Iain travelled all the way to New York City to see his favourite band, Green Day, play. I guess the trip was worth it, because Tré Cool – the drummer from Green Day – personally gave him this plectrum. I think Iain will be treasuring it for a while, he’s a pretty die hard fan.
Black Sparrow
Yesterday evening was interesting as I went for dinner with Emma, who I haven’t seen for a couple of years. We caught up over a burger at Black Sparrow (we both had the, well, Black Sparrow – cheddar and jalapeños). Afterwards, Mark joined us, and him and I partook in the Black Sparrow music quiz. We came joint last with another team. This doesn’t bother me too much, but Mark is a music producer!
Also… ISO 6,400!
The Real Easy All Stars
I don’t photograph live music much; I don’t find it particularly interesting to shoot (I’d rather dance), and the lighting is terrible 99% of the time. But Gary, my friend who plays piano, asked if I’d spend 10 minutes shooting one of the bands he plays for, The Real Easy All Stars, during a charity gig. And I’m a good friend, so I did.
The River 68’s
Yesterday I got to meet The River 68’s, thanks to one of my pals doing their photos and of course asking me along. I felt like I was walking around Glasgow with a modern Led Zeppelin — look at their hair! Seriously, really nice guys and their music is great as well. They’re playing this Saturday at Captain’s Rest in the West End.
Friends Outside ABC
Popped along to the ABC 2 last night to catch my friend’s band play. To be honest the lighting in the venue was shite. I mean ISO 12,800 kind of shite. Anyway, Johnny And The Bomb (my friend’s band) are playing next Thursday (18th of August) in Pivo Pivo if you fancy them. They’re getting good feedback but are brand new on the scene.
Merchant City Music Festival
Once a year you can find the Merchant City music festival happening in, well, the Merchant City of Glasgow. Stalls with foods from all around the world, several stages with music and drama acts, but most importantly a crowd of adverse people good for photographing. The good looking guy riding the bike, the woman dressed as a fish, the cute kid skipping past the camera, the couple having a moment, the father and son walking home with a new video game, the recluse taking time out to listen to music in the last remaining spot of sunshine, blah blah.
The King Hats
I went to high school with these guys and even played in a band with one of them, so when they asked if I’d take photos of them at their next rehearsal I happily obliged. Unfortunately the bulb had burst and all I had as a source of light were some fairy lights. Sometimes it’s nice to shoot at ISO 6,400 and have some noisy, black and white shots, but I found they didn’t turn out great with having to have a reasonable shutter speed to capture the band when playing. Ach well, practice, practice, practice.
The King Hats @ King Tuts
Last night was a really good night for me, I got to have drinks with guys I haven’t seen in a good 5 years. 6 years ago I was playing in a band with them, but after my dad died I left to concentrate on my business. Now I’m living in Glasgow it makes it easy to keep in touch with so many people. We started off at Tuts where some guys I knew from high school were playing their first gig in a year, and we ended the night in Nice n Sleazies for the £2.50 White Russians.
Most of these shots were taken between ISO 2000 – 5000. The 5D copes well with noise, but I find the auto focus in low light conditions is pretty poor.
Frank Turner
Another day, another print to hang on my wall. Picked this beauty up at the Frank Turner gig in Dunfermline the other night. Thoughts on the gig? Wasn’t crazy about the support acts, but ho-ly Mr Turner more than made up for that. I was a little hesitant with it being an acoustic set, therefore possibly a little boring, but he knows how to work a crowd.
Gourock Highland Games
I thought this would be interesting for those of you living outside of Britain, who maybe want a wee glimpse into Scottish culture. This is as cliche as it gets; rain, bagpipes and men in skirts. I tried to find a picture with a ginger person in it, but I didn’t want to take a photo of myself, okay?
Anyway, this was the Gourock Highland Games. I had a press pass for shooting it, but I really just wanted to use it as an opportunity to take some candid snaps of people in the crowd. There are some interesting people out there…
