Band Shoot

Last Tuesday I done a live shoot for a London-based band called Ambersuit. The gig was at Tommy Flynn’s in Camden and there was a great atmosphere there. The shoot went very well and had a really fun night. Five bands performed during the evening and I took some photos of these too. I love taking live shots of bands as you can really capture the energy and emotion that they release. I don’t know what i’d do without the 50mm, f1.4 lens - When i’m gone, I wanna be buried with that lens in my pocket.

Some picks from that night:

Ambersuit
Ambersuit
Ambersuit
Ambersuit
Cardinal Jack
Cardinal Jack
Cardinal Jack


More to come....

cheers, CD.

Hand-ins and a possible new direction..

The last few months have been quite chaotic. Assignments have been due so I have not been getting much sleep - some days I have been awake for up to 24 hours at a time so huge shots of caffeine have been pumped through my system. I didn’t leave things to the last minute but there was just so much to do..anyway I got there in the end and I’m pleased to say that I’m quietly confident ;-)

Part of last semester involved an editorial project where I decided to a series of documentary style images of a tribute band. This has been a project that I have really enjoyed - I have made some great contacts and this has led on to some other projects and jobs which I will talk about later :-) For years I’ve been interested in music photography and candid backstage-style images so this gave me the chance to try it out. I don’t know why I hadn’t tried it sooner - music and photography are the two big things in my life so mixing them together seems the natural thing to do. Being a music photographer would be my ideal job.

‘Absolute Bowie’ are a great tribute band and I have, so far, enjoyed photographing them. I’m pleased to say that they have been using my images for their website and they are also in process of designing their new promotional posters which will hopefully contain image(s) taken by yours truly ;-)

Here’s a screen grab from Absolute Bowie’s website a few weeks ago, containing three of my images:


I have been in contact with other tribute acts and intend to photograph more ‘tributes’ in the coming year to learn more and do an extended project about the tribute act culture. I have also been in contact with a John Lennon act/impersonator who currently lives and works in Spain - so that may be something for the late Summer ;-)

Plenty more to follow...including a band shoot I done a few days ago.

CD

'Absolute Bowie' Tribute Band Documentary

For over two months I have shadowed a David Bowie Tribute Act namely ‘Absolute Bowie’. I have attended and documented their rehearsal sessions and their shows and gained an intriguing insight into the tribute band culture that currently exists in the UK.

‘Absolute Bowie’ are Europe’s Premier Bowie Tribute Band. They are a five-piece band who faithfully interpret the music of David Bowie with uncanny accuracy. Recently, they were personally endorsed by Woody Woodmansey who was the original drummer from Bowie’s iconic band - ‘The Legendary Spiders From Mars’. Born through a mutual love of David Bowie’s music, the band have gone from strength to strength and play to thousands of people every year.

Unsurprisingly, with the amount of shows which ‘Absolute Bowie’ play every year (up to three shows a week), each member of the band has a wealth of musical experience and therefore a degree of perfection and professionalism. Their shows take you on a musical journey through the ever changing phases of Bowie’s music and fashion with incredible attention to detail. All of the Bowie classics are performed along with a few surprises!

Capturing the transformation of the band from when they are rehearsing in their studio to when they perform was quite easy. Over the time I have spent with them, I got to know them very well and this enabled them to get used to me being there with my camera.

Tribute bands help to bring back memories of past eras in music and to also make the music live on to a new and fresh audience. Also, if you’re unable to see the real thing then why not see the next best thing?

These are just a selection of the images I have taken during the project so far...

Rehearsing in their studio, October 2009

Set-List for upcoming Gigs

Assembly Rooms, Tunbridge Wells

Waiting for the Sound Check

Sound Check

Sound Check

Sound Check

Tuning Backstage

Bowie Wigs

Waiting in the Wings

Discussions during the Interval

Modern Bowie 'Wigging Up"

Red Bull and Cigarette before the 2nd Half