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Blasts from the past...

24 JULY 2008
High-faluting

The evening paper said before tonight's Coral show at the Coliseum: One-off acoustic show in a high-falutin' venue for the retro rockers. While I wouldn't quite describe the Coral as retro rockers, the venue was most certainly rather grande. We were asked to shoot from the orchestra pit and had to improvise a little. Let's just say this was the first time I had to stand on a wobbly chair during a shoot - thank fuck for vibration-reducton lenses...
View 'The Coral' gallery



24 JULY 2008
Party like it's 1990

Had a good night shooting the B-52s at the Roundhouse in north London. I'd really been looking forward to this show - it's the B-52s after all - a somewhat iconic band if you ask me. They just don't make them like that anymore. The email I got from the publicist said 'We kindly ask you try and photograph the B-52s as a collective where possible". Interesting - never got asked that before. Luckily the band lined up at the front of the stage a couple of times so getting the 'collective' shot wasn't actually that hard.
View the 'B-52s' gallery



23 JULY 2008
Use me

I've had a bit of usage in the papers this week. Yesterday, one of my Flaming Lips shots from the Lovebox Weekender was printed in the Guardian, and today my Chaka Khan "kickboxing" shot was printed in the London Lite.


23 JULY 2008
Khant say I didn't enjoy that one

Just got back from the IndigO2 where I shot Chaka Khan. It was a last minute job and I only did it because I was asked to cover this show, but I have to say, I'm glad I went as I got some pretty nice photos of this diva (and I use the word diva here in the most positive way possible).
View the 'Chaka Khan' gallery



21 JULY 2008
Pictures speak louder than words

I won't ramble on about the Lovebox Weekender - it's getting late and I need to get some sleep. The good news is, I have now finished uploading my shots from the weekend so make sure you check out the gallery for nearly 100 photos. Click away...
View the 'Lovebox Weekender' gallery



20 JULY 2008
Lovebox

It's late, in fact it's really late and after being on my feet all day I just want to go to bed and sleep. However, I think today I might have taken one of my best live shots to date and there's no way I can not quickly post it here. So, until tomorrow, or should that be later today (?), I leave you with a picture of Manu Chao's guitarist from day one of the Lovebox Weekender. And because I like it so much, I'm giving you the extra large version. Bon nuit!



17 JULY 2008
Catching up at 9.30pm

So, last night I headed back to Somerset House to shoot Valerie rockers The Zutons. They're a good little live band and were fun to shoot. Definitely enjoyed this one a lot more than The Fratellis last week. Make sure you check out the gallery as I got some pretty decent shots. Anyway, tonight is a night off for me which will give me time to recharge the battery of my D3 - as well as my own. I have a very busy weekend ahead of me so make sure you check the site for updates.
View 'The Zutons' gallery


On a different note, I have come across several of my shots in the music press this week. One of my Agyness Deyn + 5 o'Clock Heroes shots is in this week's NME. Mixmag have printed two of my shots - Whitest Boy Alive and Hercules & Love Affair. And last but not least, I also have a photo in this month's Total Guitar.


17 JULY 2008
Catching up at 1am

OK, there'll be a proper update later on today. Until then, here are two of my shots from Glastonbury 2008 - the only two I'm allowed to post at the moment - Manu Chao photographed on the Pyramid Stage (that was a mega moment for me) and the Pigeon Detectives.



16 JULY 2008
A quick 1.30am update

Got back from Wu-Tang Clan at the Shepherd's Bush Empire a few hours ago. A full update later - time to get some sleep.
View the 'Wu-Tang Clan' gallery



15 July 2008
Back in town

Yup, I'm back in London. Could this be the end of my travels for the foreseeable future - I sure hope not. It's funny, the past four weeks are a giant blur. Glastonbury, Paris, Liverpool (yup, there was even a trip to Liverpool) and Berlin - I could get used to this. Still, I shan't complain - luckily, I'm too busy this week to moan anyway. Got a gig tonight, got another one tomorrow and another one on Friday. And there is a possibility that I may be shooting all weekend.


12 July 2008
Toucha toucha toucha touch me

Hello from Berlin. Oh what fun. Going through the security gate at Stanstead airport yesterday, I hear a loud beep. I never fucking beep! This being a budget airline airport the security guys don't seem to have those little hand held scanners that staff at even the shittiest airports in the world seem to use so the search is conducted by hand. I didn't quite do a Diana Ross and hurl abuse at the guy who searched me, but let me tell you this is the closest I have come to being sexually assaulted in an airport...

The flight itself was fine, way too many Germans on the plane though for my liking. It's now Saturday and I've just checked out the location for my photo shoot on Monday. Preperation is key, as they say.


11 July 2008
Berlin, Berlin

So I am on my way to Berlin for my latest assignment - taking photos of Snow Patrol in their recording studio. It's funny that I've never actually done a professional shoot in the Vaterland. After my recent shoot in Paris, I've now shot a show in France, but Germany is new territory for me, as it were. Still, it looks like I'm slowly working my way East across Europe. You never know, a trip to Poland could be on the cards soon.

I'm flying from Stanstead but have to admit that being the snob that I am, I don't like budget airline airports. Heathrow and Gatwick are fine but Stanstead and Luton are weird airports as far as I'm concerned. Must be all the hen parties waiting to board their flight to Tenerife or somewhere exotic like that...


10 JULY 2008
The 'Somer' is here

I shot at Somerset House for the very first time today. The band performing on this outdoor stage was The Fratellis who I'd missed at Glastonbury so it seemed like a good excuse to get some shots of them. I have to say I'm not a big fan of Somerset House. The stage is really high and the pit is quite narrow in comparison so getting interesting shots is rather difficult. Overall the whole thing was a bit of a non event and there's little else to say about this shoot.
View 'The Fratellis' gallery



9 JULY 2008
Indigo, violet and blue...

It's shaping up to be a busy week. Two shoots down, one to go and another really big one just around the corner. Anyway, tonight I headed back to Greenwich to shoot Mick Hucknall at the IndigO2 (the small club which is part of the O2 complex). My agency asked me to cover the show for them and being the good reliable guy that I am, I agreed to do it. The shoot itself was pretty straight forward - the only annoying thing (apart from the journey) was the 10 minute film that was shown at the beginning of the performance. I was there to take photos, not to watch an extended EPK. Actually, the same thing happened at Alicia Keys last night. She too decided to bore us to tears with a little mini movie at the start of the show. I preferred Mick's video though as it didn't feature any religious nuts.
View the 'Mick Hucknall' gallery



8 JULY 2008
Where did you put the keys?

I took a little trip to North Greenwich this evening to shoot Alicia Keys at the O2. The whole thing was straight forward enough and the tour manager was most helpful. In fact, I don't think I'd ever encountered a friendlier and more helpful TM before. As we were waiting to enter the venue, the TM told us in great detail where Alicia would stand, dance, play the piano and exactly how long she'd be picking her nose for. OK, I made the nose picking up, but you get the idea. It certainly made the job a little easier as for once, we knew exactly what to expect.
View the 'Alicia Keys' gallery



4 July 2008
Muddy fields and Parisian clubs...

Hello, I'm back! It's been a fortnight of many firsts... My first time at Glastonbury, my first time sleeping in a tent, my first time shooting a show in Paris and my first multi-page feature written by yours truly and featuring some of my best work.

So, let's get started - Glastonbury. I don't think anything could have prepared me for 5 nights of camping in a field. Glastonbury really is the mother of all festivals and it was a fantastic experience to be there in a professional capacity. I was part of a team of six photographers (hats off to Jonathan, Edd, Michael, Andy and Mick - what a talented bunch of people) who shot for the 'Glastonbury Daily' and the 'Review 2008'. There were so many highlights but one that I won't forget in a hurry is shooting Manu Chao on the famous Pyramid stage. Photos to follow in the not so distant future once they come off embargo.

As soon as I got back from Glastonbury it was time to un- and repack for a little trip to Paris to shoot the much publicised Mark Ronson versus Duran Duran show which was part of the Smirnoff Experience. The show took place at the legendary Cigale club in Pigalle and it really was amazing to be there. The minute I heard about this show I knew I had to try and get a pass for it. It took over a month to sort out but in the end my agency and I managed to get through to the right people. Well, and the rest is history as they say. Make sure you check out the gallery to see the full set of photos.
View the 'Mark Ronson vs Duran Duran' gallery


Last but not least, my article on rock photography is finally out. A HUGE and MASSIVE 'Thank You' to Charlotte and the rest of the team at Photo Pro Magazine for doing such an excellent job editing the piece I wrote for them and coming up with a fantastic design - I really couldn't be happier with the whole thing. If you live in the UK and have £4.25 to spare, then get yourself a copy of the August 2008 issue of the magazine. It's totally worth it - even if I say so myself.



Continue: June 2008 archive