2022

May 09, 2022 by Julian Baird

Oh, the Disappointment!

Over the years I’ve photographed many bands, singers, and artists. Some of them have left me cold (both photographically and musically), but mostly they’ve all entertained and allowed me to capture some wonderful photographs. I have also been lucky enough to photograph some of my all-time favourite bands like Snow Patrol.

However, never in a million years did I think I’d ever photograph anyone from Pink Floyd. Gilmour or Waters? Not a chance. Nick Mason…well, he doesn’t even tour anymore. That was until a few years ago that is. Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets was born in a small pub in London where they played their first gig to a very enthusiastic crowd. With the success of that show, Nick decided to go on tour.

I am a massive Pink Floyd fan and I’ve seen Waters and Gilmour many times. Unfortunately, I came to Floyd a little late in life so I’ve never had the chance to see Pink Floyd live. The closest I came was at one of Water’s shows in London where Gilmour took on the guitar role on top of the wall for Comfortably Numb. I almost died of joy!

When Nick decided to tour I immediately got tickets for his gig at The Roundhouse in London. It was brilliant. Hearing so many early Floyd tunes sounding alive and fresh was amazing. It was a great show by a great band.

Fast forward a few years, and past the pandemic, and I find out that Nick is coming to Plymouth. I immediately contact Steve at MusoMuso to see if there is any chance of getting a photo pass. Surely even this would be beyond Steve’s power! But no, he got us both tickets and a photo pass. Amazing.

With a few months to go, I started doing some homework. I watched the DVD from The Roundhouse gig a few times to see if I could spot things that the band would do during certain songs that would make for good pictures.

I also decided that a once-in-a-lifetime gig like this was a great reason to get some serious photography kit. It’s not that my current kit is fit for purpose, but I wanted the best of the best, so I decided to hire the £5500 Nikon Z9. It’s a powerhouse of a camera and the autofocus capabilities of this camera would be of great benefit.

The night of the gig comes around and Steve and I drive through to Plymouth. We have turned up to gigs before and been turned away or told we can’t take pictures. It happens sometimes and I admit I was worried about that for this gig, but the tickets were there and I had my photo pass.

I went down to the front of the stage and got my cameras ready. Just as the band were coming on a security guard said I wasn’t allowed to take pictures. I showed him my photo pass but he said he had been told by the band or tour manager that no one could take photos at the front. Only from behind the sound stage or from your seat!

Nightmare!! I tried to get it all sorted, but the message kept coming back that I couldn’t photograph there. I was gutted. More than I normally am when I get told “no photos”. My dream of capturing my own amazing images of Nick Mason and his band was shattered.

It’s times like this that you have to stay calm and carry on though. There is no point in getting angry with anyone or waving your photo pass about! I just went to the back where the soundboard is and captured the photographs I could.

It’s such a shame as I could have captured some amazing pictures. I had the best tools money could buy at my disposal, and the stage lighting was great. Perfect for capturing amazing live music photographs.

Unfortunately, these things happen sometimes. It just had to happen with someone’s music I love. Talking of the music, the gig was GREAT. The band sounded amazing and I really enjoyed the show. They were superb.

Maybe I’ll see if I can get Steve to get me photo pass for Waters or Gilmour. You never know.

The Kooks and The Snuts at Plymouth Pavilions - 01/02/2022

February 02, 2022 by Julian Baird

Two Quality Bands

Unfortunately, it’s just a quick post on the Unplugged Blog from me this week but just because it’s short doesn’t mean it doesn’t have quality! And the quality comes from two fantastic bands that I photographed at the Plymouth Pavilions, namely The Snuts and the The Kooks. They were aa real joy to photograph. Enjoy the photos!

The Snuts

The Kooks

Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight and Life at Playmouth Pavilions - 27/01/2020

January 31, 2020 by Julian Baird

A Proper Treat!

Plymouth Pavilions is probably the biggest venue I regularly visit outside of Bristol. Because of its size it attracts some of the best bands and artists out there. Well, they don’t come much better than the Kaiser Chiefs, so when my friends over at MusoMuso asked if I wanted to photograph them I jumped at the chance! As if the Kaiser Chiefs wasn’t enough they were going to be joined by Razorlight and Life.

With such a tasty line up of energetic bands it was sure to be a magic night of photography!

You’ll find a selection of my favourite images from the gig below but if you want to know how good the gig was, be sure to check out the MusoMuso review.

Life

Razorlight

Kaiser Chiefs

Snow Patrol at the Plymouth Pavilions - 14/11/2019

November 22, 2019 by Julian Baird

Photographing Snow Patrol

Over the years I’ve photographed hundreds of bands and artists. I’ve shot everything from local bands to chart-topping artists at the peak. Naturally some of the bands will be new to me and some them I will be really familiar with. However, it is rare that I get the chance to photograph a band I am a real fan of.

I’ve been a fan of Snow Patrol for around 15 years now. I think it probably all started with their first big hit album Final Straw. It was an album that I played so much that if CDs did indeed wear out I probably would be on my 3rd copy by now! Over the years I’ve bought all their albums and been lucky enough to see them in concert a few times.

I listen to a lot of music but there is something about the lyrics of Snow Patrol songs that seem to really connect with me. I’d often listen to them while I was out running and I would find the miles would fly by as I lost myself in those meaningful lyrics. Those songs became the soundtrack of my life during that period.

After the release of Fallen Empires in 2011, things went very quiet for Snow Patrol. The reasons for this are well documented but I think like most Snow Patrol fans we wondered if they would ever come back. Fortunately the release of Wildness this year saw the band come back at full strength. It is a cracking album and one that I’ve played many, many times. As soon as the tour for the album was announced I bought tickets and so my wife I went to see them in Birmingham. It was great to see the guys back on the stage and on great form.

All that said, it should be obvious to you by now that I like Snow Patrol. Fast forward to November 2019 and I get an email from my friends at MusoMuso asking if I’d like to photograph Snow Patrol at Plymouth Pavilions on their Reworked tour. It took all of few microseconds to say yes!

At the gig it was business as usual for me. Well, for the first three songs anyway. Regardless of my personal attachment to the band I always take my job seriously and aim to do a professional job while capturing images in the three-song window. After I captured the images I got to enjoy m 2nd Snow Patrol gig of the year. This job can definitely have its perks sometimes!

I know this is a slightly different blog post than normal, but getting the chance to photograph a band or artist that you are a real fan of doesn’t happen very often. It was a real privilege taking these photographs and I hope you have enjoyed them as much as me.

You Me at Six, Tonight Alive and Black Foxxes at Plymouth Pavilions - 05/04/2017

April 09, 2017 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

With the promise of three energetic rock bands taking to the stage, there was a tangible sense of excitement as we drove the A38 towards the Plymouth Pavilions. Joining me on the short journey to Plymouth was my journalistic pal from MusicMuso, Steve. Not only were we excited by the prospect of a good night of music, but we were very pleased to see that local band Black Foxxes would be supporting. We've covered the Black Foxxes a few times and we knew how good they are to see and to photograph.

Steve will, of course, be writing up a full review of the gig over on MusicMuso really soon but in the meantime here are some of my photos from the night.

Black Foxxes

Tonight Alive

You Me at Six

Well, I hope you enjoyed those images. Remember you can follow me on all the normal social channels. Just check out the social buttons at the bottom of this page. I'll see you next on The Unplugged Blog.

Elbow and C Duncan at Plymouth Pavilions - 09/03/2017

March 10, 2017 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

I always like shooting at the Plymouth Pavilions. The venue hosts some big name artists and bands, the lighting is generally good, and the large capacity means that there is always a good atmosphere. So when I got a short notice call from MusicMuso to cover Elbow on Thursday night I was more than happy to jump in the car and head along the A38 towards Plymouth.

As always my friends over at MusicMuso will be posting up a full gig review shortly, but in the meantime, as I always do, here is a selection of the images I took on the night.

C Duncan

Supporting Elbow for their spring 2017 was C Duncan.

Elbow

Elbow put on a quality performance to the packed and eager crowd of the Plymouth Pavilions.

Well just a quick post from me today, but I'll be back really soon on The Unplugged Blog with another set of live images! In the meantime remember to click on those social buttons to connect with me so you can see images as I post them live from the gig!

Deacon Blue at the Plymouth Pavilions - 19/11/2016

November 22, 2016 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

With Storm Angus dumping huge amounts of the wet stuff on the land, any sensible person would have avoided driving to Plymouth last Saturday night. However after having so much fun shooting Wet Wet Wet earlier in the year there was no way that I was going to miss the opportunity to shoot another legendary Scottish band. So with windscreen wipers set to blurry I headed off to Plymouth Pavilions to shoot Deacon Blue.

Deacon Blue

The stormy conditions outside did nothing to deter the crowds though and they flooded in (excuse the pun) through the doors to what would be a great gig. My friends over at MusicMuso will be posting a full review up soon but in the meantime here are some of the images I took.

It was a challenging shoot due to the low light for the first few songs but if you know your camera there were still plenty of shots to be had. It was certainly worth the journey but I really needed a boat and not a car to get home the roads were so flooded!

I've got a few more gigs to shoot before the end of 2016 so be sure to keep an eye on The Unplugged Blog for even more photos. See you next time!

Wet Wet Wet with Ben McKelvey and Markus Feehily at the Plymouth Pavilions - 08/03/2016

March 09, 2016 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

As a Scot living in the south west of England there was no way I was going to turn down the chance to shoot Scottish pop legends Wet Wet Wet. So with the melody of "Sweet Little Mystery" firmly planted in my mind I headed down the A38 for a taste of the homeland.

Arriving at the Plymouth Pavilions I met up with Steve from MusicMuso. As usual Steve will be writing a full review of the gig but in the meantime I'm very pleased to share some of my images with you now.

Ben McKelvey

First up was the very talented Ben McKelvey who has been supporting Wet Wet Wet on this tour.

Markus Feehily

The very popular Markus Feehily was up next:

Wet Wet Wet

I do like shooting well established acts like Wet Wet Wet. My primary focus at a gig is to capture high quality images and bands like Wet Wet Wet know how to put on a show, generally making my life that little bit easier. As you can see from the images, not only did they put on a great show for the crowd they are also having an awesome time doing it. There was a real energy coming from the stage and I was a happy photographer.

Overall it was a great gig and I hope the images here either remind you of the night (if you were there) or give you an idea of what it might have been like. On a personal note, if you have a chance to pick up a ticket for this tour you'll be in for a treat!

Social Media Update

I've recently started posting to Instagram and my feed includes both images from the archive and images posted live from the gigs I'm covering. If you aren't following me already, why not check out my Instagram feed by clicking here. I will of course continue with my normal service on Twitter, so don't forget to follow me there to.

On a Technical Note

As some of my regular readers know I use the wireless features of the Nikon D750 to transfer my images to my Nexus tablet while I'm at a gig. I then process the image on the tablet and post out to my social media feeds while the gig is still going on.

I've recently changed my workflow to include an app called raw2dng. It allows me to take the RAW (.NEF) file from the camera and convert it into a standard DNG RAW format. From here I can edit the DNG file in SnapSeed. The upshot of this change? Well, rather than processing a JPG I can now take full advantage of a RAW file improving the image output from my tablet. Even though the images from my mobile workflow end up on Twitter and Instagram I still want the quality to be as good as I can get it.

OK, that's it for this blog post but do keep an eye out for my next blog post as I'm hoping to bring you some images from a very special gig I'm going to cover in the next week or so. See you next time on The Unplugged Blog!

The Unplugged Blog is One Year Old!

September 22, 2015 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

A year ago today I started The Unplugged Blog as a quick way to talk about and share the images I had recently captured. My first blog post shared some images from the Lewis Watson gig at the Exeter Phoenix - you can read it here.

One year and 24 blog posts later I've shared images from The South, The Boomtown Rats, Europe, Grandmaster Flash and UB40! It's been a blast.

For those who read my blog on a regular basis you'll know that I like to share my images as soon as I can. And while I will post images direct and live from a gig on my Twitter feed, you can't beat the quality of a fully processed image from the computer. So when I get back from a gig the first thing I do is catalog and select my best images. I will then normally select one or two of my best images from the shoot to share on my blog. It's important to share some images while the gig is still fresh in everyone's mind!

So to celebrate The Unplugged Blog's first birthday I've collated a selection of some of my favorite images. Not only are there images from previous blog posts but I've included some images from gigs before I'd even started the blog. So have a good look through and you might see some images previously unshared!

I hope you enjoyed this selection of images, I certainly enjoyed taking them. Remember to keep checking my Twitter feed and The Unplugged Blog for all the latest images!

See you next time!

UB40

May 18, 2015 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

For most people Sunday night is all about relaxing in front of the TV and trying not think about work the following day. While this is often the case for me also, last night was all about getting over to the Plymouth Pavilions to see UB40. There were many reasons for my high levels of motivation for a Sunday night. Firstly it's the lure of the Plymouth Pavilions. Big lights, big stage and a big pit. All these things make life a little easier for the busy music photographer. The only the other thing you need is a big act. And they don't come much bigger than UB40, a British pop / reggae band that have been around for decades.

Now, I could write paragraphs of text on the history of the band and how good they were last night, but I like to leave that job to my friends over at MusicMuso who were there with me to cover the gig. Keep an eye out on their website where you will be able to read a full review of the gig very soon.

My job on The Unplugged Blog is to show you some images of the gig hot from my editing desk. There were lots to choose from, but here are some of my favourites from the night.

So there you have it. Did you see my images I tweeted live from the gig? If not, make sure you follow me over on my Twitter page.

On a technical note...

For my regular readers you may remember that on my last post that I mentioned I was trialing Adobe Lightroom CC. Well, I've taken the plunge and jumped onto the Adobe subscription bandwagon. At the moment it won't have to much of an impact on my workflow. At least not when I'm back at the office editing that is. One area I was hoping to see an improvement was with use of Lightroom Mobile. I've only done some initial testing and unfortunately it doesn't support RAW editing. I was hoping to edit RAW files so that I could maximize image quality in my tweets. However, JPEG editing seems strong so there may be room in my mobile workflow for it..

I've not moved my mobile workflow over from Google SnapSeed to Adobe Lightroom Mobile yet. I need to get really comfortable with the controls. When I'm live tweeting images from the venue, time is limited so I need to be focused on the edit rather than working out the app controls. I'm sure I'll switch soon, but I just a bit more hands-on with LR Mobile.

I also tested out a new fixed aperture zoom lens at the gig last night. I love shooting with prime lenses, my Nikon 50mm f/1.4 being my favourite, but given the size of the venue I thought I would try out something that might give me a little more flexibility. I was really pleased with the results and I might just have add it to my kit bag.

That's it from me for now. I'll likely be shooting a few more gigs over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out on The Unplugged Blogfor more images hot from my editing desk.