Circus

Circus, a set on Flickr.

Le Monnier Promo shoot

Le Monnier Promo shoot, a set on Flickr.

Ok this is my first commisioned photoshoot, and I was extremely nervous. A local band, Le Monnier, had asked me to shoot som promo shots for them. This came about after seeing some photos of them performing live at my local music venue, The Horn, in St. Albans. Why nervous, well this is the first time I had to be responsible for images soley for other people. I didn't know the band personally, and I didn't know what their expectations were. Another reason for my nervousness was my woeful efforts at practising with my family, as you can see on my flickr photostream.

I asked my stepson, James, to come along and assist. This was a smart move as he was keen, and was an extremely capable helper! We met up with the band in a pub in Welwyn Garden City, and short of a location we asked the landlord if we could borrow the function room to do the shoot. This is a music venue called The Green Room. The band is a rock power trio. Alex is the singer and bass player, Matt is guitarist, and Josh then man on drum. So we got started. There were few oportunities for plain backgrounds in the room, as it is decorated with garish cuban comic style depictions of music paraphenalia. However the was a corner with plain black walls, which is where we started. A quick funble with gear to get around a wireless trigger problem, and we started shooting the first group shots. This were ok, but the background was distracting, with a grill, and mismatched colours. A slight turn around, and we got some face on head shots of the band. Next we moved over to a fire escape, which gave some scope for the band to stretch out a bit and get more relaxed. The next group shots we tried some mixed stitting and standing poses, but these were not too sucessful.

To round off I took some individual shots of each of the band.

Overall I am happy with my first go, but there are some mistakes I would want to correct next time. The biggest one is look for shadows. Some of the shots have glaring shadows where I used just the one strobe. A reflector would have filled in the dark areas just enough. Secondly I think I should have been clearer about what poses I wanted the band to try, even to the extent of demonstrating. Thirdly, do more practice beforehand.

On the whole I really enjoyed the experience. The band were wonderful, and put up with my bumbling lack of experience with good grace, and with my bad jokes even more. Would I do more shoots like this? Yes like a shot! I am quite please with the results, despite being accused of being overly self critical. I hope the band like the images I took, and I would like to say again a massive thank you to them for the photoshoot, and of course to James for being my very able assistant for the afternoon!

“We’re Not about to do a free-form jazz exploration in front of a festival crowd”

We recently went to the M2 festival in Marlborough School in St. Albans. We could only stay for one band, but we had a great time. This was the first outdoor band I have shot, not counting the couple of snaps of brass bands that have crept into my flickr gallery. It was quite a novelty to have lots of available light, as opposed to the rather weak LED Cans I normally contend with. It made quite a nice change to have to crank the ISO down!!

The band featured here are Waiting for Katherine. I know them quite well, and are always fun to shoot. They are always full of energy, and never stand still. Their website is http://www.waitingforkatherine.com

I wrote a short review for them, which follows.


In true festival style, the M2 festival in St. Albans set the scene with a stage fashioned on the trailer of a rather large articulated lorry. However nothing dodgy was falling on the back of this one as the juggernaut that is Waiting for Katherine stormed the stage and ripped into some of their best numbers. If you have not experience WFK yet, I suggest you catch them as soon as you can. If you could wire them up to the national grid, their sheer energy could power a small city! This was WFK’s first outdoor festival slot, and they grasped the opportunity with both hands. Playing to an audience with a wide age group, they made the day their own. Firm favorites’ like “Knockback”, and “Lying about my age” went down well with the loyal WFK army, and the accessibility of these well crafted songs grabbed those new to the band. Fans were treated to a new song in the form of the fabulous “Panic Attack”, whilst a few well chosen covers poked tongue in cheek fun at singer Andy Woolford’s taste for 80’s pop. Proving their ability to play to any audience the band upped the entertainment by engaging the crowd in their performance, playing football mid song, having an impromptu pop quiz, and finally filling the stage with new fans to provide backing for punkpop anthem “My Mate”.
WFK defy being shoehorned into a single genre. Their music is hard and fast, but never overbearing or offensive, the songs cover elements of the human condition we can all relate to, and above all else this band is bloody good fun to be in front of. Festivals will never be the same again!

Two go Mad in The New Forest

This weekend we were lucky to have friends offer to move in and look after out five kids. We decided to hightail it off to the New Forest for a couple of days. After a late start, having not planned much ahead or packed anything, we headed off and arrived at out hotel just in time for dinner. Adding to my list of animal life consumed I chose pigeon for a starter. We had a lovely meal together, and drank far too much, with a bottle of wine with meal, and a smuggled in bottle of champagne. Collapsing we talked about what we would do the next day now we were free of children.
Now if you wanted a relaxing day, hiring bikes sounds like quite a soothing pastime. Meandering through the countryside in soft focus, stopping to take in the breathtaking scenery, before romantically pedaling off for a picnic in a secluded glen. Ok well it wasn't quite like that. We did have fun, but it was damn hard work. It took us a little while to sort out the gears on the bikes, that was challenge number one. The next challenge was to cycle up a couple of hills back to our hotel to change, having decided jeans were not the best things to cycle in on a potentially hot day. Half an hour later we were ready; resplendent in out running gear, well swimming shorts in my case. Next hurdle was riding on the road without either killing ourselves, other road users or enraging the many New Forest Ponies that like to stand right on the edge of the road, or even more fun, walk leisurely out in front of you. These little blips aside we were soon in the depths of the Forest, navigating out route from the pink sheet supplied by the bike hire firm. Whizzing along gravel paths is great fun, with the trees, and bushes surrounding you on all sides. Other cyclists nod or say hello as you pass, and there are plenty of places to stop and drink in the wonderful vistas that nature presents. Going uphill however is more of a chore, and even with low gears I found myself walking, my trusty steed by my side, as Jane persevered in from of me.
Halfway along the route is a pub called the Trusty Servant, and they server a nice pint of Forty-niner. Its not a cheap pub though, be warned. An hours rest, and we were ready to go again. Our journey back was as lovely, although slightly wetter than going. Although we had enjoyed our 18 mile trek, we were not sorry to say goodbye to our bikes.
The village we were staying in is called Burley. Its claim to fame is that a woman called Sybil Leeks, who was a witch, lived there briefly in the 1950's until her landlord asked her to leave due to too many journalists, and tourists visiting the village, making it too congested. Ironically, it is the subsequent fame of Sybil after she left, that the village now relies upon for nearly all of it's trade. We spent a little time shopping, we headed back to hotel to freshen up and rest our sore muscles. Baths and cups of tea soon restored our energy, and off we went to explore the village again. A quick trip to the Coven of Witches shop just before closing time. The shop lady was very helpful, and let us stay way past closing time whilst we selected our purchases. Our next stop was the Burley Inn, replete with turnstiles to get into the garden, we had a pint and a pimms. Our child magnet was working, as we were temporarily adopted by a three year old girl, Eve.
We managed to shake off Eve, finish our drinks and went to see the local domesticated animals. Deer, grumpy donkeys, and horses. As the evening drew on we headed back to have our evening meal. Not as slick service as the previous night, with a bottle of wine that didn't turn up, and then when it did, the poor waiter could not get the cork out. A tough steak added to the fun, but the deserts were nice enough.
We spent the rest of the evening in the bar over a rather intense game of Scrabble, before they threw us out. Apparently this hotels bar closes at 11pm.
Sunday, a little sad to be leaving, but the large breakfast made up for a little of that. We checked out, and headed off to Milton On Sea. A little promenade along the beach was followed by refreshments in the posh looking i.e. expensive Marine Cafe. We waved at the Isle of White, and headed into the town following the strains of Abba, played by the Lyndhurst Town Band. A few tunes later and we were off. Heading to The National Motor museum, we were put off by the entry fee of nearly £17 each. We didn't want to see cars that much. Next stop Lyndhurst, with a near altercation with a sleazy man in a jewelry shop, then out ultimate destination lay before us. We had looked forward to this moment for months having found reference to it on the internet. We stopped at the pub that is called "The Happy Cheese"! We are cheese fans so a pub called The Happy Cheese was a must. This was sadly our last holiday stop, and we headed home to rejoin real life. A wonderful weekend with the woman I love, bliss!