Absolute Radio

Highlight: Using the Lastolite highlight! Love this bit of equipment.

  

Lowlight: Carrying a full portable white backdrop studio  around the backstreets of Soho and the Lastolite highlite dropping out of the bag and popping open! (it is 8ft x 6ft and no mean feat to fold back up again).

Fill in: I was to shoot DJs against a white backdrop - headshots, full length, single and in groups. The main event was Rock and Rock Football, so the group shot consisted of Ian Wright, Ian Stone and Perry Groves, then I had to get some stock shots of Richie Firth and Andy Bush.  The hardest part was finding a parking space near Golden Square and then lugging the equipment to the studios.

Tech spec: I used a white highlight background, but still needed to Photoshop around the feet for the standing shots. Because it was quite a variety of shots that were needed, I lit a whole area with a single large softbox from above and behind the camera. I also had some shots to do in the recording studio, which had no windows and small spots so the PR guy who was organising the shoot kindly let me use the huge LED panels to light the area. He also helped me lug my equipment back tot he car - that's service.

Patti Smith

Highlight: Got to see The Lion King.

Lowlight: Missed out on Ed's Diner burger.

Fill in: I got the call to shoot Patti's playback at the last moment and was a bit suspicious. I was also a bit miffed as I'd planned an evening out with my mother and son at the theatre. Ms Smith hates being photographed and last time I was in her vicinity she told me and few other snappers where to go in no uncertain terms. However, not one to be put off, my long suffering partner was shipped in to fill my seat at The Lion King and I dutifully went forth with cameras to the Scotch Bar in Mayfair. I arrived in good time, and sat around playing Angry Birds, whist hostesses as tall as trees in silver outfits offered me salmon vol-a-vents, mini roast beef and yorkshires and sushi (I'm vegetarian!). Lots of important, tend people bustled in and out, but after over an hour of this decadence I was told Ms. Smith was not in the least bit up for a quick snap and my services were no longer required. I rushed across town in hope off catching the theatre party before it left Ed's Diner but alas, Keith had just polished off the burger he had bought for me, but I did get to see the show.

Tech spec: Be prepared, never assume, make the most of it and other such irritating philosophical utterances. 

Orbital - Royal Albert Hall

Highlight: Get to do whole show....

Lowlight: ....From the back of the auditorium

Fill in: Orbital are notoriously hard to get photos of, the whole performance being basically a laser light show with the two main guys hidden behind a stack of techno equipment and what little you can see of their faces obscured by lights attached to their heads. But I'm always up for a challenge and put my name down for it. 

Tech spec: Metering is hard, but at t he very least I tried not to get to much light going directly into the camera or had a head or piece of techno gear obscure it. I kept the exposure pretty constant and just waited for the lights to be right to get a low enough contrast exposure to register. I also experimented with a few way out compositions and exposures and variations were none too forthcoming, and ended up with a pretty cool shot of the whole of the Albert Hall looking like it was being invaded by aliens.

For More info: www.redferns.com

Christy Moore at Royal Festival Hall

Highlight: Nice gentle gig at the end of a long day

Lowlight: Photography was restricted to the side of the auditorium

Fill in: Commissioned by Redferns, I knew the restrictions would be side of stage before the gig, but we were actually pushed to the sides of the auditorium, then Christy came out and sat side on to the stage - (See Lambchop) - so the view was either of his back or him obscured by mikes and guitars. Ended up shooting from halfway back so I could get a slight view of his face. In the end I thought sod it and crept between the aisles - well it was sort of side on.

Tech spec: Used D7000 as the shutter is quieter than the D700 or D3 both of which clang like a bell. It also has a smaller CCD so my 70mm-20mm reached to 300mm which was just as well as I was so far away. ISO 3200, F2.8 shutter 1/200sec. Light was pretty good. Christy sat still for most of it but got a few action shots right at the end of the third song.

For More info: www.redferns.com

Slambassadors 2012 winners

Highlight: Poetry in the 100 Club! As I am usually crushed up agains the speakers for this venue it was refreshing to be able to actually move around the space to shoot.

Lowlight: Being made to feel illiterate by a bunch of teenage kids - the week just gets worse (see National Poetry Competition)

Fill in:  The cream of the young performing poetry set is crammed into a red and black, spotlit, graffitti-ed dungeon of the 100 Club (see National Poetry Competition). It is fairly heaving down there with anarchic teenagers exorcising their emotions and then there's me, blundering into this hallowed atmosphere brandishing a camera with a visual expression that says 'Trust me -I'm a Photographer'. Maybe it's because they are performance artists,  but they all take the order to have their photo taken in their stride, either that or it's because the inimitable Joelle Taylor has them well trained. As wells the portraits, I have to document the whole event getting audience shots, mentoring shots,  group shots, performances and presentations. 

These young poets never fail to amaze me with their insights and ability to paint with words. From Glastonbury to Drag Queens, no subject is sacred and the evening is filled with humour, anger, irony, sadness and any other emotional scab you might want to pick over.

Look out future here comes (in no particular order):

 Aaron ICY Denyer

 Gabriel Akamo

 Megan Beech

 Charlotte Higgins

 Harry Wilson

 Tamara Lawrence

 Renne Pascal

Emily Anne

Tech Spec: The light was not great but decided to give these guys the low-fi NME treatment and just grabbed them unawares and shot them (photographically speaking) with no additional lights, reflectors or other gizmos as they all looked funky and needed no embellishments. They were not phased at all - in fact Gabriel and Renne were obviously well seasoned at it. 

I used a 24-70mm zoom, turned it up to 3200 ISO and shot at F2.8. for the whole event. When it came to the performances I felt like I was at NME again - except I was not trying to cram the whole thing onto one 36 frame roll of Tri-X pushed to 3200. 

For more info:

http://slam.poetrysociety.org.uk/2012/04/

http://poetrysocietyphotos.tumblr.com/