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Blasts from the past... 29 October 2009 Life's a beach I spent a very productive day on the set of Camilla Kerslake's new video yesterday. The shoot took place in Norfolk and I managed to get some fantastic snaps of Camilla who is a real natural in front of the camera and knows a thing or two about posing! I think the photos will form a big part of her press and marketing campaign and I cannot wait to see them in print. Filming took place in a number of extremely beautiful locations and I'll put up a gallery of my favourite photos in the next few weeks. In the meantime check out the TV commercial below to get an idea of what the shots look like.
26 October 2009 6 in a row OK, I have no proof but it's my word against everyone else's so I shall claim that last week I temporarily became the hardest working music photographer in Britain after photographing 6 full shows and 10 support acts over 6 nights at the Forum in London... My week started on Monday with White Lies (and their support acts Bombay Bicycle Club and The Drums), followed by Biffy Clyro (plus Frightened Rabbit and Boxer Rebellion) on Tuesday, Kasabian (plus Armorphous Androgynous) on Wednesday, Lostprophets (plus The New 1920 and The Blackout) on Thursday, Sonic Youth (plus Hush Arbours) on Friday, and finishing with Paloma Faith (plus Mumford & Sons and Mr Hudson) on Saturday. Below are shots of the bigger acts - watch out for a full gallery in the not so distant future...
23 October 2009 Working my arse off Yes, I've been a very busy snapper for the past week or so. While you are at home, having a late dinner and watching quality TV, I'm out shooting gigs - not that I would have it any other way. Sitting at home in the evenings ain't all it's cracked up to be. Anyway, I'm hapy to report that my hard work is paying off and more and more of my embargoed shots are finally seeing the light of day. I recently shot David Gray and Annie Lennox on the set of the video for their single 'Full Steam Ahead'. It was a nighttime shoot at Battersea Power Station in London and I was really happy with a lot of my shots. As the release of the single edges closer and closer, the press campaign is gathering momentum and my photos are making their way into the public domain. Below are two screen shots - one from David's official site and another one from Finch's Quarterly Review. Also, there is an interview with Tom Jones in the current issue of Aer Lingus' Cara Magazine and they have used one of my portraits as a full page image. Check out more shots from the portrait session.....
18 October 2009 That's my goal One of my personal goals this year was to have my photos used for the artwork of a CD, DVD or Tourbook and I am happy to report that I have finally reached that particular goal! At the weekend I got another opportunity to shoot Sir Tom Jones live on stage. I last shot him in Las Vegas in May and the photos from that shoot were taken specifically for his new tourbook... When I arrived at the venue for the live shoot this weekend I could hardly wait to get hold of a copy of the tourbook to see my shots, and I really couldn't be happier with the finished article. Apart from the front cover shot (which is from the portrait session I did with Tom back in February), I have full page live shots on 14 of the 24 pages. The book is too big to scan in but below is a shot of the front cover along with a couple of recent tear sheets - Florence + the Machine in Oslo, Calvin Harris in Scotland and Little Boots at Shoreditch House - all A4 double page spreads.
12 OCTOBER 2009 Welcome on board It's not often I get to write my blog updates in seat 60C of a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to London - but that is exactly where I am right now. It's been another busy week of late nights and interesting shoots, and at this very moment I'm not exactly sure what time zone I'm in - physically or mentally... I started last week by doing two jobs in one night. The first job was the official launch of singer Camilla Kerslake who is signed to Gary 'Take That' Barlow's record label. I had photographed them at a recording studio the previous week and was fortunate enough to shoot them again at the launch party last Monday.
The event started around 7.30pm and after shooting the performance and taking photos of Gary and Camilla posing with various showbiz editors, I dashed off to Battersea Power Station for the second job of the night - shooting stills of David Gray and Annie Lennox on the set of the video for their single 'Full Steam Ahead'. David and Annie were extremely welcoming and a dream to photograph and I came away with some great shots. I can only post one of the more, shall we say, obscure photos here but hopefully I'll be able to share a few of the actual portraits with you soon.
On Tuesday night it was time to put my live hat on again and head to Brixton Academy to shoot The Pixies. A pretty disappointing shoot overall or - to be more precise - a total waste of time due to the truly horrendous lighting. Honestly, if you know you're going to perform in darkness don't issue photo passes. I mean, what's the fucking point?
Later in the week I flew out to Hong Kong for a commissioned shoot with British Sea Power at a little venue called Grappa's Cellar. My brief was to 'capture the craziness of the show' but to be honest I didn't think there would be a lot of craziness to capture. I mean, Asian audiences had always struck me as being slightly more reserved so I really didn't expect things to get particularly wild. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong as the show was anything but a snoozefest - in fact, it was a total blinder! Both the band and the audience were on fire and I think this was the first time I really experienced what a real mosh pit is. I stuck it out at the front of the stage for the duration of the show but there were moments when I thought neither I nor my cameras were going to get out of there in one piece. The guys put on a fantastic show and gave me so many great photo opportunities it really puts other bands to shame. I mean, there were stage invasions, on-stage headstands, crowd surfing - the list goes on and on - so this was definitely one of the most enjoyable gigs I have ever shot. The following night I headed out to Lamma Island with the band for a lovely dinner and some more photo fun. I came away with lots of shots that I'm really quite excited about and I cannot wait to see the feature. As usual I can't post any of the photos yet but below is a shot of Grappa's Celler showing the quiet before the storm... Before I go I need to say a massive 'thank you' to all the members of British Sea Power as well as their crew and manager for a fantastic weekend - what a lovely bunch of people. Anyway, time to sign off now and enjoy some of the in-flight entertainment!
4 OCTOBER 2009 My week in music Pearl Jam once sang "I'm still alive" and back in the 80s Simple Minds had a song called "Alive and kicking". Well, I'm happy to report that I'm both alive and kicking, in case you were wondering. It's been a week since my last update and in that time I have shot seven shows on seven consecutive nights which may explain why I haven't updated the site. After the Florence + the Machine gig last Sunday, I shot Ian Brown at the Garage on Monday night. It was his album launch gig and Mr Brown was on fine form. In fact he was really feeling the love for a certain photographer (i.e. yours truly) and kept posing for me - it was unlike any other shoot I had done before. Make sure you check out my Ian Brown gallery for some serious stare out action....
Following two great gigs, it was time for a bit of a disappointment in the shape and form of Hockey at the Scala. It's not that the band weren't any good (I actually really enjoyed their performance) but the Scala is an awful venue due to its bad lighting. I think it's pretty safe to say that I shall pass on future gigs at the venue - it just not worth the hassle. If you're a fan of the band do check out the Hockey gallery though.
No rest for the wicked, so on Wedensday night I headed to the Apollo to shoot Paolo Nutini. I last shot Mr Nutini in New York back in July so I had an idea of what lay in store for me. I was pleasantly surprised by the lighting which was much better than at his NYC show and took one of my personal favourite concert portraits of all time. It's a big statement - I know - but I'm a sucker for live shots that look like posed studio shots and the shot below falls in that category, I'd say. Make sure to check out the full Paolo Nutini gallery for some more shots.
On to Thursday night and it was time for something special. Charity shop chain Oxfam was half way through its fantastic Oxjam Music Festival and it was The Editors' turn to entertain the crowd at Oxfam's Tooting branch. The shop is only down the road from where I live so this made a welcome change from all the commuting I normally have to do to get to a gig. The band (well, two members of them) showcased material from their new electronic album by playing an acoustic set for the enthusiastic crowd, and it was fantastic to see them in such an intimate setting. Check out The Editors gallery for some shots from the packed and rather sweaty front row.
It's Friday night - so that can only mean one thing: time to head to Koko in Camden to shoot Noah and the Whale. There is not much to say about the show other than that Koko is very similar to the Scala in that the lighting tends to be very (s)hit and miss. I managed to get a few nice shots though so do check out the Noah and the Whale gallery.
Six down, one more to go. The final gig of the week(end) was The Maccabees at Brixton Academy. Thanks to Transport for London's shoddy service getting to the venue was a bit of a hassle but it was all worth it in the end. The band performed the first song in near darkness but gave us some light for the next two numbers and I am actually really happy with my shots. Make sure you check out the Maccabees gallery while I take a little, well deserved break. Having said that, something tells me I will be back here with another update very very soon...
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Concert photography - concert photographer Carsten Windhorst, London, UK. Portfolio artists include Duran Duran photography and concert photos - Simon Le Bon photography and concert photos - Nick Rhodes photography and concert photos - John Taylor photography and concert photos - Roger Taylor photography and concert photos - Morrissey photography and concert photo - Bloc Party photography and concert photos - CSS photography and concert photos - Till and the Wall photography and concert photos - Paolo Nutini photography and concert photos - Maximo Park photography and concert photos - Tori Amos photography and concert photos - Velvet Revolver photography and concert photos - The Bravery photography and concert photos - Snow Patrol photography and concert photos - Aerosmith photography and concert photos - Wir sind Helden photography and concert photos - Crowded House photography and concert photos - Just jack photography and concert photos - Perry Farrell photography and concert photos