london » Julie Edwards Photography

European Premiere of Dark Shadows

So, at last! Its back to Leicester Square – the newly refurbished square (well its not quite finished). The event seemed to far far more room than before and it felt really good to be back.

It was a case of quality not quantity with this event with a few stars turning up, but those that did were….

Actress Eva Green

As you can see, I was on the carpet, with VIP access.

Actress Michelle Pfeiffer signing

The atmosphere was great, with many fans having arrived at ^AM and waited in the pouring rain.

Actress Helena Bonham Carter

Of course, the film is another collaboration between Tim Burton and Johhny Depp

Actor Johnny Depp

A complete set of my images of European Premiere of Dark Shadows can be licensed from PhotoShot here and here (they are split in 2 sets).

Gala Screening of All In Good Time

A Gala screening for “All In Good Time” was held at the BFI Southbank on Tuesday 8th May.

Due to the trains running late (a “Bridge Strike”, Broken rail AND Broken down train), I arrived just as the first guests (Actor Reece Ritchie – Prince of Persia: Sands of Time) and Actress Amara Karan (St. Trinians) were being photographed.

Actor Reece Ritchie and Actress Amara Karan

The blurb about the film says:

When their hard saved for honeymoon is cancelled the day after the wedding, the newlyweds have no choice but to return to the Dutt household and set up home there.

As prying family members and gossipy neighbours conspire to keep the couple from consummating their marriage, Atul and Vina start to panic. But if they can just keep their situation private, and if they can just get a bit of time alone, all could be saved for this pair.

So with meddling parents, nosey neighbours and a community that thrives on gossip, can their marriage last?

Well, they look quite good together here, so who knows…..

Photos from the Gala screening of “All in Good Time” can be viewed and licensed from PhotoShot: here.

Lostprophets play Brixton Academy

Firstly, I apologise that at the moment this has just become a stream of recent shots with little explanation; I have been working flat out and have little time to formulate the writings I have in my head. They will follow soon.

On Friday 4th May, Lostprophets finished their UK tour with a date in Brixton supported by Modestep.

Josh Modestep plays to the Brixton Academy crowd.

They were a good (but very loud) dub step band.

Lostprophets performed with a lot of back-lighting and strobes making my job just a little tougher…

Lostprophets "frontman" Ian Watkins

You may find a full set of my Lostprophets and Modestep images for license here: Lostprophets images on Photoshot.

White Rabbits play XOYO

Photographing a band called “White Rabbits” on the 1st of the month had a nice ring to it.

The venue was XOYO near Old Street in London. My thoughts on this venue is that the sound was good making it great for watching/listening to a band but with mainly overhead and backlight, not great for photographers.

The support act was Sunless ’97, a London band I have been unable to find out much about (other than their soundcloud), the light was almost non-existent for this act.

Sunless 97 play XOYO, London on 1st May 2012. Persons pictured: Edward Leeson, Matt and Alice

My photographs of Sunless ’97 may be licensed here: Sunless 97 play XOYO

Having just subscribed to Spotify I was able to listen to the White Rabbits before travelling and I was looking forward to this gig. The band did not disappoint and it was a pity I had to leave early to get home. I can recommend seeing this band live.

Six-piece indie rock band White Rabbits play XOYO

My photographs of White Rabbits may be licensed here: White Rabbits play XOYO

Twin Atlantic play KoKo in London

This blog has been rather sparse, so I have a new policy now which will ensure there are always updates showing a shot from a recent job with links on where to license.

Twin Atlantic played KoKo in Camden Town, London on 17th April 2012.

Twin Atlantic play KoKo in Camden Town, London on 17th April 2012. Persons pictured: Sam McTrusty (lead vocals, Lead guitar). Picture by Julie Edwards

Images from this gig may be licensed via PhotoShot: Twin Atlantic play KoKo.

January with the London Symphony Orchestra

This month I have worked with the London Symphony Orchestra on two occasions; once in Abbey Road Studios, during a recording session and once with a few of the musicians and quite a few of the “friends” at Teddington Lock studios.

I find the dynamic and the musical ability of large orchestras like the LSO absolutely astonishing and this really comes to the fore in the recording studio where the rehearsal time is usually minimal (or non-existant). At the beginning of the month I joined the LSO for a recording session (in the famous studio 1 at Abbey Road) to create a series of informal portraits to be used in this years advance booker brochure.

Silent cameras are required to take photos such as this during recording.

Working during a session requires the upmost care, understanding and of course silence! Nikon cameras are notoriously noisy so I hired in a silencer (basically a big padded box) that encompasses the camera and lens and feeds though just the minimum of controls. Before shooting all the exposure controls needed pre-setting (luckily the light does not change in a session) leaving me with just the shutter to fire…

The players clearly enjoy their work

My newest purchase, the Fujifilm X100 has a slient mode that is, well, silent. This meant I was walking round with a black box about 300mm square on one shoulder and the smartest little retro designed camera on the other. It did make for a few comments from the players. The X100 performed almost as well as my main Nikon DSLR.

Bass player

Last weekend I joined a number of them again along with RedTed Films as the new promotional film was shot. The aim again was informal portraits for the “Friends of the Orchestra” brochure as well as general documenting and PR for both the LSO and RedTed.

Setting up the HD camera

Quite often the first comment from photographers who have not shot in a white studio is “well at least you will have plenty of light”.

Filming

Thats not the case as the video cameras actually need a little less light (in simplistic terms each frame on a video is at normally about 4 times longer than the a typical still image exposure meaning 4 times as much light gets in).

The group filing the studio space

Again the key is having a stills photographer that understands the filming process and its requirements. The lighting guys produced a really nice set-up and light and by working closely with the production team I was able to create some great portraits .

Enjoying the interview

Still images combine really well with videos particularly on websites and ensuring that the still images have the same look and atmosphere of the video (as I have done here) they can break down the barrier between the web (the domain of the video) and the printed matter such as brochures.

This weekend I travel to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo with CARE International to document the great work they are doing out there following the troubles.I’m expecting it to be a very busy and interesting week which I look forward to writing about on my return.

Real Steel, with Hugh Jackman

You may have noticed that this blog has been devoid of any Film Premiere entries for quite a while (if you ignore last months FrightFest). 

The reason? Westminster Council have been refurbishing Leicester Square ready for next years Olympics. Most people would assume that this would be done in stages, maybe a section at a time, minimising the impact on the use of the square and the business within it. When you think of the amount of trade the cinemas bring into the square and its surrounds you would have thought the council would have worked with them, ensuring that the square was able to continue hosting premieres. No. For the past approximately 9 months the square has been in such a state of upheaval that hosting a premiere has been almost impossible. There has not been enough room. In fact for much of the time it has been a struggle even for pedestrians a tourists to navigate the area without having to avoid diggers, dumpers and other plant.

Boxer Amir Khan

During this time the film industry had no choice but to seek alternative venues with the prime benefactor being The Vue inside Westfield Shopping Centre.  I'm sorry but a shopping centre just does not cut it. Even Tom Hanks seemed somewhat bemused at the location.

Titan the robot meets the fans

We I'm glad to say that is changing again. Today the barriers were moved back away from the front of The Empire and the square was once again able to host a major premiere - "Real Steel", a Disney film featuring boxing robots and Hugh Jackman.

Hugh Jackman meets fans

It felt good to be back in the square, there was a great atmosphere and Hugh was obviously enjoying himself at what he referred to on stage as his "family screening" with over 30 members of the Jackman clan in the cinema.

Hugh Jackman with robot Titan

Hugh was joined on the carpet not only by the director, Shawn Levy but also a robot called Titan.

Director Shawn Levy

Lets hope the contractors get their fingers out and complete the works so the square can return to its rightful place as the premiere location.

Hard Rock Calling

This weekend was “Hard Rock Calling”; one of a series of live music events that take place on Hyde Park over the summer.

The event started off on the wet Friday afternoon but the crowd were not going to let that dampen their sprits. The main acts were James, Kaiser Chiefs and Killers.

A wet crowd enjoy Kaiser Chiefs

Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs

The main act on the second stage were The Kills. Many of the reviews the next day described Alison as the sexiest front woman of the moment or the band as the sexiest at the moment. I have to agree with them. The back lighting made them very difficult to photograph but i think this image captures the moment.

Alison Mosshart ("VV") of The Kills

Saturday was dryer and started far earlier.I started with Vintage Trouble on the main stage. Walking up a number of other photographers were saying that this band had appeared on BBC’s Jools Holland show a while before and they were really good. I have to agree, they are really worth checking out.

Ty Taylor of Vintage Trouble

Later in the press tent (which apart from being too hot on the Sunday, was really excellent with great hospitality for the press) we were treated to an acoustic performance by the band after they did an interview. One of the hi-lights of the weekend, working, editing pictures with a great live acoustic set going on..

Another new band for me were in the second tent; Evaline whose frontman Richard Perry almost took my head off at one point as he jumped from the stage to the audience.

Richard Perry of Evaline

The main stars of the show were of course Bon Jovi, By this time the sun was out, the skys were blue and the audience and sky were reflected perfectly in Jon Bon Jovi’s mirrored shades.

Jon Bon Jovi

On Sunday the sun really shone and the press tent warmed up! (well thats my excuse for a beer or two along with copious amounts of water as I worked). As a photographer, sometimes you have to work hard to get interesting images, sometimes you get performers that work so hard on stage that the images are there, its just a case of timing, reading and positioning. Adam Ant was one such performer, sticking all his old poses and putting everything in.

Adam Ant

Adam was followed by Stevie Nicks who was a little harder work (but sounded amazing). The real issue of the day though was shooting Rod Stewart, the headline act. It had been decided that Rod was to be shot from the sound desk which with it’s limited room meant only a few would be able to shoot. The ridiculous thing was that after deciding all this, Rod appeared on stage to introduce Stevie and so of course, we all got our shot. Why he was happy to be shot close up introducing but not performing is anybodies guess. Made a mockery of the sound desk shots really, (except from the sound desk the shots can be of the whole stage / lighting ).

Rod Stewart

All in all a good 3 days. Next weekend, Hop Farm…

Gunning at AIR

This weekend I was invited to attend AIR studios (Lyndhurst) to photograph multi BAFTA winning composer Christopher Gunning recording his Symphony No. 5 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO). This was to be a “Reportage” shoot working around the busy musicians, engineers and of course, Christopher.

Christopher and the RPO

There are of course many constraints to working at a recording session; for example, when sections of music are re-taken (re-recorded) due to a “loud page turn” you realise that the equipment in use is very sensitive and that photographing during “takes” is a definite no-no. (This is in fact something I was already aware of having attended a session at AIR in the past).

Talking through

I made a point therefore of being in the control room listening to the music during takes, rushing out as soon as the Red Light was off to capture the interaction between Christopher and the Orchestra.

The engineers view

After a movement (or section) was recorded, Christopher would return to the control room (sometimes a couple musicians would also come) to listen back to the recording, analyse and then back out to re-record.

Listening Back

I edited the photos and delivered as usual via my secure client delivery website the following morning. Then of course comes the nervous waiting; I have a style of photography which I knew Christopher has seen and liked but there is always that wait. I knew I liked the images and thought they reflected the day and Christopher well but, would he like them? I’m pleased to say he did. If the client is happy – I’m happy!

I had already decided that I would deliver a mixture of colour and monochrome images, I’ll close on a couple of my favourite monos:

Christopher at the desk

Deep in thought

In his thanks, Christopher called me “clever”. Yes, I understand light. Yes, I understand composition but shoots like this are all about watching and understanding. Christopher on the other hand sat in his music room (I don’t know how long for), working on his piano, writing music. This he then orchestrated for 70 musicians. They come together at the studios, the musicians never having seen the music, the composer/conductor never having it actually played by 70 musicians. Christopher conducted, the musicians sight-read and together they created a wonderful sound that had never been heard before… now that’s clever!

Marching from classical to rock

Friday, Saturday then Sunday, 3 days to demonstrate the wide range of my work;

First, Friday and a pleasant trip with my “mobile studio” to North London to visit Dimitri Kennaway; a pianist and composer. The aim was to produce a set of portraits for use on his new website and also his social media sites (Facebook etc). We started in the music room with Dimitri playing his own works and Rachmaninov whilst we chatted and I set up lighting, reflectors and started shooting.

Dimitri Kennaway

After we were happy we had finished in the Music Room, we moved into the garden where the afternoon light was lovely for some more informal shots.

Dimitri Kennaway

So from peaceful Rachmaninov in the music room to the noise and confusion that was the Anti-Cuts march on Saturday.

Between a quarter and a half a million marching through London is huge news. The problem was we all knew it would get hijacked and there would be violence and once there is this level of violence the media will be dominated by images of this over the peaceful rally. My plan was to stick totally with the peaceful rally which was sort of limiting my outlet before I start but I am not an expert on shooting violence and to be honest I did not really want to put myself or my camera in harms way.

I started off at the head of the rally at 11:30 for the start..

Brendan Barber at the head of the march

My usual plan is then to move with the rally, gradually dropping back but this was so long (I understand it took over four hours for the tail to cross the start line) that this was not really an option so I moved along to Whitehall (near Downing Street) and stayed there allowing the march to pass me always keeping an eye out for interesting banners and sights. In hindsight this was probably not the best place to stay but it did also fit in with my overall plan to file about 2pm before heading back out. Although the mood was very jovial and good natured, there were a couple of pockets where the mood changed distinctly and although all the police I dealt with on the day were good natured and helpful, there was always a hint of what was to come if you looked for it..

Police Riot helmets

I headed off about 1:30 to file my shots and just as the last one uploaded, I received a tweet that mentioned the HSBC bank had been attacked at Cambridge Circus; only 2 minutes walk from where I was. I hurried over to photograph the aftermath (being sure that that perpetrators would have moved on). What caught my eye was that only 3 or 4 minutes after the trouble had left, with the building still protected by Police in riot gear, a que had formed for the cash machine as though nothing had happened.

Cash Dispenser

As the march had now moved on I decided to call it a day. A selection of images for sale may be seen here..

Sunday and it was back to The Brighton Centre to photograph Elbow. This was one of the nicest gigs I have photographed in a while. The low central walkway brought Guy Garvey (the lead singer) out in to the audience giving us a chance for some nice shots…

Elbow performs at The Brighton Centre, Brighton, 27th March 2011.

Elbow / Guy Garvey

Whilst the lights made things interesting on stage…

Elbow / Guy Garvey

A selection of Elbow images may be seen here..

A more contrasting 3 days I do not think I have had…