I recently photographed an event run by Mike Dooley, a renowned inspirational speaker and author from the US, who was in London for a series of workshops. The event I photographed was called Playing The Matrix and investigated the power of thought and visualisation in manifesting the future of one’s dreams. Thrilling stuff! Mike brought a lot of energy to his presentation, which is always great for photographing.

Mike was featured in a hugely successful film and book called The Secret, and among his own publications is his daily inspirational email message service called Notes From The Universe, which I’ve enjoyed receiving for some time. As such, the vibe of the event was very positively charged, which certainly adds to the enjoyment of photographing an event.

I’m always extremely careful about tiptoeing around the audience whilst shooting an event, as it’s vital to be as invisible as possible. But when the audience is enmeshed in the exciting process of learning to create their dreams, I think they would hardly have minded if I’d have crowd-surfed down the length of the hall to get the shot. I won’t be testing out that theory any time soon, of course, but the thought of it had me smiling as I packed up my equipment at the end of the day…

I undertake a fair number of portraits for private commissions – sometimes whole families, sometimes individuals, couples or children. Often this work is not featured on my website for privacy reasons (and yes, I recently photographed a rock star at his home for a family portrait, too).

The influx of social media may well have resulted in a good chunk of the population reaching for Facebook or Twitter the very moment they have taken a photo of their holiday, kitten or dinner – but even today, not everyone wants to ‘share’ their photographic memories with all and sundry.

Occasionally, if I feel it’s appropriate, I’ll ask whether I can feature a photo from a private commission in my portfolio. This was one such time. The adorable James and Ellie were the subjects of a recent photo shoot. Their parents wanted some photos of them together at home.

I picked this image out from the set because it subtly mixes the idea of both a slightly more formal portrait with a natural moment. James struck this pose by himself, with this mother talking to him from behind the camera and Ellie smiled, rocking backwards a little as she was about to laugh, thus taking her ever so slightly into soft focus. I love this as it draws a little more focus to James, who has commanded the attention and made everyone laugh, yet it is still very much a brother and sister portrait that speaks of their relationship.

It’s likely that the current generation of children will be more photographed than any previous – an inevitable result of the accessibility of camera technology and the increasing ways to share images online with family and friends.

But taking a photo that really captures the spirit of a moment in time, the character of an individual child and the relationships between families will be as special and cherished today as it ever was…privately held or publicly shared.

The two protest singers performed in Granary Square at lunchtime to raise money and awareness for the charity. Just before they braved the chilly afternoon for some sing-a-longs, I got the chance to do a brief interview with them for Rockshot.

At the end of the interview, I took this quick portrait photograph of them talking and laughing together. I like the way it shows the rapport between the two musicians and also reflects the tone of the interview and the event: informal, engaged and fun.

Whilst the cause was a serious one – Shelter’s Christmas Appeal for the nation’s homeless – the busk was a way of getting people together in a community spirit as much as Christmas spirit, with rousing songs and a sense of the power of people coming together to make a difference.

For the full interview and more photography from the event, click here.

Lucas was back in the UK, more than 30 years after first landing here from the US to tour with Captain Beefheart. This time around he was on a solo tour and promoting his first book ‘Touched By Grace’, an account of his time working with the late Jeff Buckley.

He talked about his musical journey across the globe and through myriad genres and disciplines, including writing a score for a film about a Jewish Frankenstein myth called The Golem and a Spanish language Dracula, the very modern trials of touring his Gods and Monsters project, getting compliments from Lou Reed and why Captain Beefheart stretched his technique.

This portrait was taken outside using the available afternoon autumnal light.

For the full interview on Rockshot take a look here.

The imposing Australian singer, who casts an intriguing and striking figure on stage, was playing with his band The Bad Seeds on the first of a three night run at the Apollo.

With only one song (rather than the standard three) permitted for photographing, this was a quick and slightly frantic shoot. The stage was fairly dimly lit making it tricky to capture him as he moved around, but it worked well for this moment, which conveys the intensity of Cave’s performance in his expression, contrastingly set against a cloudy, almost dreamy background.

Tribal belly dance is a very majestic and unusual strand of the art form. This beautiful and extraordinary dance is beginning to gain momentum, with a few regular classes now springing up in London. Evolving from a group improvisational dance, it encompasses a vocabulary of dance moves which a ‘leader’ selects using a series of cues to the rest of the group. The leadership voluntarily rotates between the group, thus making every show a new piece rather than a set choreography.

Alongside recognisable belly dance movements, it has fused with aspects of other styles especially flamenco and classical Indian dance. The lifted posture and ambiguous and mysterious expressions of the dancers provides an altogether unusual take on belly dance. The heavy costuming and extensive jewellery is another indication of a sense of seriousness in this dance, a step away from the more revealing costumes sometimes found in more traditional belly dance shows.

It’s a powerful dance that requires a high level of training and discipline and is still on the fringes of dance and general public awareness. This is a great to time to explore this dance form, its performers and the sumptuous visual results of a photo shoot with its performers.

This portrait was from a session with the wonderfully talented teacher and performer Philippa Moirai, who is based in London and is a high profile member of the tribal belly dance community. It was taken in a backstage area of a small theatre that features regular dance showcases. I liked the vibrant colours and patterns of the decaying wall paper as a backdrop to the colourful, ornate costume.

This shot was also my submission to the Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize this year. I was taken through to the second round of judging (the top 300 out of around 5,000 entries) but missed out on the shortlist. Still, not bad for my first attempt at a photographic competition!?

The true winning, of course, is always in the taking part in art…and I look forward to continuing with this project over the coming months.

The punk legend and former Dead Kennedys frontman had headlined a festival in the stately ballroom of the Winter Gardens in Blackpool the night before, throwing this tiny, canal-side show in Camden into huge contrast. For the legion of fans who packed out the venue, this chance to be up close and personal was a fantastic coup.

Biafra delivers not just music but outspoken politics, social comment and a call to get informed and involved in the issues of today. An inspiring and controversial figure throughout his career, he remains a very entertaining performer – this gig included four costume changes, extravagant mime expressions and even crowd-surfing. His exuberant new band did full justice to reworkings of the odd classic and bringing out the full weight and power of the new songs.

Being able to shoot such a dynamic artist at close range is very exciting – as is trying to shoot whilst all around you mosh!

I was reviewing and shooting the gig for Rockshot – the full feature and collection of photos from the show can be found here: www.rockshot.co.uk/dir/8381/live-review-jello-biafra-dingwalls/

With a new album called Hundred Years Apart to be released in September, the group were after some promotional band photography that reflected their sound and vibe.

We set up camp for the afternoon in a dark basement of a north London bar and music venue, on one of the hottest days of the year.

Grace knew exactly what she wanted and had brought along Luna, a make-up artist, stylist and friend, who has been working with her for years. The two ladies seemed to think as one and Luna was able to ratify the set ups that were going really well and nudge me if she thought any of my directions were likely to be veering away from the style Grace was seeking.

This was one of my favourite portraits from the session. The light and angle really bring out Grace’s strong but feminine essence…and there’s no mistaking that her arena is rock!

www.gracesolero.com

Lead singer Debbie Harry dressed in foliage in honour of the spectacular Kew Gardens location and the band blasted through an impressive set of songs both old and new, including Heart Of Glass, One Way Or Another and Maria.

Having been a fan of the band since I was a child – yes, my first ever record was a Blondie album – it was a total pleasure to photograph them and extremely rewarding to see and hear the group put on such a great show after decades on the road and on the radio.

It was the day after his special showcase gig at Water Rats, just prior to the release of his new album The Argument.

Grant has cast an intriguing figure across the musical landscape for more than 30 years. From his early work as one half of the songwriting core of the influential US band Hüsker Dü, through Nova Mob and solo albums.

I met him in a traditional old English pub close to his record company’s base in south London, where we talked about his vision for his soon to be released literary-inspired new record, his take on song-writing and life on the road again.

We ended with a quick portrait shoot, exploiting the eye-catching bright green tiling that covered the exterior of the pub.

The full interview and more photos from the portrait shoot and Grant’s live show can be found here:

www.rockshot.co.uk/dir/7949/interview-grant-hart/