. I made sure I knew the timetable beforehand (of which there were two variations in case of inclement weather) and checked out the lights. The acts were all fairly new (one had been signed that very morning) so restrictions were fairly loose. They were all very different and only did two or three songs so I had to get into their vibe very quickly.

Tech spec: LED blue backlights! The worst. Aperture processes these lights really badly so I have to process in Lightroom which I am not so keen on. Low ceiling also meant backlights shining straight into camera so lots of flare. I tried to shoot when the artist was covering the lights with their head or body.

Bishopsgate Walk

Highlight: Going for a free two hour walk of Underground London

Lowlight: Having to to it backwards and without the recorded guided tour.

Fill-in: Bishopsgate were running a walk (?) of London which consisted of a poet guiding a group of walkers via a recorded piece of poetry on an MP3 player. I did ot get an MP3 player as I was taking photos, so I had the bizarre task of trying to guess where the walkers were going to go, walking backwards in front of them to get the shots and not being able to talk to any of them. Even though I didn't have the headphones on I felt like I had gone deaf.

Tech spec: It was quite liberating to be able to shoot so spontaneously so I took the camera off manual and shot aperture priority. I ran ahead as far as I dared and tried to anticipate backgrounds that would look good for the walkers.

Atlanta Bluff Head Dresses for FAE

Highlight: Working with Atty - an absolute star

Lowlight: Not enough time to plan shoot.

Fill-in: Karen Kay of Fae magazine contacted me needing a cover photo, needing Photoshop and needing it now! In her usual efficient way she duly sent me a beautiful model complete with make up and head-dresses before I'd even had chance to think about what I was going to do with her.

Tech spec: I went for a simple head shot as Atty is a model and actress and perfectly at ease in front of the camera. I used brolly 45 degrees on left side, light diffused with silk 90 degrees right side which spilled out onto the blue background and two led ring lights to light Atty's gorgeous red hair. I then photoshopped layering textures of spiders webs, marble, stars and flies wings and turning the lot green to get  a Summery feel for the Fae Summer Issue. No Photoshop was done to Atty apart from turning her eyes green.

Gareth Pugh

Highlight: Stroking hundreds of pins stuck in a piece of leather

Lowlight: Not being able to try on any of the clothes.

Fill-in: The brief was to capture Gareth talking about his work whilst he was being filmed for the Tudor Exhibition to be held at The Queen's Gallery in the Summer. It was amazing in his workshop which was almost entirely monochrome apart from the brown paper patterns at the end of the room. His collection was beautiful to photograph as it was so sculptural. Even Gareth himself was monochrome and sculptural! One piece he was making consisted of hundreds of pins carefully arranged and fixed to leather. The effect was like seeing velvet under a magnifying glass and it felt like stroking a baby hedgehog.

Tech spec: The white room was lit mainly by daylight, so it was fairly evenly lit which was a good job given the whole black and white thing going on. Even then it was contrasty when shooting from the side which I ended up doing quite a lot of to avoid getting in the way of the filming. Luckily my D7000 was quiet enough to shoot whilst the videographers were rolling.