The time has come again to look back on the year that just went – highlight all the best moments, the best gigs, the best opportunities. At the end of 2010 I made a video with clips from throughout the year and I’ve done the same again for 2011. So it didn’t drag too much I haven’t been able to get everything in there.
Anthea Neads & Andrew Prince – River Of Light
Natalie Ross at Electric Theatre, Guildford
Gwyneth Herbert at Electric Theatre, Guildford
ReVamp (Floor Jansen) at Scala, London
Mike Dawes & Amy Turk covering Metallica’s ‘One’
Anna Neale at Roman Baths in Bath
Holly Kirby at Fahrenheit 55, Guildford
Jessie J at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
Delain at O2 Islington Academy, London
Indigo Rose at Good Intent Festival, Puttenham
White Pigeon at Good Intent Festival, Puttenham
Alice Gold at The Lexington, London (x2)
Alternative Carpark at Alton Lounge Bar (x2)
Susie Clarke: ‘The Boileroom Sessions’
Emma O’Gorman (ACM) at The Boileroom
The Gosees (ACM) at The Boileroom
Kielo at Fahrenheit 55, Guildford
White Pigeon at The Boileroom
Indigo Rose at The Boileroom
Some notable events of the year:
Kitayah ‘Somewhere In Yorkshire’ shoot
I’d been working with London-based artist Kitayah for some time now but this was the biggest project she had signed me up to. I was to spend time with a team of people on a special photo shoot. Location was John Parr’s music studio in Yorkshire, aptly named ‘Somewhere In Yorkshire’. Challenging but rewarding – a very positive start to the year.
Anna Neale ‘Roman Baths’ shoot
In 2010 I shot a very random video of Anna covering ‘Bad Romance’ in the centre of Guildford but this time it was a little more serious and a much grander location. For Anna’s Roman theme in her new material she managed to get some time at the Roman Baths in the city of Bath. Some of the favorite videos visually that I’d ever shot.
The End of ‘Good Intentions’
The end of an era as sadly the monthly ‘Good Intentions’ night in Puttenham had to come to an end. A lovely family atmosphere with some of the best artists from the area. I had been shooting there since it’s beginning a few years ago when I was just starting out and building up my network.
Symphony X @ Scala, London
Notable mainly for the fact I was able to be down the front shooting this properly. It was the first time I had a photo pass for a gig with a band I was a big fan of. I had hoped to continue getting photo passes in 2011 but it didn’t really work out as planned.
Good Intent Festival
Despite ‘Good Intentions’ coming to an end the annual mini-festival still went ahead with a selection of local acts. Definite highlight was the White Pigeon & Indigo Rose combination. I had not seen Indigo Rose before but was hooked straight away. Thankfully my desire to have the two bands rocking a stage again this year happened, though it wasn’t until 7 months later in December.
Susie Clarke ‘Boileroom Sessions’ shoot
I was tracking Susie’s progress of her album and thought to myself it’d be great if I could work with her on either photos or video. I had always done some photos & video whenever I saw her at a gig but I was never ‘hired’ for anything. So it was a nice moment when Susie asked me to do some videos of her and the band using The Boileroom for a live recording. My favorite videos next to the Anna Neale Roman Baths set – the challenge this time round being mimicking a multi-angle shoot with several takes.
Guilfest 2011 (+ Alice Gold @ Lexington, London)
As usual my mind got a little carried away when I was able to shoot at Guilfest. I had visioned an epic release of photo and video content and my biggest project of the year. There’s only so much one guy and a couple of cameras can do though so I pretty much stuck to the usual photos! A week or so before the festival I got a unrelated recommendation for a new artist Alice Gold. I decided to give her new album a go and really liked it. To my surprise when I checked the Guilfest website she was listed high up on the bill for the second stage. Awesome! So in the space of about two weeks I had found, become a fan of, took photos of and met a new artist.
Butserfest 2011
In what must be one of the best decisions ever made for Butserfest, The Lounge Bar in Alton was chosen to run the second stage. I had not be able to shoot at the festival in 2010 so this became an opportunity (and incentive) to shoot it in 2011. No main stage again but with a nice lineup on the second stage and the right people around me it was no problem at all. Like Guilfest I got carried away with my vision for what I’d end up with afterwards!
Say Something Night feat. Rizzle Kicks
I’d shot some famous faces at Guilfest but this was nice in that it was a proper gig. (stage lights beat outdoor sunshine for aesthetics) Thanks to organiser Andy Vale for letting me shoot this. Admittedly the music that night was outside what I’m used to but it was great fun to shoot and that’s all that matters.
ACM LiveLink (November)
With a shiny new fancy camera I was keen to get out and shoot with it. Hannah Dorman gets credit here for happening to mention on Facebook an ACM night at The Boileroom the say I was hunting for a gig. Though I had seen and worked with a few artists who happened to be ACM students I didn’t have much to do with ACM directly. Well lets just say I ended up going to every ACM LiveLink of the month and will go to more in the new year. Lots of talent and a great response on my page when I post my photos. I should of done this sooner.
