Anatomy of a Cover Shoot : Feature in Practical Photography

Last month Practical Photography Magazine asked if they could follow me on a shoot and do a "day in the life" feature.

If you ever wanted to know what gear I use on a shoot, or how I run a shoot, then pick up the July 2011 issue to find out! I wondered if I would find it stressful having a photographer following me and a writer ready to turn the shoot into a story. Afterall, I'm usually the one shooting and not the one being photographed! It turns out I didn't have anything to worry about, it didn't feel any different to a shoot where I have an art director, client or creative director and their team on set with me. The shoot itself went well, although typically the one time a piece of gear dies it would be when we are shooting a behind the scenes feature, fortunately a quick swap to my second lighting trigger meant the shoot wasn't slowed down. A good example of why it is important to make sure you bring back-up gear on shoots. The magazine that the cover shot was taken for will be gracing the shelves of WHSmiths in just over a month. Practical Photography also put up a sneak peak behind the scenes gallery too, click through to see more.


Tweet

Hyro Da Hero - Press Shots

Last week I was invited to the Rock Sound magazine office to shoot up coming hip-hop artist Hyro Da Hero for an interview. After we finished the 'safe shots' Texas born, California resident Hyro was happy to come outside and shoot some extra frames to get something a little different.

He is playing two sets at Download festival 2011, and I recommend you take the time to check him out. for the music geeks out there, you might be interested to know his live band comprises members of Blood Brothers and At the Drive-in.


Tweet

UK Tattoo Industry 'Best Photographer' Award 2011

This weekend I was away shooting in Brighton for the 'Great Escape' music industry expo. Meanwhile, in Liverpool they were holding a huge tattoo convention and the 'UK Tattoo Industry Award' ceremony.
I'm honoured to say that I was awarded 'Best Photographer' for the second year running, and would like to thank everyone who has supported me.

Best yet, the trophy is apparently a skull with an eagle holding a tattoo machine. Which sounds amazing, beats the oscars hands down!

Tweet

HMV "My Inspiration" Campaign ; The King Blues.

 

Patience is a virtue. Especially when waiting to see the finished artwork for a major advertising campaign that uses your photos. The 'My Inspiration' series is a pretty cool one. Paul Rees (Editor In Chief, Q Magazine) explains the background to it on the HMV website.....

" One of the great truisms of this business we call music is that musicians are rarely happier than when talking about any musician other than themselves. It has been my experience that not only do they offer up far more in such circumstances, but also with a far greater degree
of interest and insight. Hence the fascination, and the enduring success, of HMV’s My Inspiration series, for it is built on this very foundation.

A second fact the series has highlighted is the power of the written word in music. The pen is
not only mightier than the sword, but at least the equal of the guitar too. Bob Dylan may have brought us the sound of thin, wild mercury and of country rock, and much more of musical import besides, but his stream-of-consciousness poetry and all those acute reflections on the human condition in all its many forms have resonated as loudly with Bono, Paul McCartney and all of his other fellow songwriters who have made him the most cited artist for inspiration. There are wonders aplenty in Dylan’s music, but does anything stop you dead in your tracks with the sheer force of its clarity? Pick any line from, say, Just Like A Woman - “With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls, she takes just like a woman” will do – and each and every one of them will pull you up, time and time again.

Bowie (to name but one other My Inspiration perennial) brought us Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, the glacial funk of Station To Station and the white boy soul of Young Americans, but I’d contend he’s summoned forth nothing that will linger longer than Life On Mars’s drop-dead perfect opening line: “It’s a godawful small affair, to the girl with the mousy hair.” So it is with all great songs and songwriters – whatever magic might be conjured musically, it is invariably the words that hold us fast to the tune and come to define our relationship with it.

I came to my own favourite artist, Bruce Springsteen, via a lyric - “The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves/Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays”, from Thunder Road - that distilled all the earthiness and grandeur and wide-open possibilities of his music into two lines. I suspect you’ll have found your way to your own inspirations through much the same route. "

To find out more about the King Blues and check out their music, visit www.kingblues.net

Tweet

The World Wide Photography Gala Awards : Honourable Mention in Beauty

 

I had almost forgotten I had entered this competition. So it was a nice suprise the other day ot receive an email form the organisers of the International Gala Awards to say that one of my images had received and 'Honourable mention' in their competition and was being published in the Gala book "The Beauty Around Us".

The image itself is over a year old, and my fashion work has taken a more produced direction, so it is good to see the image getting recognition in the competion.



Read more about the award here.
Tweet

The Subways : Exclusive Live show via Pledge Music

 

Pledge Music is a new kind of business model ; One where the artists ask the fans to pledge a donation towards their goal, with a percentage of the money going to charity too. Indie heroes The Subways decided to make their the new album via the pledge system, fans who supported them would get a special edition of the album and entry to a series of secret intimate gigs.

After recently shooting some press shots for Rocksound with The Subways I was invited to shoot their secret show. I'm really intrigued by this approach ; It certainly means the band will only get to make the album if there is a demand, which must be cool (and a little scary, since the band might feel extra pressure to please the fans). All I know for sure is that the venue was packed and there was the kind of banter between the band and the audience that you usually only get at home shows or on the club circuit. Everyone (including the band) seemed to really enjoy the show and the vibe was one of positivity and fun, could this be the future?

Go see more images from their set click here.

Tweet

Cigarette Burns Cinema (and other news)

It's been quiet on the blog, but that doesn't mean things have been quiet here. First off, the exhibition at London Miles (see last blog post), went really well and it was great to see my photographs on display along side so many other artist's work.

Below is my favourite shot from a recent visit the The Rio Cinema to shoot some promotional images for the cult-movie night Cigarette Burns Cinema (check them out, the films they show are some of the greatest trash that you wouldn't know how to find anywhere else). 


I also got to shoot a couple of really awesome events last week..... but until the client's have approved the images I can't post them. All I can say is imagine a church lit only by candles, with a performance involving a female human beat-box, 3 violinists, and organist, guitarist, choir of hooded figures and a guitarist/vocalist. A magical hour of music indeed!



Tweet

'Pens and Needles' - London Miles Art Gallery Exhibition.

Recently I was invited to exhibit by London Miles Art Gallery as part of their mixed media 'Pens and Needles - A group exhibition celebrating tattoo art and lifestyle'. This news was made all the more exciting as they gallery has never exhibited photography before; so  Estevan Oriol (USA) and Olli Bery (France) and myself will be the first photographers to have our work displayed.

Details are as below :

Pens and Needles - A group exhibition celebrating tattoo art and lifestyle.

Opening reception: Friday, February 25th 2011. 7pm to 11pm.

"Forget everything you think you know about tattoo art. For the first UK art exhibition of its kind, London Miles invites a selection of the world’s top tattoo artists, documentarians, and enthusiasts to finally liberate us from the last of those scratched on, fading abominations…our manifesto? No more ‘I LOVE MUM’.

London Miles is to take an in-depth look at all forms of tattoo art, lifestyle, and culture. Featuring original artwork, tattoo stencils and photographs, Pens and Needles brings together artists from across the tattoo and contemporary art sectors to shed light on the entire domain of tattoo art: from artists that love tattoos, to tattoo artists that love painting. Alternatively, the photography of documentarian Estevan Oriol – whose client list includes Eminem,  Ludacris, Method Man, and Justin Timberlake – will offer a raw snapshot of Los Angeles street life, one of the world’s most heavily tattooed cities.

The opening night of Pens and Needles will be a unique fiesta of tattoo art with live tattooing taking place in London Miles’s very own pop-up tattoo parlour. The exhibition will document, discuss and most importantly celebrate one of contemporary art’s most burgeoning yet contentious art forms.

Confirmed Artists:  Shawn Barber, Claudia Sabe, Mike Davis, Matt Difa, Xam, Olli Bery, Daniel Albrigo, Holy Fox, Jeff Gogue, Tom Bagshaw, Alex Young, Shad, Jondix, Jee Sayalero, Gustavo Rimada, Cate Rangle, Estevan Oriol, Lea Nahon, Bart Bingham, Rico, Horishion, Issac Fainkujen, Nick Baxter, Nick Colella, Alex Binnie, Al Overdrive, Nicola Andrews, Michael Forbes, Kerry Evans, William Zdan, Adam Jackson."

To read more click on the flyer, or to be placed on the online preview list- please email :  Sales@londonmiles.com

For directions to the gallery click here

London Miles Gallery
Westbourne Studios.
242 Acklam road. Unit 303.
London. W10 5JJ
email: info@londonmiles.com
phone: (44) 020 3170 8618

Tweet