musical bits and pieces

For better or worse, music has been preoccupying my lenses of late. I have some very specific music- and non-music-related projects coming up, but before I get to that stuff, here is a relatively arbitrary collection of images from various music-themed shoots/events.

In my last post, I wrote about the recent shoot I did with a singer/songwriter. It was a wonderfully successful day, and in good time the final images will show up here in all their glory. Until then, I'm choosing to display a few nondescript shots. This one wasn't planned; I was walking down to the backyard to shoot from a low angle and I noticed his hand resting on the railing. I know it's quite a plain image, but there's something about it that I love. I think perhaps it's because the formality of the black-jacket-white-shirt sleeve contrasted with the relaxed state of the hand intrigues me. The gumtrees and the old verandah railing are also very Australian, and that's always nice.

I'd never heard of Immigrant Union before going to see them play, but I always like the challenge of shooting something or someone I'm unfamiliar with. Unlike bands such as Money for Rope, Royal Headache and Saskwatch, all of whom I love and whose songs I am extremely familiar with, shooting an act unknown to me means that I have to make decisions in the moment, with no forethought or preparation. I'd loaded black and white film just before the performance and I immediately regretted it when the smoke machine came out and the colours came alive through the haze. While colour film would definitely have been interesting, though, the smokiness still makes the lighting more dramatic with this black and white film (in the second shot), and I think that the first shot would look less appealing in colour. I still would have preferred colour for the night, but I guess what I'm saying is, there were a few interesting results regardless.

As incredible as the action on the stage can be, the audience can be pretty appealing too. Both of these shots were taken at a small music festival in South Gippsland. There was a very convivial atmosphere throughout the crowd, and the festival in general, and the lighting from the stage was giving all the happy faces such lovely colours. The first shot is slightly out of focus, but the softness is in keeping with the cloud-covered moon. While technically this is significantly flawed, it has a special feeling to it, and I love the deep blue of the night sky against the magenta of the stage-bathed crowd. There's not a whole lot to say about the second shot here - it's just really cute.

There'll be more coherent thoughts and collections from me soon, but I think that taking some time to pick out a few photos that maybe don't fit in with them is a great thing to do. Because they're interesting at least, lovely (or cute) at best, and I don't want them to get lost in the depths of the photo library and be forgotten.

sweat 'til you can't sweat no more

I'm sure there are other, more insightful similarities between the two gigs I saw and photographed last week, but in my mind and memory, there is one thing that unites them above all else: sweat. I'm not just talking a bit of upper-lip moisture, either. I'm talking about drenching my shirt, stinging my eyes, trickling down the back of my neck, threatening to drown my camera every time I looked through the viewfinder. I actually didn't realise I was capable of producing that much sweat. Twice in one week.

Both shows occurred during Melbourne's March heatwave, both were in venues that are notoriously warm when things get busy, and both were at capacity. The first was Saskwatch returning to Cherry for the first show of their March residency (above). The second was Royal Headache playing a wonderfully intimate show at the John Curtin Hotel (top).

I've been using the grainy black and white a lot for live stuff lately, and to be honest I think it's my go-to for this kind of thing. In large part, that's because it's the most capable film I know for low-light situations, but I also love it because it's different from most other black and white live stuff you see around the place. In the first guitar shot here (Royal Headache), it's kind of washed out and grey, and in the second (Saskwatch) it's got a lot more contrast. Usually I always prefer high contrast, but sometimes it's nice to have some variety, and there is something charming about the greyer image; again, the almost faded grainy look is just very different from most stuff I see, which is a positive .

I only used black and white for Royal Headache, but for Saskwatch at Cherry I decided to embrace the red curtain and shoot some slide as well. The way I shot and processed it really brings out extreme contrast and extra red, which again, makes them quite different from a lot of live stuff out there. Don't get me wrong - I am not against 'regular'-looking film, but with a type of photography (live music) that so often looks the same, it's important for me to experiment with how I can bring something new to the images. The intense contrast+red in these shots isn't my favourite effect in the world, but I do think it has potential, and in the second photo of these four, I think the lighting and contrast works beautifully, especially on Nic's face (centre).

As with the black and whites above, the first two photos here show how the same film and shooting conditions can produce pretty different results. The first of the two is really high contrast, while the second is a lot less intense, and red almost looks faded. I think in this case, I like the second, faded look better. Having said that, LOOK AT THE THIRD ONE! What an incredible image to have shot and not photoshopped or anything - just to have the red of the curtain and the red of the stage lights and the film producing this intense two-tone effect. I love this.

I just want to take a moment to celebrate this really animated image of the horn section. They're usually tucked away behind their very large and obscuring mic stands, so it's difficult to get a dynamic image of all of them. At this moment, they came out to the centre of the stage during their cover of Robbie Williams' 'Kids', and encouraged the audience to sing the refrain. It's particularly appealing to me because they're all active: Liam and Will are singing, Nic is wiping the sweat off his face, and Sam is encouraging the crowd to sing it loud. Great.

In my ongoing attempt to get something slightly left of centre, I often try to get in close and focus on small details that still capture the energy or some other essential part of the performance. Olaf's keys-playing is a good example, and works well here because you can see Rob's guitar in the background so the shot's a bit more dynamic. But really, the stars here are the ones of Nkechi. She's such an incredible photography subject when she's on stage, because the way she moves and the way she physically sings are mesmerising. If it weren't for all the dancing this band commands of its audience, I'm quite sure people would just be transfixed on Nkech the entire time. These images of her arm and her hand on the mic stand here are just two examples of getting in close to capture elements of her physical performance. I'd love to do this more with her, because by God, there are a lot of things to capture.

Royal Headache's lead singer, Shogun, is mesmerising in an entirely different way. He alternates between pacing frenetically across the stage and pausing to crouch and focus on singing intensely and beautifully. I was right up the front for this gig, which was great for shooting, but not great for my physical well-being; Shogun's freneticism is nothing compared to the brutal energy of Royal Headache's die-hard fans, who evidently love to shove, stage dive, crowd surf and smash shit. But I was tough! I was going to get my shots! A kick to the head, a stranger falling onto my lap and a million little bruises all over me weren't going to deter me! And my persistence paid off; apparently Shogun wasn't so sure of my physical capabilities and eventually insisted that I get onto the stage to shoot in order to be a bit safer.

I think this selection captures the energy in the room quite well. The square shots were taken on my Holga, using a flash - which I don't ordinarily do for fear of annoying people but I don't think any of these people even noticed it; with all that activity a flash of light is the last thing on their minds.

These capture the more subdued moments in the set, where the energy relaxed momentarily in anticipation of the next adrenaline surge. I feel really lucky that I was close enough to photograph Shogun like this; it's rare in any live situation to be literally face to face with a performer. In this case he knelt right in front of me to sing a little. Just perfect.

I wasn't sure about this one when I first saw it, but actually I really love it. The focus is on the guy in the audience, who is sweaty and looks exhausted, but also looks like he's loving it. Then you see the blur that is Shogun, and the movement implicit in that blur betrays the energy of the performance, giving us some idea of why the dude in the crowd may be so sweaty and satisfyingly exhausted. It just works really well for me.

These are just a few more I had to include. Like I think I've made clear above, they're basically an awesome band to watch and to shoot. I took a lot of photos but I felt that I couldn't stop because if I did I'd miss something amazing. These also represent a success story in terms of shooting at the Curtin, because in the past I've found the lighting really difficult. I think this film is the key. (Or shooting with a flash in rare cases.)

Both of these shows were incredible, and a privilege to shoot. Engaging performers, great musicians, responsive crowds and all-round awesome music is a pretty good combination for getting good shots, despite any technical obstacles that can (and do) arise.

So what I'm saying, in conclusion, is this: the sweat, the bruises, the exhaustion - one hundred per cent worth it. 

a few types o' portraits

One of my friends recently had a baby. This is relatively new for me; despite being 'of age', very few of my close friends have come to procreate. (Yet.) So when I told this friend that I would love to come and meet his baby, he invited me over and asked me to bring my camera. YES!

I've never shot newborns before, but I figured that there can't be much to it - they look so damned cute regardless of what the camera does. And I was right! What a beautiful picture of a beautiful baby.

Here's a couple with Dad a little more involved. They're so lovely, and one of the nicest things is, they really don't need a lot of forethought or analysis; they are gorgeous simply because of what is in them.

Now, I'm not saying Jim isn't naturally gorgeous... but these photos took a lot of forethought! Which is because, unlike some casual snapshots of a friend, these are carefully planned press shots for the one and only Grizzly Jim Lawrie. I'd never purposely gone after sun glare (aka lens flare) before, and I wasn't sure how easy it would be to achieve. But we both agreed that regardless of actual glare, we wanted to capitalise on the early evening golden sunshine - my favourite kind of light. As it turned out, the flare worked pretty beautifully too!

The first two of Jim are being used as press photos. I liked this one, but he thought it looked like he was holding some kind of intergalactic weapon. Fair enough.

So in the first instance, it was a friend's baby, where I could shoot however I wanted - very natural, very spontaneous and organic. Then there was the music press shot, where creativity is still prized, but you work within certain boundaries to achieve a previously agreed-upon goal. Now we have what is perhaps the least flexible type of portrait I've ever done: the actor's headshot.

I did quite a lot of research to figure out what kind of guidelines, or rules, existed when it came to professional headshots. My understanding is that agents and casting directors (is that what they're called?) generally don't want anything too 'different' - which for me means no grain, no wacky angles, no warped colours, no candid moments. It was an interesting challenge, and I think this image was a good result. I shot Rachel from above because everyone looks better like that (there's a reason all the stupid girls take their selfies with arms stretched up to the bloody ceiling), and I used a film with natural tones and fine grain. Look who knows if this is a desirable outcome in terms of the industry - but you can see her face, she looks pretty, it doesn't look airbrushed, and it doesn't look like she's advertising toilet spray. Also, Rachel likes it. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a winner.

Is there a conclusion to this somewhat strange mixture of portraits? Well, I guess it's that portraits vary a lot! But perhaps also this: even the most straightforward, rigid type of portrait can engage if you connect with your subject and capture something of who they are. (OK I guess that's not technically a conclusion, in that I haven't specifically discussed it in the body of the post, but I still think it's true so it will remain my final thought.)

more from the beautiful wedding of sarah and creg (aka craig)

I recently posted ten unconventional wedding portraits from the wedding of my friends Sarah and Creg (I just can't bring myself to call him Craig, though for the record that is his name). Some of those images are pretty out there in terms of capturing something that is in fact really traditional. But I did actually take a lot of more photos, many of which are much closer to 'wedding photos' (but I still like to think they have something of a unique flavour). While I adore the oddball shots I posted last time, I wanted to share some of the others from the day, because the day was, and the photos are, very beautiful.

It's a special thing to be around when a group of really close girls prepare to send one of their own down the aisle, into a new chapter in life. There are so many quietly touching moments, whether it's the bride putting her shoes on, or drawing a diagram of the altar set-up.

These two shots are particularly gorgeous. Sarah looks so radiant interacting with her flower girl (and now niece). And the second shot shows Sarah embracing her mother for the last time as an unmarried person. In addition to depicting a lovely moment, I think the natural, warm colour tones make this photo pretty special.

I was staying at the same house as Creg the night before the wedding, and when I got up the morning of, I found the kitchen of this normally very busy household empty and exceptionally quiet. Except for him. Sitting at the computer, writing his vows. I just had to take the shot.

And then it happened! They got married. What a stunning couple.

The chapel and reception venue were on a hill that overlooked a beach sunset, which made for some excellent photo opportunities. The whole thing was very modest, in a perfect, charming way.

This is Creg and his best mate and best man, Andrew. Such a lovely photo. If you look closely, it's kind of out of focus. But I don't think it detracts from the image. In fact, it adds a lovely softness to it that almost suits the golden glow that the setting sun is bathing them with.

Then it came to one of favourite parts of weddings, in terms of both photographing them and partaking: the party. It's always a good time to get uninhibited shots of the guests, leading to some gorgeous, vibrant photos. The last one, of the groom and his men, is one of my highlights from this part of the event. It was late, everyone had had a big day and a few drinks. It's fitting, then, that there are closed eyes, funny faces and selective blurring. But it's still so beautiful because it captures the closeness, and the connection (or mateship), that obviously exists between these guys. And even though weddings are about two people making the ultimate connection, they are also, crucially, about celebrating the important connections you share with everyone in your life. And judging by the day they had, Sarah and Creg have many very special ones.