ASSIGNMENT 5: COVERING AN EVENT

Brief
The brief of this assignment was to plan and photograph an event, to produce a varied portfolio of images of a standard that could be published by an online music website.

The Event
I have selected to photograph the music event of American band Combichrist, with support from Protafield and Controlled Collapse, at the Bristol date of their August 2015 UK tour at The Fleece.

Undertaking the photography

The gig was to take place on a Wednesday evening at popular venue, The Fleece, in the centre of Bristol. The gig was one of only three UK dates on the tour and I was expecting it to be busy. My main pointers to focus on before arriving at the venue were to remember the variety of shots that I was hoping to get on my provisional shot list and to attempt to keep the shots as clear as possible, despite the difficult factors of the venue layout as well as the difficulties with low lighting and possible crowding of fans near the stage. My main priorities were to capture as many clear and diverse photographs of the bands as possible without too much interference and, if possible, try to capture the overall atmosphere of the gig with regards to the music and the audience.

After a delayed start, the photography went rather smoothly, following a few initial technical problems. The first band to take the stage were Polish band Controlled Collapse, followed by Welsh band Protafield and then American headliners Combichrist. I maintained a central position in front of the stage, not directly at the front but as close as my 50mm static lens would allow me. Movement was impossible due to the amount of people in the venue but I found that the front men did enough moving about around the stage to allow for the diverse shots I was hoping for. Unfortunately, the lens and the lighting snuffed out any shots I hoped for of the crowd but with the thought in mind that these photographs would hopefully be published onto an independent music website, the main focus was to photograph the bands themselves. However, I did venture to the back of the room once I was confident I had taken a sufficient amount of close up shots, to take a number of photographs of the stage from the back, attempting to capture some of the audience reactions to the band while they were on stage.

It was important for me to get the images processed and ready for distribution as early as possible following the gig, to make them more desirable to those websites who had no one covering that event and who would be interested in publishing them for the fans who hadn't made it to one of the three shows. I did most of the work the following day. I started by uploading all 484 photos that I had taken into one folder and then separating the different bands into separate folders. I added the initial metadata and then captioned the photos in each of the bands folders.

First selection

After sorting through my images and rejecting the images that were out of focus, had too much motion blurring, were blown out with light or far too dark, I was left with a comfortable 87 photos. I processed my favourite ones as my first selects then picked out a further selection of second selects. My main focus through the process of planning and executing the photography for this assignment was to aim to have the photos published on an independent music website so I had to make sure that the selected images would be suitable and clear enough for that purpose. The images I chose were all processed to be clear and sharp enough yet still representative of the event itself. 

Kuba Sawicki of Controlled Collapse

Wojciech Król of Controlled Collapse

Wojciech Król fo Controlled Collapse

Marek Smolski of Controlled Collapse

Paulina Lewek of Controlled Collapse

Jayce Lewis of Protafield

Jack Slade of Protafield

Jayce Lewis of Protafield

Nikki Trash of Protafield

Martin Thompson of Protafield

Jayce Lewis of Protafield

 Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist

Brent Ashley of Combichrist

Joe Letz of Combichrist

Brent Ashley of Combichrist

Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist

Eric13 of Combichrist

Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist

Second selection
Here are the second selection of images which I will also be emailing to the online independent music websites, should they require them.

Paulina Lewek of Controlled Collapse

Wojciech Król of Controlled Collapse

Jayce Lewis of Protafield

Martin Thompson of Protafield

Jayce Lewis of Protafield

Nikki Trash of Protafield

Nikki Trash of Protafield

Nikki Trash of Protafield

Jayce Lewis of Protafield

Martin Thompson of Protafield

Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist

Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist

Brent Ashley of Combichrist

Brent Ashley of Combichrist

Eric13 of Combichrist

Eric13 of Combichrist

Brent Ashley of Combichrist

Joe Letz of Combichrist

Combichrist - Final song

Publishing Images
I managed to have the images ready to email to possible online publications by the following day and decided to work down my list of rock and metal music websites from my planning stages. I selected six images I felt were good enough to attach to the email for the sites to get an idea of the style of my images. I didn't want to email all the sites at once incase, best case scenario, more than one replied wanting to use them and then I would have to let down all but one. But in the end this is pretty much what I had to do because as the days went by, I was worried that I would have to wait too long for each to reply and then it would've been months later that my images were published and sites would've been less likely to use them. I emailed the first site on August 13th and had a reply the following day declining on the grounds that it wasn't really the type of band they would cover, even though they had before.
So I emailed the next two sites the same day. And heard nothing in return. The next day I emailed another two sites, then another two the day after that and so on until I had emailed them all. Three sites out of them all, not including the first I have mentioned, replied saying they would publish them if I could write a review of the gig too. I wasn't happy to do that and by this point the gig was a few weeks gone so I couldn't remember a lot about it to be able to, so they were a no. But then Indulge-Sound replied and said that they were happy to publish them on their site, as they were, without a review. The email from them asked me to send the high resolution photographs over so I sent the first and second selects plus a couple more and they picked the ones they wanted to use. The images were online two days later.

You can find my images at Indulge-Sound.com at the following links;

Controlled Collapse photos can be found at: http://indulge-sound.com/2015/09/07/photos-controlled-collapse-the-fleece-bristol-12th-august-2015/

Protafield photos can be found at: http://indulge-sound.com/2015/09/07/photos-protafield-the-fleece-bristol-12th-august-2015/

Combichrist photos can be found at:  http://indulge-sound.com/2015/09/07/photos-combichrist-the-fleece-bristol-12th-august-2015/

Conclusion

I am pleased with how smoothly this assignment went, despite the earlier panic about not having an upcoming gig to photograph. I think that my earlier experience of shooting events for publishing on online music publications has really helped me with this assignment as I know the kind of images I was hoping to get that wold hopefully be desirable to these kind of sites. The final images have met the brief, as they have actually been published online and I am truly happy with the outcome.

However, there will always be my own slight criticisms towards my own work. The fact that I don't have to best equipment always plays on my mind and I feel it can come through in my images due to the need for high ISO settings and bright lenses. But then the equipment would be fine in a bigger venue with the space in front of stage, like when you're in the photo pit, as well as lots more light than you get in a smaller venue. So it really is a catch 22 situation.

Working to the tight deadlines wasn't really an issue as I always like to upload and process my images as soon as I can anyway but it did get me thinking about professional photographers. I know at festivals they have press rooms for the photographers to go and upload their images throughout the day between bands to meet the magazine deadlines. I cant imagine that being an easy factor for them, but deadlines are something that most photographers, of all genres, have to deal with and so it's good to get the practice in now.

Exercise: Develop a publishing plan

Selling my photos is not something that I am comfortable doing at this stage and I'm not sure I ever will want to. It's not why I take photos, it's not why I started this photography degree and it's not something that I am comfortable doing.
By way of undertaking this exercise, I wanted to write down the general processes for photographers like me who want their images published on a music website in the rock and metal genre.

A few years ago, I interned as a photographer for a music website so I am familiar with the processes. At the time, I was in level 1 of this degree pathway and really wanted to get my gig photos seen. A lot of these independent music sites are always looking for contributors whether it be writing articles, reviewing bands or reviewing/photographing bands. I was lucky enough, after sending a small portfolio in, to be selected to intern for one.
Unfortunately, interning took up a lot of time that I already didn't have much of. Even though I was interning as a photographer, every intern was required to post news articles on a weekly basis, set to a certain template and I found I was doing more of this than actually photographing gigs. Eventually, due to this, I had to give it up, which was crushing to me but necessary at the time as I didn't feel like I was doing any photography.
But the word intern is key here. These independent sites don't have budgets or payrolls but they need people to contribute or "work" for them without paying them anything. The norm is that you contribute to the sites and in return they will arrange passes to get you free access to the gigs you are reviewing/photographing or give you loads of free CDs for you to review, normally before they are on sale.

So this is why I wont be selling my photographs but I will attempt to contact some websites following the gig to see if any are interested in publishing my photos. Most of the music sites I follow are still looking for contributors and so these might be the ones to contact first. But there is no harm in trying them all. They should all have an email to contact them or some even have contributor sections showing you who to contact and the email to do that. It would be unrealistic for me to contact more high profile music magazines as they have their own teams of paid photographers so it is better to search for independent sites who are looking for people to contribute.

Some of the sites I will try are:

• The Alt-Entertainer
• Planet Mosh
• RAMzine
• Indulge-Sound
• Get Your Rock Out
• Reflections of Darkness
• Hit The Floor/MOSH
• Bristol Live Magazine

Exercise: A written plan

Is it feasible?
My tutor has suggested that I cover a gig again as the event for this assignment. Considering my time frame between assignments, I really have to work to something local and without too much access difficulty. I need to cover a small event, but not unknown. As I said, from having my notes for the final assignment date to the deadline is only six weeks so my first point is to look for any bigger band gigs throughout August, possibly in the first few days of September.
The course notes state we should attempt to publish our results so ideally, I want a slightly bigger band that would be more desirable for music related websites to publish as the smaller local bands will have a significantly smaller fanbase.
Luckily, I have found a gig in Bristol, in a familiar venue, for a well known band called Combichrist, with support from bands Protafield and Controlled Collapse. So this is what I am aiming to cover for my event. Most higher profile bands will usually tour around October time so I am lucky to have found this gig and hopefully be able to gain access and cover it.

Permissions and access
I have photographed quite a few bands at this venue before. Each time I have emailed the venue beforehand and they have responded to confirm that DSLR cameras are allowed into the venue. In preparation for this event, with the band being slightly more well known, I once again emailed the venue, The Fleece, to ask if there would be any problems with me bringing along my DSLR camera to the gig. I had a response from the Fleece saying that I needed to contact the event promoter. They were also kind enough to CC in his email address for me.

email correspondence with The Fleece for event access

I then emailed the promoter, explaining who I was and what I was hoping to do and then asking if I could take my camera along. I had a reply granting me access with my DSLR camera so I now have to required permission to take my camera along and shoot the gig.

email correspondence with the event promoter for event access

Site Reconnaissance
The Fleece is a difficult venue to shoot in and I know this because I have photographed a few bands there on different occasions. The floor to ceiling pillars all around the venue cause problems viewing the stage depending on where you are stood. There is no photo pit so you have to take shots from the crowd, which is increasingly difficult with the pillars and if its overly crowded. If I were to stand directly at the front, I would be leaning on the stage and the artists would be directly above me as there in no space between the crowd and the stage. My best bet is to stand in the centre of the venue if possible, to get a head on view of the stage between the two most forefront pillars, and then, depending on how busy it is, move around to get side views as well. I really cant guess beforehand how busy it will be but as it's a more well known band within the music genre and they only have three UK gigs on this tour, I would assume it will be full. So this will limit movement around the venue but also limit my view of the stage. All I can do is aim for a spot where I can get the best overall view of the stage and judge the rest when I get in there.
I am also weary of the lighting inside these smaller venues and as with any gig, I cant foresee what kind of lighting set up they will use. I will check at the time for lighting sequences and am planning on taking my brightest lens, a f1.8 50mm, to cover myself as much as I can and try to get as many shots as I can, to give myself more choice when making my final selections.

Provisional shots
To be clear, I have only been granted access to take my camera to the event and I will have no backstage access or any access to sound checks to photograph any behind the scenes shots at all. All my shots will be of the actual show itself.
I do have a few shots that I know I need to get to make them more desirable to publishers.

• Photos of each individual bands performances, not just the headliner
• diverse shots of each front man of each band
• close up shots of faces. any distinctive face wear or make up?
• possibly shots of the band members interacting with the crowd, if at all
• shots of all other bands members 
• crowd reaction shots /overall atmosphere of the gig

All the above shots need to be captured in as much variety as possible to capture different expressions and poses. I need to be able to get images as clear as possible without movement blur. I am very aware that I don't have a selection of lenses to work with and I only have a basic entry level Canon 1000D but I need to work with what I have, as best I can. 

Exercise: Research and analyse web slideshows

To undertake this exercise, I initially looked at the sites listed in the course and then extended to a Google search on magazine sites with slideshows. The sites with the better slideshows on, that I looked at, are listed as references below.

All the sites that I looked at had manual slideshows as opposed to having them run automatically.

Essentially, I found that the different sites all presented their slideshows in the same way. They mostly have one larger image with arrows to navigate between photographs. These arrows can be placed in various positions on the page; either side of the main image, above/underneath the image or even off the the right side of the page away from the image. Each site offers a small caption under each picture explaining the details of who or where the photo was taken and when, along with the photo credit to the photographer.

The slideshows are all similar in that they feature one large image per page, however each site has a different format for the remaining collection of photos. Some don't show them at all, so the viewer sees the photos in a set sequence, then the viewer purely focuses on the image and doesn't know what image will come next. Most slideshows will at least show a counter of what number the photo is over how many there are in the collection. Another site had the image and it's caption, but above the image was a line of selectable numbers, which corresponded to the other photos in the collection, which highlighted the number of the photo that you were on but also allowed you to hover over the numbers. This then flashed up a thumbnail size image of the image corresponding to that number. Lastly, foodandwine.com  had a similar set up to the example above except instead of numbers, they had the rest of the images in the collection lined up under the larger image. This then allowed you to select which image you wanted and highlighted the photo of the page you were on.

In each of these examples, some slideshows offered more choice to the viewer than others. Uk.reuters.com had the larger image with just the navigational arrows and this offered the least choice to the viewer. Similarly, the slideshows at nytimes.com and news.nationalgeographic.com had the same set up with a slightly different page layout but yet, I had to view each image in the order the designer set them out so that they were in a sequence. But I found this allowed me to be more focused on each image without being distracted to choose different ones. Telegraph.co.uk had the numbers above the photo gives the viewer the option to not only see the thumbnail version of each image without navigating through them all, but you can also select each photo, so it gives the viewer the choice to just load up the pages/photos that they want to view. This is the same as the foodandwine.com site with each image shown underneath.

I think viewer choice is a good thing depending on what the slideshow is representing. On foodandwine.com, each slideshow was showing a different group of foods/drinks. I chose the salsa slideshow, showing a number of different salsas, one recipe per page. In this respect, the viewer was able to look at the thumbnail versions to the one they found they liked the look of the most and then they can click on to load the one they want the recipe for or just look through them all to choose the nicest one. The same choice is offered on telegraph.co.uk. The viewer can choose which images they want to load, although I don't see how it is really necessary in the instance of showing the week in photos, unless of course there is content that some may find disturbing and viewer discretion has been advised.

If a photographer has a specific sequence they want the images to be seen in or, as on nytimes.com, the images were of an event, then I don't think that viewer choice is necessary here and therefore a slideshow as on uk.reuters.com, nytimes.com and news.nationalgeographic.com, with a larger image with/without navigational arrows (depending on whether the site wants an auto or manual navigation, is sufficient.

One failing that I encountered were adverts. Most of my example sites had a slightly smaller image with room for a small, square-shaped advert on the the side, above/below the navigational arrows. The advert was obviously there but not too distracting, although it would be better without it with a full page image instead. Uk.reuters.com has that. Nice full page image to focus on. But to fit the adverts in, it actually includes them into the slideshow, so that every 6th photo is an advert that you have to wait 4 seconds to skip it. This is very distracting and off-putting to the viewer.

If I was conducting a slideshow for one of these sites I would choose to include what most have done. A larger photograph with the caption and navigational buttons off to the side, with space underneath for a small advert, without it being too distracting and without it having to be included in the slideshow itself. I also would not include the option for viewers to view the smaller versions of the remaining photos. I would keep them in a set sequence that the viewer had to navigate through so that they saw each photo individually and couldn't skip through any.

Saying that, I do think that the slideshow on foodandwine.com was very effective as it was the only site with this exact feature to be able to see all the images without hovering over the numbers etc, and it works very well for this type of content. The others were all so similar. I really liked the full page layout on uk.reuters.com but the mid slideshow adverts let it down. I would say that I think the news.nationalgeographic.com and the nytimes.com slideshows were the best ones.


References:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/theweekinpictures/11858449/The-week-in-pictures-September-11-2015.html?frame=3436855

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2015/09/12/t-magazine/scenes-from-givenchys-raucous-afterparty/s/12tmag-altgivenchy-slide-XWUL.html

http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/salsa/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150911-september-11-pictures-gallery-rememberance/#/01sept11gallery.ngsversion.1441978939877.jpg

http://uk.reuters.com/news/picture/photos-of-the-week?articleId=UKRTSIOT

Exercise: Analyse an essay on photography

The exercise is to analyse the essay The Vertigo of Displacement by David A.Bailey and Stuart Hall.
We all know by now that I seriously have trouble reading these texts so it took a few reads to be able to acknowledge anything other than fancy words and complicated sentences. But I tried my best and made notes to attempt to get some kind of answer down.

The central argument of this essay is the development of black photography and how there is now no need for representation of an identity for black photographers.

The discussion is set within a larger socio/political framework but there doesn't seem to be a lot of information given to justify this. The text explains a lot about the struggles of the black photographers and their acceptance and mentions many movements and campaigns, however I didn't see much evidence of it being set within a larger socio/political framework as it constantly refers to black photographers in Britain.

The argument refers back to the 1980's a lot throughout and consistently refers to Britain. We see a discussion about the GLC (Greater London Council) as well as discussing English Society and Englishness and being black and British. I think that if the argument was meant to be set within a larger socio/political framework then a wider view all round could've been addressed, for the socio/political side but also incorporating related movements in other countries.

Do I think that photographers of black subjects should be black themselves? No. Not at all. I don't think the colour or gender or race of a photographer will have any impact on the subject they are photographing at all. Any photographer, whether white or black, would have their own outlook on the subject and each different photographer would have a different perspective. But with racism still such a huge issue in today's society, I don't think that this segregation would benefit at all.

Amy Barwell

Amy Barwell is a world renowned music photographer whose work I have come across on a few occasions. Her portraiture work is particularly remarkable, really capturing the character and persona of her subjects. Similarly, her music photography also captures the subjects just as beautifully, really seeing their characters while they are performing.
A large proportion of her work is black and white, with the odd exception (looking at her website) and also very high contrast. I think that this adds a lot of definition to her work, making it a lot more dynamic and distinctive.
I love how her music photography shows her subjects more like on stage portraits and her work is definitely something to be admired.
Barwell definitely has her own style and is very comfortable with her workspace. This can only inspire me to find my own style and to work comfortably within it to create such striking work. I'm not normally a fan of high contrast portraiture but you cannot deny that Barwell has an incredible talent and judging by the number of celebrity subjects she has photographed, I am not the only one who thinks so.

You can see Amy Barwell's work at her website http://www.musicphotographer.co.uk/music/

Emma Louise

Emma Louise Webb is a UK based photographer who primarily undertakes live photography. Webb is actually a friend of mine who I met through social media and I have been following her photography for a while. Webb's photography is much like my own. She likes to photograph the artists while performing, capturing the on stage persona of each artist and the energy they put into their performances.

Butcher Babies ©Emma Louise *

Webb is also a writer/photographer for Indulge-Sound, a music website specialising in coverage of bands.
I love how Webb's work is so natural. She photographs what she sees and is so much like me in this respect. She photographs the gigs because she loves to do it and thats where a lot of my inspiration for Webb comes from. Her images are always so vibrant and full of devotion from the artist she is photographing as well as from her photographers perspective. Webb is a great photographer who I'm sure will be photographing gigs for years to come.

See more of Emma Louise's work at her website http://www.emmalouisephotography.co.uk/ or on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/emzlouisephotography

*image courtesy of Emma Louise Webb

Ochi

Ochi is Bristol based photographer Ollie Coghill. I originally met Coghill while he was drumming in a band and have followed his photography ever since. Coghill's website boasts a range of photography genre's from street photography to live photography to fashion photography, emphasising Coghill's photographical diversity.

In regards to Coghill's live photography, he is able to grasp the genre of the music and the energy and atmosphere of the gig so perfectly in his images. When looking at his work, I almost feel like I can 'feel the sweat' as the intensity of the performances are so clear.

Hundreth ©Ochi uk*

I would describe some of the gigs that Coghill has covered as 'brutal' as you can sense that the music is loud and the bands performances are aggressive and passionate, making for a powerful atmosphere overall. He is always able to photograph the 'hardness' of the gig so well and he not only shows the passion of the performance from the artists but also the passion of the crowd as well. Coghill is always right in the brunt of the action, documenting the interaction between the artists and their fans and one can only commend his commitment.

Even with the other genres that Coghill undertakes, you can see he works hard and puts all he has into his work. Even on his personal social media sites, he always appears to have a camera with him, wherever or whatever he is doing and that emphasises that he truly loves what he does.

See more of Ochi's photography at his website http://www.ochiuk.co.uk/#/ or on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OchiUK/timeline

*image courtesy of Ollie Coghill / Ochi photo

Danielle Tunstall

Danielle Tunstall is another photographer that I have found through social media. Tunstall's work is primarily portraiture, but with a unique twist! Tunstall is a horror photographer. I assume her work is made through a number of factors including props as well as graphic design, creating some alternative and occasionally terrifying and gruesome images. Whatever the processes, her work is outstanding and distinctive.

©Danielle Tunstall Photography*

I am always in awe as to how Tunstall creates such masterpieces. Her style and technique really stands out. Her creativity in creating some of the images she does is outstanding. Her passion to devise these images is clear through her work as each piece looks as though it has taken hours to construct, and her attention to detail is inspiring.

Tunstall also creates a lots of star wars/stormtrooper pieces as well as lego based work. These are usually up for auction or to purchase on her website shop or Ebay UK page. Not all the work she produces are horror themed and I have actually purchased some of her work before.

You can see more of Danielle Tunstall's photography at her website http://www.danielletunstall.com/ or on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/danielletunstall/timeline

*image courtesy of Danielle Tunstall

Fiaz Farrelly

Looking through Farrelly's website, I am in awe of the amount of great photographs that Farrelly has taken. Yet, his talent is not confined to one specific genre. I initially followed Farrelly as I saw a lot of his music photography shots on social media and since following him, I have seen just how broad his photographical range is.
His website boasts documentary images, mostly in preparation of events or the artists before performances. Portraiture including musicians and band promotional shots. Street Photography, Live photography, landscape shots and even weddings! This guy can do it all. And he can do it well.

His live work is truly inspiring as he excels at capturing the artists passion and enthusiasm as well well as their on stage personas as well as being creative in the process.

John Tardy of Obituary at Bloodstock, 2014 ©Fiaz Farrelly * 

I also love how, throughout Farrelly's portfolio of images on his website, he has no preference to colour or black and white photography, he just uses whichever works for him. I love black and white photography and tend to use it more for documentary photography, much like Farrelly. I also prefer more candid and natural photography and this is something that Farrelly does well in his documentary work. I know Farrelly gets to undertake band tours and festivals and so has backstage access, as do a lot of photographers, but I love how he captures this style of photography too, showing the artists quietly backstage as a contrast to their energetic on stage personas. This is an area that I would love to be able to work within in the future and am inspired to not only engage more with the artists while they are performing and really capture their energy but also to work hard and put in as much passion into my own work as that of the people I am photographing.

For more information on the work of Fiaz Farrelly, you can visit his website at http://www.fiazfarrelly.com/cover

*image courtesy of Fiaz Farrelly

Callum Broom

As with many of the photographers whose work I love, I found the work of Melbourne based music photographer Callum Broom on his social media site, but only recently. Following his work on Instagram initially, I found a lot of his work was music based, but not restricted to rock music like other photographers I follow.
Broom photographs a lot of artist shots during their performances as well as artist and audience interaction shots, which (as I have said before) I really love.

Justin Timberlake ©Callum Broom Photography *

The shot above is so simple yet really captured the artist engaging with the crowd. A lot of Brooms images really grasp the energy of the show and the passion of the artist on stage through their movements and facial expressions.
As I have said, this is something I would truly love to be able to capture in such a standard as some of these photographers, especially interaction with the crowd. I think that as it is such a spur of the moment act, you have to be quick or very skilled to be able to capture it well, something that Broom has. This inspires me to be a little more patient with the shots that I take and really take in the atmosphere of the show the attempt to focus more on the show as a whole and not just the artists performing.

I have also seen Broom post the occasional landscape shot or shots of himself at various locations and it is really lovely to see. They not only announce to his followers that he is at the remarkable sites but also that he wants to share the experience with his us. I see them, much like with Joo's landscape shots, as an artistic postcard.

To see more of Callum Broom's work, you can visit his webite at http://www.chasinglight.com.au or on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CallumBroomPhotography

*image courtesy of Callum Broom

Johnny Joo

I absolutely love the work of American photographer Johnny Joo. Living in South Wales, we have an abundance of castle ruins in my local area and I like nothing better than wandering around, taking in the history and photographing them.

I stumbled across the work of Joo on Facebook and was immediately drawn to his images. Joo primarily photographs abandoned and decaying buildings being reclaimed by nature but he also posts a lot of landscape images too, which he captures on his urban exploration adventures. I actually gained permission and used one of Joo's images as inspiration for an assignment on my Photography 2: Landscape course last year. You can find that assignment write up here.

I am fascinated by Joo's technique of photographing these locations and the buildings he encounters as I cant imagine it being an easy task, and one a lot of photographers would not attempt to get.

The abandoned Pontiac Siverdome ©Johnny Joo Photography *

Joo's images are always colourful which contrasts the fact that most of the subjects are crumbling and decaying and I love how Joo always focuses on the emptiness of his subjects while still capturing the essence of the original use of the structures.

Following Joo on Instagram and Facebook gives me daily inspiration. Not only from the fabulous photographs he regularly posts but also his passion for what he does. As I said, it cant be easy to capture such great images while navigating around structures that could collapse at any minute and, as with most urban explorers, while attempting to not get caught but without people like Joo, we would not have such exceptional images of these beautiful places.

Find out more about Johnny Joo on his website at http://architecturalafterlife.com/ or at his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyJooPhotography?fref=ts

*image courtesy of Johnny Joo

Mark Latham

Mark Latham is a photographer whose gig photography is amazing. Not only does Latham shoot tours but he also does plenty of gigs, festivals and also band promo shots which I've seen to be used in music magazines.

From following him on social media, one thing I can say about Latham is that he is always busy. But his photos never slip, they are always on point. His website is full of recent work and gig coverage with numerous bands at numerous locations. But his website also shows what a talented gig photographer he is.

Latham's work is always bright and bold, full of energy, much like the shows that he is photographing and this is where I really find inspiration from Latham. I love how he takes the time to not only photograph the crowd, but to also find a shot that emphasises the atmosphere of the gig and the enjoyment of the crowd themselves.

Trivium at Bloodstock 2015 ©Mark Latham Photography *

Latham captures the chemistry on stage amazingly, whether it be between the band members themselves or the artists interaction with the crowd but I also love how Latham will nearly always do shots from the back of the crowd towards the stage. This really captures the energy of the show from the crowds perspective and gives an insight into the atmosphere of the event in the venue, whether it be a large outdoor festival or a small intimate indoor gig.

I find inspiration from Latham from his ability to capture the entire ambience of the gig, through the artists, the interaction with the crowd and with the crowds reactions to the band themselves. I have tried to capture images from the back of the crowd, and it's not easy to get the kind of final image that Latham gets. But then I don't have the best equipment and lenses for it. I captured this image from a recent shoot from the back of the room.

Combichrist at Bristol - © AlCallow Photography

Nowhere near Latham's standard but it's something I will definitely continue to practice. I also would like to remember to try to capture shots of the crowd too but again, that depends on where you are stood to be able to shoot well.

For more information about Mark Latham and to see his work, you can visit his website http://www.marklatham.co.uk/ or his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MarkLathamPhotography

*image courtesy of Mark Latham

Kat Papakyriacou

I have included Kat in my collection of other photographers I admire because, although she is a friend of mine, I do admire her work and she is a very talented photographer. Kat is based around London where, like myself, her photography is a hobby, which she is incorporating into her working life.
Kat is known for all types of photography, you can see that from the diverse selection of images on her website http://www.maplejar.net/?page_id=1039. But most of the work I have admired most from Kat over the years is her gig based photography.

I am inspired by Kat purely because I feel like we are very similar. We like the same music, we go to the same gigs and we both love photographing gigs. I know Kat has been able to gain press access to some festivals to be able to shoot from the pit but she also, like me, has to shoot from the crowd on occasions. And I think this is where I get my inspiration for Kat. She is very focussed and very driven. I really like how she can work with what she has to get some really great shots and it reminds me that I don't need a huge expensive camera and pit access to be able to get great shots. As long as you have the passion, you always work with what you have and the passion will show through.

Robb Flynn of Machine Head ©Kat Papakyriacou Photography *

In her gig photography, Kat's style is great. She will capture the character of the performer whilst keeping the shot as natural as possible. The other work from Kat is also very well done. Very clean. Simple yet elegant. And more inspiration to show that no matter what kind of photography you prefer, you don't have to over do the post processing and can explore other genres.

You can find more of Kat Papakyriacou on her website above, or on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Kat-Papakyriacou-Photography-22893308161/timeline/

You can also see some of her images on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/katinchains/

*image courtesy of Kat Papakyriacou

Scott Chalmers

Scott Chalmers has to be one of my biggest gig photography inspirations.
I first came across Chalmer's work when he shot a lot of my favourite bands promotional images. His website showed galleries of his work for other bands too and I am always impressed by how he captures not only the character of the band but the energy of the show too like in this stage to crowd shot:

The Defiled at Sonisphere 2014 - © Scott Chalmers Photography *

I have had the pleasure of meeting Chalmers on a couple of occasions and he is such a lovely and down to earth guy. I always remember asking him for some advice for a new photographer the first time I spoke with him and his answer was to learn how to use a flash properly. Something I still haven't done yet.

Chalmers can also be very artistic with his shots. He might choose a slightly different angle or focus on an alternative point to create images which have also been inspiring to me. This creates a unique style in his work that separates him from so many others. The shot I think of most is one that I compared with a shot of Glen E. Friedman's back on my learning log blog for Photography 1: People and place. I compared how the two styles were similar and how I was influenced to attempt my own version. You can find that blog post here.

A lot of the work I have seen, following Chalmers on social media, nowadays has been mainly portraiture and occasionally, band promotional shots. And beautiful portraiture it is. Again, Chalmers really focuses on the character of the individuals and brings it out to show it through his images.
This is something that we can all get inspiration from and even though I don't photograph many portraits, I can imagine in the future, if I ever come to start, thinking "lets have a look how Scott Chalmers does it".

You can find more information and images by Scott Chalmers at his website http://www.scottchalmers.co.uk/ or on his facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/Scott-Chalmers-Photography-96536687451/timeline/

*image courtesy of Scott Chalmers

Michael Kenna

Michael Kenna was the first photographer that I was really influenced by, around the time when I first started this degree.
I initially loved taking landscape photos when I started getting into photography, and I still enjoy it today. When I first came across Kenna's images, I was drawn to the beauty of his work. Kenna focusses on black and white photographs and I have always felt that there is something hauntingly beautiful in each image.

Whether it is the way Kenna photographs each space to appear so clear and almost empty-looking and solitary, like in his image Beach Walk, Cayeaux sur Mer, Picardy, France. 2009 found here.
Or maybe it is how Kenna manages to capture such vivid tones and textures so clearly, like in his image Huangshan Mountains, Study 2, Anhui, China. 2008 found here.

Some are my favourite images of Kenna's are:

Huangshan Mountains, Study 26, Anhui, China. 2009 found here

Twenty Sticks, Kohoku, Honshu, Japan. 2003 found here

Pine Trees, Study 1, Wolcheon, Gangwondo, South Korea, 2007 found here

I know that Kenna has a vast portfolio of work with a range of work and subjects but I really do admire Kenna's talent at making all his images seem so serene and peaceful. The soft, yet dramatic skies, the high contrast and the lack of people in his landscape work really so inspire me to attempt to create work to that standard. 

You can find more information on Micheal Kenna and see his work at his website http://www.michaelkenna.com.

a thought......

I've spent a few weeks writing up on some of the photographers I follow and it's really got me thinking. Photography is really an expression. The vision of the photographer.
I primarily follow a lot of gig/music photographers because that is the genre of photography that I enjoy the most. I like to photograph the artists on stage, seeing their passion for what they do reflected in their expressions, seeing their interactions with their instruments and also their bandmates as well as, most importantly, their audience. Each photographer is different in how they shoot their experiences. You have photographers who, like myself, photograph the artists and their expressions and their interactions, others will focus more on the character of the artists and how they portray their on stage persona. Other enjoy capturing the reactions of the crowds alongside the bands interaction with them and the entire atmosphere of the venue as a whole.
There is no wrong or right way to photograph something, whatever genre that may be. I also enjoy shooting landscapes but I don't follow a lot of landscape photographers. Nor could I name many. That doesn't make me anymore of a photographer though.
My tutor suggested I make notes on photographers I like/don't like.
I have individually listed the ones that I actively follow, most of which I see their work regularly and its work that I admire. Each photograph I see that I like, I take some sort of inspiration from but I will always create images true to me.

Relics360 Photosphere exhibition - Wales Millennium Centre

While attempting to entertain my children on a cloudy summer holiday morning, I took my children to Cardiff Bay. When needing a bathroom break, I had to take my children into Wales Millennium Centre and walked through the door into a photography exhibition. This was my first ever exhibition and I was happy that I'd stumbled upon it.

The exhibition was by Cardiff based visual artist Matt Wright as part of the Relics project. Panoramic landscape photographs of welsh historical sites were printed onto air filled spheres and laid out in a line directly in the entrance hall of the Millennium Centre.

Wales Millennium Centre - AlCallow 2015.

Relics Photospheres at Wales Millennium Centre

Relics Photospheres at Wales Millennium Centre

Relics Photospheres at Wales Millennium Centre

I really love the project and think the spheres are an exceptional way to showcase the panoramic views at these sites. I have been to a few of the sites shown in the images and they are beautiful historical locations and the photographs and the spheres really do highlight them beautifully. 

Relics Photosphere of Din Lligwy Hut Group

Relics photosphere of Raglan Castle

Relics photosphere of Porthgain Harbour

Relics photosphere of Blaenavon Ironworks

Relics photosphere of Valley Crucis Abbey photosphere

The beauty about the spheres themselves is that they almost make the photographs 3D. You can walk around them as opposed to seeing them flat against a surface. The only downsideI encountered though was that the spheres are obviously filled with air from the box at the base but one of the spheres wasn't sitting upright, it had a tilt to it and so the images was lob-sided. Each sphere had an informative circle on the floor, telling the viewer what the site was in both English and Welsh. It also gave the project website and a QR scan code for more information on the project.  

Apart from the tilt on the sphere, I think the exhibition was very effective. 

When I looked online at the website for more information on the project, the exhibition at the Millennium Centre followed site-specific exhibitions at each of the photographed sites where the sphere photographed as part of the site itself , linking the actual location with the portion of the sphere visible to the camera. This was obviously the true purpose of the project and it looks remarkable seeing the sphere interacting with the site itself. It's not something I have seen before and definitely makes a statement. 

As the final image is seen flat, I'm guessing it would make more of an impact seeing it in person but I cant help but wonder whether it would "fit in" to the site looking at it from all angles, although i'm sure it would with it being a spherical panoramic. Unfortunately, as I said, the site-specific exhibitions all took place at the beginning of the year and so I am unable to go see for myself. But for anyone interested in seeing the photosphere exhibition can do so at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.

More information on the Relics project can be found on their website at http://www.relics360.com/about/