At the end of August I was again shooting the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert from the roof of Boots on Princes Street in Edinburgh. A 45 minute display over Edinburgh Castle marking the end of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which takes place every summer in the city. I opted to go for a left hand position this time on the roof, as last year I was on the far right.

It's true when they say you get better shooting the same subject second time around, as you learn from your mistakes and try out new techniques. I think I improved my images dramatically on last years attempt, I have featured my favourite images in this post.

This year I decided to go for a two camera set up, shooting simultaneously, one with a super wide lens complete with a 10-stop ND (Neutral Density) filter and the other shooting with a standard lens without filters. I took a gamble with the filter which I had read up on as being very effective for shooting fireworks displays. With the ND filter obscuring all view of the scene and exposure, it was a real challenge focusing the scene and calculating the exposures correctly for the display. I found exposures of around one minute with the aperture almost wide open at f3.2 worked best, and of course there was a lot of luck involved! The first two shots directly below were shot with the ND Filter and are a 62 second exposure and the second a 66 second exposure.

In conclusion I found both techniques worked well in their own way, with some interesting results. But I am glad I had two set ups, as for some of the fireworks in the display, the really long exposures did not capture them well. 

Photographing fireworks well is always a challenge and I am looking forward to experimenting more with the 10-Stop ND Filter in the future!
   

I'm not very good at keeping this up to date! I thought I would share some of my events work from earlier this year... 

I was photographing some live performances of alternative/rock band Syren (now Erin Bennett) in Edinburgh. The first gig I photographed was actually their last performing under the name of Syren, with them now performing under Erin's name...

Erin Bennett is an award winning singer-songwriter/producer. Her live performances as former front woman for all female-power trio Syren have enthralled audiences and music journalists alike.

In 2010, Erin recorded and produced Syren album 'Something Has To Separate'. The release was delayed due to the untimely passing of Erin's wife and Syren drummer Joanne Heeley.

Erin has collaborated with UK DJ/Producer Darren Bailie (responsible for the smash-hit 'Infinity2008') for the re-working of the classic house track 'Hide U' by Kosheen. 'Hide U 2012', put together by Darren Bailie and Ronen Dahan, is available for download from ITunes.

Single 'Never Give Up The Fight won the 'Frankie Miller Songwriter of the Year' award in 2012 (Scottish New Music Awards). Erin wrote the song in memory of Jo Heeley and her struggle with breast cancer.

That same year Erin temporarily resurrected Syren with new musicians when asked to open several shows for legendary prog-rock band Hawkwind. 

Above and below are some of my favourite images from both gigs I photographed. The first was at Henry's Cellar Bar, a popular underground venue in Edinburgh for alternative bands and clubs nights. 

Erin's passionate performances make her a great act to photograph, I'm sure you agree the energy of her performance is apparent in these images.  For the second gig at Bannermans Bar, a popular rock venue on Edinburgh's cowgate, Erin and the band played a powerful performance once again to the fans and bar regulars alike. 

I like to shoot prominently with natural light at concert venues, depending on the venue this usually looks the most dramatic and eye catching. Of course this isn't always possible with extremely low lit venues and energetic bands, but with Bannermans as an example, the stage area being in part of Edinburgh's old underground, there is plenty of low ceilings to bounce light off with interesting results. As long as you get a good balance of natural and artificial light, you can't go wrong.

I will hopefully be shooting with Erin again later in the year, with her continuing to promote her solo work after Syren. I wish Erin and the band the best of luck and watch this space for more images of the band in action!

More event and concert work can be seen here in my Events gallery.

Something a bit different for my blog this month! In February I was at the first gig of up and coming Edinburgh rock band - Miss Country Blue & The Jure Grando Band. I was hired to work with them towards the end of last year and I also took images at their first gig at Whistlebinkies in Edinburgh. 

The band describe themselves as blending both dark and light qualities into their music to develop an alternative new genre influenced by blues, rock, punk and country. The bands concept was explained to me at our first meeting...

"Blue is the ultimate contradiction in female sexuality. Her dark, seething and often twisted lyrical content reveals a side of femininity often unexplored. No song in Blue’s repertoire reveals this more than Temptress, where she encapsulates the ultimate self-preserving, sexual predator. However, one only has to listen to the heart-warming innocence and optimism of songs like a Happy Heart to understand that Blue is so much more than a Woman Scorned. 

This ability of Blue to honestly explore all aspects of her inner self and reflect this fearlessly in her writing, shows that Blue is indeed a talented and original artist.

On the surface Grando projects a hard drinking and hard hearted womaniser with a tangible lust for sex and death. Grando is the unexpected facilitator for Blue’s screaming lyrics and honest performances. Grando’s punk background drenches him with a foreboding, unattainable demeanour, with the menace of an emotional vampire. However, Grando’s unlikely pairing with Blue reveals a more compassionate and intimate soul".

With is idea outlined before even hearing the band, I had a good idea of what sort of images they were after to promote their music - Dark, mysterious and contrasty images were what we agreed would work best for the band and their concept.


Below are a few favourite images from our shoot at the end of last year. These portraits of Blue and Grando were to help tell a story and contribute to their songs - A Woman Scorned & Dig My Own Grave amongst others...

In February I was shooting at Edinburgh's live music bar Whistlebinkies for MCB & The Jure Grando Band's first ever gig (Images Below) They pulled out a good crowd on the night and showed that they had something different to offer with a great and energetic live performance!

I very much enjoyed working with the band and I am looking forward to shooting again with them in the near future. Due to unfortunate circumstances our latest shoot had to be put on hold for the time being but I know there are definitely more ideas we can come up with to create exciting and engaging images!