This was the first of her two sold out nights at the venue. La Havas played both with a full band and solo with just her guitar and voice to entertain the packed theatre.

I thought it was interesting to see how individual images convey such contrasting moods from a show – each telling a very different thread in their music photography story.

The first photograph has a melancholy tone and was taken during a solo – it captures a moment when she seems completely connected with playing her music and almost oblivious to what’s around her. The second photograph shows her fully connected to the crowd – talking and laughing between songs in a blaze of lights.

I’ve already photographed him on the outside balcony and sitting on his pillar box red sofa (which have, apparently, been the usual choices). He seems to enjoy the novelty of what is technically an extension of the corridor, but to me seemed like a giant green spaceship of an interior. Although, with only very narrow walking access on one side, there was a limit to how much of my subject I could get into the frame – but perfect for a quick portrait shot.

Michael Woodford, former CEO of Olympus who turned whistleblower after uncovering accounting irregularities, was doing a string of interviews in the run up to the publication of his book, ‘Exposure – Inside the Olympus Scandal’ back in November, when I photographed him for a business magazine.

Interview shoots for magazines often take place at a subject’s workplace or home (the latter being true this time) – understandably, as both the interview itself and the portrait shoot are being fitted into an often busy daily schedule.

I like home shoots as sometimes the environment can feed the photo with something about the person’s character. I photographed Ken Livingstone in his kitchen a few years back – he had a wonderfully relaxed and open manner during the interview that the location fitted perfectly.

On another occasion, I photographed Adam Ant draped across the sofa in his living room – in this case, the furniture’s ornate pattern beautifully segued into the singer’s colourful pirate prince look.

This time it was the clean lines and refreshing colours of this simple but effective background that seemed to me to point to the openness, directness and simplicity of a story about someone deciding to tell the truth in a complicated situation.

So, the moral is, the bit between the room and the lift can be an unexpectedly useful area. Especially if there’s not an actual green spaceship on hand…which, sadly and inexplicably, is so often the case.

I remember thinking that snow seemed quite magical when I was a child…and I think a bit of that still exists for many of us, when we have a chance to pause and forget the delayed trains and treacherous pavements and general inconvenience of this, the most lavish contender from the winter weather spectrum.

Photography in extreme weather conditions has lots of interesting added factors to take into consideration. Apart from trying to stop the camera from getting too damp, there’s the issue of avoiding falling over when stepping through untrodden snow – most particularly in parkland where you’re not sure if it’s flat ground, an uneven incline or a pool of water under the glistening white you’re just putting your foot in.

I spend most of my time in the worlds of portrait photography and music photography, so taking photographs of a park under a blanket of snow is an interesting contrast – the deep solitude of venturing across a quiet landscape and taking as long as you wish, on whatever aspect of the environment that draws your attention, is both strange and luxurious.

This was my favourite photograph from the shoot. The snowflakes dancing madly across the frame and the mysterious, misty woods with trees fading into the background and seemingly disappearing into a swirling sea before rooting in the earth, gives a sense of movement, stillness and suspense. I like photographs that ask questions. This one asks the viewer to take a walk through the woods, to look for what’s hidden in the mist, to seek beyond the snowflakes and the mist to…whatever lies beyond.

Yes, snow still has an intrinsic magic within it. Perhaps, by seldom being seen across my local landscape, it will continue to ever enthral and invite questions of my imagination…

Since my teens, I’ve been a devotee of the spiritual experience that live music is for me. Five years ago, I stopped dancing wildly in the crowd, picked up my camera and started photographing bands. I wasn’t tired of dancing, but I felt a sort of urgency to capture this strange, endlessly enthralling world. I wanted to try to convey the magic of it all – the transcendent places the musicians seem to reach, the mysterious thirst of the crowd to feel, move and breathe into and through the music and the ever unpredictable interaction of audience and band.

I started out shooting at tiny, barely-lit club and pub gigs – sometimes there’d be more people on stage than in the audience and ‘capturing the atmosphere’ was something that the band rather hoped I wouldn’t do. Many other times the venues would be sweatily crammed to the rafters and the chance of ending up with someone’s pint or, slightly more painfully, someone’s boot (still attached to their foot, as they crowd-surfed) flying towards my head was a nightly danger. As the years and countless nights of music photography expeditions rolled on, I’ve shot at all types of locations – vast concert halls, quirky church venues, weather-risky outdoor festivals in mud-bath-like fields in the middle of nowhere and within the well-kept grounds of palaces.

Every gig is different, all of them an adventure.

My very favourite type of gig shoot is capturing a band whose music I love and having their trust and permission to shoot without restriction – this means photographing at any time during the show and from any vantage point in the venue. Gold dust!

Which brings me to David Hillyard & The Rocksteady 7.  I first heard their music many years ago on a Hellcat Records compilation from the 1990s called ‘Give Em The Boot’. However, it was when David was touring the UK in 2008, with The Slackers (both bands are based in New York), that I first met him. He was being interviewed for London-based punk website Distorted and I photographed him for the feature, standing outside Camden’s legendary Underworld venue.

The Slackers had been one of those bands I used to dance wildly to in my pre-camera-wielding days and so it was a great pleasure to photograph them live. In the years since, I’ve been fortunate to photograph them a number of times and I still find their performances intriguing and exciting.

For the new Rocksteady 7 album, ‘Friends & Enemies’, David wanted to use this close up photograph of him playing saxophone (which I shot back in 2010) for the cover. The reflection treatment – given to the photo for the album artwork – really seems to magnify the raw expressiveness of his face in this moment. He’s commented that the album title refers to the idea that friends and enemies share a deep similarity – both care about you, albeit in different ways. Both hold some sort of connection and feeling, rather than pure indifference. This double image fits perfectly with the idea of two sides of the same coin.

‘Friends & Enemies’ describes itself as a mix of reggae, ska, jazz and afro beat. It’s a tantalising mix and, strangely, an instrumental album that doesn’t feel like an instrumental album – the brass sounding very much like a voice interwoven through the tracks. It’s glorious for me to have my work published on an album that I thoroughly enjoy. Despite music photography, wild dancing might be back…

‘Friends & Enemies’ was released in December 2012 and the band are on tour in Europe during January 2013.

www.rocksteady7.com

I was lucky enough to photograph his most recent live performance in London, at the O2 Islington Academy on 25 October 2012. I couldn’t help but look back over those photos after hearing yesterday’s news and remembered how impressed I was with his show only a few weeks ago.  He was on fine form – his spiky, slightly manic stage presence still delighting audiences after more than three decades.

This was my favourite shot from the gig – there’s a depth of feeling to his expression and the stark contrast of shadow and light heightens the drama of this moment.

Johnson is planning to carry on touring and recording over the coming months and has declined treatment, according to a statement from his management. His current spirit, as well as his legacy, does and no doubt will continue to inspire.

The Lee Wright Synergy Dance World Memorial Trust is a charity that was set up in memory of Lee Wright, a twenty-four year old dance champion who was killed in a car accident in 2008. Lee performed, taught and competed internationally. I remember Lee well – he had such an outgoing and warm personality that he garnered a reputation for being one of the friendliest (as well as one of the most accomplished) dancers in the UK salsa scene.

After his untimely death, some of his close friends and family founded a charity that offers free dance courses and workshops to people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to learning salsa, to help them explore the myriad physical, social and mental benefits of dance.

The charity asked me to take some photos of their course at a school in north London. The photography was intended to demonstrate and promote their work. I attended one of the final rehearsals of a group choreography featuring around 15 girls and photographed their enthusiastic run throughs of the routine. I photographed them practising in casual rehearsal clothes and then their first dress rehearsal.

Performance photography hinges on capturing energy and the group certainly had lots of that! Most of the session involved me taking a fly on the wall approach, photographing the group from different parts of the room without interrupting the flow of activity.

However, I knew the charity wanted not only documentary style images of the course in progress, but also something more abstract and unusual, which might be used across other initiatives. So, at the end of the session, I asked the girls to improvise in front of a window, which had sunlight streaming through. I caught their silhouettes as they moved in random directions, criss-crossing past each other, stopping and starting, posing for the camera and forgetting and dancing wildly for themselves.

I particularly liked this shot because it clearly shows the scuff marks on the floor from the dancers’ feet – a pattern of curves and lines that reflects the effort, creativity and persistence true of all dancers honing their skills. A yoga teacher friend of mine once said it was important for her to practise on her own mat because it had all her blood, sweat and tears (the latter two quite literally) from her intensive, daily practise absorbed into it. I like to think that a dance studio floor, like the one in this image, gives its visitors something of the same…a reminder of their intention, sacrifice and dreams along with the echoes of those of many dancers before them.

The echo of Lee’s memory is strong amongst those who knew him and this charity will no doubt bring some of that legacy to many more who never met the man, but will continue to benefit from his love of dance.

Details of the charity’s mission and projects can be found at: www.leeforever.org.uk

Such was the case with some photography work I undertook for Dan Beaulaurier, a singer/songwriter from California who is now based in London. He needed some portrait photography for his first ever website to promote his work and raise his profile. Dan sings and plays in two bands but also performs and records as a solo artist. The photographs for his website needed to reflect a genuinely personal angle and distinguish him individually, apart from his group work.

Dan’s solo work is largely acoustic and there’s a gentle, reflective nature to his voice and lyrics. I strived to capture this in some of the photos with a softness of light and natural poses. He was often looking away from the camera – appearing to be almost unaware of being photographed and in his own world. There’s also a sense of dreaminess to the set up with little to place the location.

We tried both indoor and outdoor locations – the image above was taken in Dan’s home and was one of the first from the photo shoot. I started off with his own environment, as I find this is always useful in helping a subject to relax when having their portrait taken. I like the fact that he’s laughing in this shot. Both this photograph and another image he used on his website that shows him looking at his hands (demonstrating how his thumbs bend back more than usual!), helped to bring an amusing and happy feel to the shots – reflecting his open manner and the warm, light-hearted tone to his between song banter on stage.

For any artist, the look and feel of their website is crucial in expressing who they are and portrait photography that reflects their personality and their work is a great way to help convey their message. I hope his website brings him many new listeners and opportunities to perform.

Dan’s website is www.danbeaulaurier.com

Catherine is a scientific writer by trade and suffered a breakdown, which was diagnosed as a psychotic period induced by medication. Now fully recovered, she is in the remarkable position of being able to express both a subjective and objective view of the condition. The result is Psychosis Through My Eyes: A Personal And Professional Journey. The story needed cover imagery and Catherine needed promotional photos to go along with this, her first book.

The photo shoot took place at her home in West Sussex – familiar surroundings are great for helping a subject to relax. As a portrait photographer, I work with people with all sorts of schedules and lifestyles, so I’m always sensitive to practical requirements. Catherine had the demands of a young son, a part-time job and a busy life, so it was particularly convenient for her to not have to travel to another location.

We took a series of portraits in her garden, being fortunate to have a day of dry, bright weather. I incorporated all the backgrounds at hand – plain walls for distraction-free portraits, as well as the natural environment of trees and plants as a subtle reference to the growth and renewal the author felt having now recovered from her illness. Balancing more serious portraits with those enlivened by smiles and open postures, we found that it was the happier portraits that Catherine was more comfortable with. Ultimately, these also worked best with the positive and hopeful message of her book.

For the cover, Catherine wanted a close up photo of her eyes, to relate to the book title, so we did a few versions with her eyes increasingly and decreasingly wide to see which would best capture the most appropriate expression.

The photo above was one of her favourites from the promotional portraits we took – the vibrant colours and exuberant expression certainly capture the healthy, happy woman she’s become.

Catherine’s book is published through award-winning mental health publisher Chipmunkapublishing.

The 80s new wave pioneers, still sporting a suave suited look, played a two set show with no support. The seated audience were soon on their feet, eager to make the most of this reunion tour. I later heard that towards the end of the show, long after the photographers had been ushered away, there was a strange incident of someone running on stage to pour custard over Midge Ure’s head!

However, these photos show the more sombre drama that began the evening. The smoke clouds and shadows help to give this severely angled shot a sense of foreboding and mystery….I can almost hear the opening of “Vienna”.

This was taken as the race wound its way alongside the river in Surbiton, with a film crew right behind, capturing every moment of what turned out to be a gold medal winning performance. The roar of the crowd, which echoed from far down the road, acting as a warning bell that the next competitor was close, was easily loudest for Wiggins, who was tipped to be a hot contender for the top spot.

The high speeds of the cyclists and the extremely brief moment of opportunity to photograph them as they pass by was a challenge. The constantly changing light, from bright afternoon sunshine to clouds, provided another variable factor.

I found myself drawing parallels with concert photography, where a special, split second of action – amidst unpredictable light – must be caught or lost forever. Golden moments indeed…