It's always a little bit trickier when you do a photoshoot with somebody who's never been in front of the camera before. Sometimes the most confident person can look stiff and uncomfortable once you point a lens at them. Of course it's one of the key jobs of the photographer to recognise and deal with this; to try and bond with your subject in no time at all and get the best results quickly.
I did a shoot of this nature with Gareth Cole recently. Gareth is a new-on-the-scene house DJ who's quite versatile in his styles. I was feeling this mix from his Soundcloud...
Gareth...
I've done a lot of music photography but I was recently extremely proud to be asked to shoot my first ever album cover. I've known the North Base guys since they started the project and have seen them rock crowds from Manchester and Leeds all the way to London and Croatia. No matter what time they are playing they always go in hard with the biggest bassy party tunes and always finish their sets with a packed venue crying out for more. Check this mix out...
Dean Silver got in touch about the shoot and we bounced some ideas around. The idea he'd had was something futuristic looking which...
So Dub Phizix needed some promo shots doing for an interview with DJ Mag. For those who aren't aware, DJ Mag don't pay for photos anymore, preferring to blag them through the artist they are reviewing/interviewing in the hope they have some promo shots they can use for free. Luckily George Dub Phizix is a mate so we hooked up for a shoot to get something printworthy. The last promo shots we did together was aaaages ago so he was due an update anyway.
I got to George's to find that Strategy was tagging along for the ride too. They do a lot of gigs together all over the world so they...
When I get to know producers and DJs properly I try not to be over-the-top about their music and things – there's nothing worse than an overinflated ego! I'm lucky to get to be a photographer for most of the bigger producers in Manchester these days and tend not to have that problem – apart from with two.
Synkro & Indigo have been making amazing music for quite some time now, and are rightfully respected worldwide for doing so. The music they produce, both together and seperately, has a depth and often beauty I've struggled to find in other places. Even if I didn't know them...
David Wilcox AKA DVWLX is a Manchester based music producer dabbling in the bassier sides of the 130bpm spectrum, he's had a release on the ever-more-popular Black Butter Records (home to Rudimental and My Nu Leng amongst others) and is deservedly making a name for himself. But with great tunes comes increased promotional needs and the need for some photographs to assist that promotion. We have a couple of mutual friends who recommended him my services and so he commissioned me for a promotional photography shoot. I was quite surprised that we had never met before because he's a safe guy and his tunes...
This May I invested in a new camera, something I've wanted since it was first announced; the Fuji X-E1.
I don't think you'll find anyone who can deny how beautiful it is - with it's nigh-on-perfect design and high quality metal construction. Unfortunately I've never been one who could manage form over function, but luckily every report I read on the X-E1 suggested it could match up to most high end SLRs in terms of image and lens quality and - most importantly - high ISO performance.
So I took the plunge and ordered an X-E1 with the 'standard' lens, an 18-55mm (f2.8-4),...
We recently completed our second Example Magazine Photography [Ex]:hibition at 2022NQ in Manchester.
For this one five of our contributing Manchester photographers picked out shots based on the resident artists of our favourite music events that Manchester has to offer. The show went really well, with a great opening party featuring some of those DJs that were also featured on the walls; big shouts to North Base, Antagonist, Rich Reason, Jonny Dub, Metrodome, Didgit and Dub Smugglers! Hopefully we'll be pushing another one soon, in the mean time keep an eye on Example Magazine for the latest...
So I've been well slack on the blog posts for the past 6 months. One reason for this is that we have been rebuilding and relaunching the Example Magazine website. It's now up and running so I can spread myself around some more!
Since the relauch I've posted up a few articles and galleries
Leftism Review
Leftism Gallery
Soul:ution Gallery
The xx Review
Dour Festival Review
Keep checking back for more - or like Example on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date.
I apologise for the lack of information I've been blogging recently - life moves at at least 100mph these days.
I'm going back to a shoot I did a few months a go. A Belfast-based record label (DSNT) got in touch with me about shooting one of their artists who was based in Manchester. We worked some things out and eventually I got in touch with the artist, Deadsound, to organise it. It was a great coincidence when it turned out he lived on the same road as me, just a few doors down!
Check this mix from my man:
In organising the shoot, we decided on using the derelict...
Last year was definitely one that cemented Croatia as an essential summer destination for music-lovers. Especially those tired of the cliche and expense of the self parody that has become of Ibiza.
Real electronic music fans had quite a selection depending on their tastes; Hideout, Soundwave, Outlook, Dimensions and more ensured there was a reason for everyone to get a 'HRVATSKA' stamp in their passport.
I was lucky enough to make a couple of trips their, the first one was for Hideout 2012. A huge festival of varied dance music, ranging from the deepest house through to full...
