GoGo Penguin

March 26, 2015 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

After a full on night of rock and roll with Europe and Black Star Riders last week, I was expecting a complete change of pace with GoGo Penguin. I was back at the Exeter Phoenix and there was an large, eager crowd to see the jazz trio from Manchester.

The music was perfectly delivered and the crowd of jazz lovers were enjoying everything GoGo Penguin had to offer. It was a challenging shoot for me though. Lighting can vary greatly from venue to venue, and even between acts in the same venue. As the music was relatively laid back the lighting was set to match the mood of the music. Strong blue and red lighting is always a challenge for photographers, but I got some good shots of the band....

Only a short blog post from me this week, but I'll be back with some images from Everything Everything gig in a couple of weeks time. Remember, you can see what gigs I'm shooting here, and see images from gigs as they happen here.

Oh, and before I forget, keep an eye out over on MusicMuso for a full review of the GoGo Penguin gig.

See you next time on the Unplugged Blog!

Europe and Black Star Riders

March 16, 2015 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

Sunday evening gigs are sometimes some of the hardest to get motivated for. You've spent most of Sunday eating, drinking and generally chilling out. However, with both Europe and Black Star Riders performing at the Great Hall last night there was no chance I would be lying around on the sofa. There was work to be done!

Well, it doesn't always feel like work. The Great Hall is a great venue for taking images. The pit area has plenty of space to move about in, and the bands are well lit. Add that to two kicks ass rock and roll bands and you have all the elements you need to capturing great images.

First up were Black Star Riders and boy did they put on a performance.

Ricky put on a great show, and it looked like Robbie and Scott were having a great time as well!

Europe were up next and I have to admit to having a little bit of a soft spot for them. Back in the day I used to have Final Countdown on cassette, which I remember playing a lot. (Yes, I'm old enough to remember owning cassettes).

As you are only given the first three songs to shoot, I had to put all my youthful memories to the back of mind and focus on the task at hand. It was a busy 15 minutes but the guys gave me some great images.

As you might expect, the crowd were treated to a great show.

All in all it was a great night. Photographically and musically. After all, one of the reasons I do this job is for my love of music.

For my next shoot I'm back at the Exeter Phoenix for GoGo Penguin on March 25th. However, keep an eye on my Twitter feed this week. I might be making a special announcement about a very special assignment....

I hope you enjoyed these images and remember to keep an eye out on the MusicMuso website for a full gig review.

Until next time on the Unplugged Blog, c ya!

Gruff Rhys

February 18, 2015 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

I was really looking forward to shooting the Gruff Rhys gig at the Exeter Phoenix. I'd heard a lot of good things about Gruff and I was hoping for a good night of shooting. Unfortunately I was still recovering from a nasty cold so I had to limit my time at the venue. My friends over at MusicMuso were there for the entire gig though, so head over there soon for a full review of the show!

Despite my fuzzy head I still managed to capture some nice images of the show. As always on The Unplugged Blog here are a couple of images straight from the editing desk.

My next scheduled shoot is going to be a big one. I'll be shooting Europe and Black Star Riders at The Great Hall, University of Exeter. I expect both bands will provide me with numerous opportunities to capture some great images. As always, I'll be live tweeting from the gig, so click here to follow me on Twitter! You can also see what other gigs I've got coming up by clicking here.

I'll see you next time on The Unplugged Blog where normal service will have been resumed!

Jefferson Starship with The Worried Men and Auburn

February 04, 2015 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

After a nice break for the holidays I was back at the Exeter Phoenix with my friends from MusicMuso to review the Jefferson Starship gig. This was my first music shoot of the year so my shutter finger was itching to get going!

There will be a full review of the gig up on the MusicMusosite really soon, but as I always do on The Unplugged Blog, I'll bring you a few images of the gig hot from my editing desk.

First up is Auburn featuring the very talented Liz Lenten.

It was just as well that my shutter button finger was all warmed up when The Worried Men took to the stage. Lead singer Jamie Thyer really turned it up to 11!

And finally we have Jefferson Starshipwho have been rocking the world since the 1970's.

It was great to be back shooting gigs again. I spent a lot of time over the holidays working on personal projects but I'll tell you all about that in a future blog post.

Remember to keep an eye out on the MusicMuso site for a full review of the gig. It's also a great place for music reviews, news and a fortnightly music podcast. Check it out!

I'll be back at the Exeter Phoenix on February 9th for the Gruff Rhys gig so expect some images from that right here on The Unplugged Blog. And if you can't wait that long, I always tweet images live from the gig over on my Twitter feed.

Favourite Images of 2014

January 07, 2015 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

As we are now firmly in 2015 I thought I'd look back at my catalogue of images from 2014 to see what my favourites have been. It was a really busy year, so there were a lot of images to look at!

The images in this post are my personal favourites, and not necessarily my best technically. I strive for technical excellence but I also like images that tell a story or have some emotional content. So these are just 5 of my personal favourites and in no particular order!

First up is this image from The South gig from October 1st. Here we have Damon Butcher working his magic on the keyboards. While I'm very pleased on how this image turned out, it's the memory of watching Damon play that makes this image special for me.

You can read my blog post about the gig here.

Next up is the lead singer of Save Your Breath from October 7th. I love this image because you can really see the passion of the singer and the energy of the performance.

You can read my blog post about the gig here.

The next two images are both from the Boomtown Rats gig of November 10th. This was probably one of the best gigs (from a photography point of view) that I shot in 2014. They were a band with so much energy that it was almost easy to photograph them.

I love this image in particular because the guitarist played up to the camera giving me a great shot. This is where the skill comes in though as if you don't have your camera set up correctly, you'll miss the shot!

I have so many images of Bob Geldof that it is was almost impossible to select a favourite. I chose this image because it shows the energy of Bob's performance.

You can read my blog post about the gig here.

And finally, but certainly not least, is an image from the Grandmaster Flash gig from December 20th. Shooting this gig was really challenging because of the very low light conditions (mostly of which was red), but this image for me really brings back the happy memories of watching a legend on the decks. It was great way to finish the year!

You can read my blog post about the gighere.

These images, and a few others from my back catalogue now appear on the reverse side of my business cards. I'm using a new supplier for my business cards and I'm really pleased with the quality of the results. If you want to check them out, head over to Moo.

I'm now busy sorting out my 2015 schedule and it's looking like a monster year. I'll be posting my gig schedule up here really soon. Hope to see you at a gig in the near future!

On a technical note...

This blog post comes out a little later than I had originally planned. Sure, some of those reasons were that I was taking some time out over the festive period, but the main reason was that I was migrating to a new PC. My trusty old Dell PC was really starting to creak. The size of the files that my D750 produces was really starting to make my workflow creak so I decided to get an upgrade.

So what spare time I had over the Xmas period was spent moving data and installing applications. However, it has proved a worthwhile investment in time and money. My new system is uber fast and I can really see how much technology has moved on in the last 5 years since my last PC purchase.

The speed of my workflow is really important as time is always tight. I'm really looking forward to my first shoot of 2015 to put the system to the test!

Grandmaster Flash

December 20, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

It's not often you get to photograph a living musical legend like Grandmaster Flash, but that is exactly what I was doing at the Exeter Phoenix last night. Arriving with Steve from MusicMuso we soon found that it was going to be a very busy night. Over 6 hours of music between the bar area and the main arena.

Plenty of people starting arriving early and DJ Louie Louie got everyone into the party atmosphere.

Later on in the bar Rusticate kicked things up a bit more.

It wasn't just DJs on last night and through in the main area were local acoustic / hip-hop band Rapha Ghetti.

And finally, Grandmaster Flash, pioneer hip-hop DJ.

Grandmaster Flash got himself fully involved with the crowd and worked them up to a frenzy! It was an awesome night of music and a great opportunity to photograph one of hip-hops finest DJs. Expect a full gig write up on MusicMuso very soon.

Sadly, that was my last assignment for 2014, but what a way to finish. I am however very much looking forward to a break over Christmas and New Year. I'll still need to do a few tasks like sort out next years gig schedule. It's looking busy already and I'll post up all my events here so hopefully see you at an event in 2015!

See you next year on the the Unplugged blog.

Beans on Toast, Will Varley and Lori Campbell

December 08, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

I've been shooting gigs in the Exeter Phoenix for while now but when MusicMuso asked me to cover the Beans on Toast gig in the Voodoo Room at the Phoenix I was wondering what he was talking about!

The main venue was being used by Fish that night, so the smaller, but perfectly suited Voodoo Room upstairs was to play host to Beans on Toast. I say perfect because for anyone who has seen Beans on Toast before will appreciate that he very much likes to connect with his audience.

The intimate venue was used effectively by all the artists that night and things kicked off with the very talented Lori Campbell.

MusicMuso caught up with Lori backstage for an interview, so expect to see that up the MusicMuso website real soon.

Will Varley was up next and not only was his set very good but his humour and engagement with the audience was excellent. There was a very funny the heckle midway through his set but unfortunately I can't repeat it - it's far too rude!

Beans on Toast then took the stage to a very excited crowd.

I love photography and I love music, and it's just brilliant when you can combine the two in one night. Not only was I treated to both Lori and Will's performances, but I got to enjoy a thoroughly entertaining performance by Beans on Toast. I don't think I stopped smiling from start to finish! Not only was he great to shoot, but his music really connected with me which is why I'm sat here listening to his album (which he was kind enough to sign).

Technical Troubles

As regular readers will know, I like to live tweet images straight from the gig into my twitter feed. Well, the technical gremlins were out on Saturday night so my live tweets were, well, not so live! I eventually got them out about 2 hours late and I found the issue was due to a recent software update on my tablet. I love doing the live tweeting so was a bit disappointed I couldn't get them out as quickly as I like, but I got the photographs that I wanted which is always the main thing!

See you next time on The Unplugged Blog!

Stu Larsen and Paper Aeroplanes

November 21, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

After shooting at the Lemon Grove for the last couple of gigs it was nice to be back at the Exeter Phoenix for a more relaxed night of music.

As always on The Unplugged Blog I like to give you a couple of images from the night, hot from the editing desk. First up from Queensland, Australia was the very talented and funny Stu Larsen.

Expect to hear more about Stu over on MusicMuso very soon.

The headline act of the night was the very popular Paper Aeroplanes.

Technical Challenges

Shooting in low light is one of the biggest challenges in concert photography. It's difficult to focus the camera and you have to balance your shutter speed against your ISO settings. Upgrading from the Nikon D610 to the D750 has definitely improved the situation for me. Focusing is much more accurate and easier (thanks to group point focusing) and low light performance has been greatly improved.

I have also noticed that the lighting used in different venues varies greatly. I like to see lots of dynamic lighting as this offers a great range of shooting opportunities. A well lit artist is a lot easier to shoot! However, the lighting used is often arranged to suit the type of artist. For example, Paper Aeroplanes were lit most with a constant blue and red light. Great for the mood, but it adds an extra challenge for the photographer. But hey, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it and I love the challenge!

I'm also pleased to say that Adobe have finally updated my primary image editing tool, Lightroom, to version 5.7 which includes full support for the Nikon D750. This greatly streamlines my image workflow.

See you again really soon on The Unplugged Blog!

The Boomtown Rats

November 10, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

Some nights you leave a gig with the wonderful feeling that you got some great shots and you heard some fantastic music. Last night at the Lemon Grove was definitely one of those nights!

As always on The Unplugged Blog, I'm going to share a few of my favourite images hot from the editing desk. Normally I'd only share one image from each artist but I have so many great images you all deserve to see two!

First up was the exceptionally talented and lovely Polly Money.

I was lucky enough to grab a quick chat with Polly back stage with Steve from MusicMuso so expect to hear more about Polly on the MusicMuso website really soon.

Next up were Exeter's top steam punk band The Mysterious Freakshow. They were colourful, loud and energetic. Definitely a band I will keep an eye out for on the local gig scene.

The main act of the night was of course The Boomtown Rats, and from the moment that Sir Bob bounded on to the stage the place erupted. Now, there is a man that can work the crowd. I really love shooting a band that can work the crowd. There is always so much to shoot!

For those of you that follow my Twitter account you know that I like to live tweet images straight from venue (thanks to Nikon D750, a Nexus tablet, and a phone signal). I tweeted this image last night but just had stick it on my blog as well. I just loved the way he played up to the camera for me. He got a big thumbs up back from me!

And now the star of the show, Bob Geldof, or as I now think of him, rock God!

It was a real pleasure shooting all three acts last night. I've still got a whole stack of images to get through and edit, but I just wanted to share these with you right now! Expect a full write up of the gig really soon over at MusicMuso.

In the meantime I'm going to carry on listening to new Pink Floyd album and I'll see you next time on The Unplugged Blog!

Halloween Zombie Ball 2014

November 03, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

I knew before I turned up at the Lemon Grove to cover this years Halloween Zombie Ball that it was going to be a BIG night of rock music. I was not wrong. And with at least six bands to cover and an army of zombies to wade through to get from one stage to the other, I had a lot of work to do!

First up were local band Cambion.

Cambion were also good enough to invite MusicMuso and myself back stage for an interview. I always like getting the meet the bands back stage to take some photos and hear the bands story.

Next up we have I Divide who really kicked up a storm on the 2nd stage.

I really like this next shot. The beaming red lights in the background seem to suit the look of the guitarist from Glamour of the Kill.

And the action doesn't stop there. Here we have Kill All The Gentleman.

Running across back to the main stage I caught up with Knotslip.

And my 2nd to last shot for this blog entry is The Dreamer Within.

And finally, my favourite band of the night, the kick ass Skindred.

As you can see, it was a very busy night of shooting, but I loved it. Life is much easier when the bands know how to use the stage and get the crowd going. I just wish I hadn't decided to get up at 5.30am that day to take some landscape photos. Yes, that's right, I do have a more arty side to me as well!

See you next time on the Unplugged Blog where I will be bringing you images straight from the Boomtown Rats gig. Bye!

Sivu and Nick Mulvey

October 10, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

I was at the Exeter Phoenix again last night to shoot the hugely popular Nick Mulvey. Despite the gig being sold out, it felt like an intimate affair with subdued lighting and the fans crowded right up to the edge of the stage. Not ideal conditions for great concert imagery but it did make for a great night of music.

Supporting Nick was the very talented musician Sivu. Here he is working his magic on the stage:

One of the really cool things about shooting gigs is the back stage access. I've been lucky enough to meet some real characters back there and they always have an interesting story to tell. Some of the kit the crew turn up with is also amazing. Just check out the mixing desk below:

The person manning the desk lost one of his custom ear buds and I helped him find it which is was really grateful for. I think it was something to do with the £500 price tag. And that's per ear!

And finally, here is Nick doing his stuff.

See you next time on the Unplugged Blog!

Save Your Breath and Kids In Glass Houses

October 07, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

I love going out in the evening to shoot gigs. Sometimes you'll be familiar with the band, maybe even a fan, but more often than not you're going to see them for the first time. Good preparation demands that you research the acts you are going to shoot so you can position yourself for the best shots. My research for this night quickly revealed it was going be a loud night of rock and I was looking forward to it!

As always on the Unplugged Blog, here are a couple of shots from the night that caught my eye in the virtual darkroom.

First up on the stage at the Exeter Phoenix was Save Your Breath.

Without a doubt these guys from Wales really got the crowd going and warmed up for the main act of Kids In Glass Houses.

Kids In Glass Houses - Aled Phillips doing a little solo number.

I managed to capture some great images of the night. It always helps when you shoot artists that know how to use the stage.

Keep an eye out for a full gig review over on MusicMuso.

On a technical note...

As I mentioned on the blog last time I was unable to process the RAW files straight out of the camera. This was hampering my workflow. I'm pleased to say that I can now at least convert the RAW (NEF) files to Adobe's DNG format. While this increases the length of the image workflow, it does mean I can now extract the maximum amount information from the image. Which is always a good thing.

Steel Threads and The South

October 01, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

Well it was another very busy night at the Exeter Phoenix last Saturday. Together with Steve from MusicMuso we covered two most excellent bands. As always on the Unplugged blog, here are a couple of sneaky peak shots before they appear on MusicMuso.

First up we have the rather awesome Steel Threads...

And the for the main act we have The South. This picture is of long term keyboard player Damon Butcher. It was a real pleasure watching him work his magic.

You can read a full review of the gig and see more photos over on MusicMuso.

On a technical note...

This was my first gig shooting with the brand new Nikon D750. This camera replaced my Nikon D610 mainly because of D750's improved autofocus system and low light shooting capabilities. It also has built in wireless so that I can pull (JPG) files straight onto my tablet and send them live to my Twitter feed during the gig. A huge improvement over the shots I used to send to Twitter from my Nexus 5 phone.

While I'm very impressed with the image quality, I couldn't use my normal Adobe workflow to process the images as Adobe Camera RAW doesn't yet support the D750. I had a little less control over the images than I normally have and it took me longer to process them, but that is the price you pay for being a day one adopter! I'm sure Adobe will have an update out soon.

It's been another late night of editing, so time for bed. See you next time on the Unplugged blog!

Andreas Moe and Lewis Watson

September 22, 2014 by Julian Baird in Uncategorized

Another busy evening for me last night at the Exeter Phoenix. As always I was joined by Steve from MusicMuso and we were lucky enough to see and meet some really talented musicians.

First up from the camera roll is Swedish singer and songwriter, Andreas Moe:

Want to know more about Andreas? Then check out this interview over on MusicMuso.

The headline act of the night was the very popular Lewis Watson. Here is Lewis in action:

A full review of the gig, and more photos can be found over at MusicMuso!

I'll be back in about a week to show you some images from The South gig. See you next time on the Unplugged blog!