I Can Do That!

This website and blog is dedicated to my journey as a landscape photographer. I love the outdoors and photographing it is a passion for me. However, back in 2013 I started photographing gigs at a local venue. It all started with a desk side conversation with a work colleague who was running a music review website called musicmuso.com

He was out reviewing local gigs and posting the write up on his website. As most people know content is king on the web and I suggested that he should have some images to go with his well-crafted words. At the time I was pushing myself to go out more with my camera but those long winter nights aren't exactly conducive to landscape photography so I offered my services.

And so one cold October evening I photographed Big Country at the Exeter Phoenix in Devon. As soon as I started shooting I was hooked! This was a totally different type of photography. While the learning curve was steep I still managed to get some quality images. This was the perfect way to keep my hand in with the camera and since gigs don't often start until after 8pm it didn't interrupt my family or work live.

Getting My Photography Fix

Don't get me wrong, I love landscape photography and I'm committed to being a success in it (see my post on The Pain and Joy of Photography Competitions). However, I feel it is important to not only broaden your photographic horizons but to keep on practising (see my blog post of Practising The Craft of Photography). As I work a full time job and I have many family commitments, getting out to shoot landscapes during the week can be problematic. Gig photography gives me that photography fix I need. It has also taught me a LOT about my camera. I can control most of it now without even looking at the camera!

This year I was lucky enough to shoot Radio 1's Big Weekend when it visited Exeter. I photographed Cold Play, Mumford & Sons, and Ellie Goulding to name but a few. It was one hell of an experience but something that I had built up to over a number of years.

If you want to see some more of my music related images please head over to julianbaird.com have a blog over there as well but it's a different style than this one. Where this blog is more of a journal and a way to share information, my music blog is a way to share my latest images.

So do you have two photographic identities? Do you keep them separate? Is it possible to fully immerse yourself in two genres of photography? Let me know in the comments.