Performance
Karima Francis: The Author
06/09/09 22:54 Post: Personal Work
Taken at 11:12pm at West Coast Cafe in Blackpool, UK. Saturday 5th September 2009.
Last night I had the chance to watch the wonderful singer/songwriter Karima Francis play an intimate acoustic gig at the West Coast Rock Cafe in Blackpool. This was Karima's first gig in her hometown since playing with the likes of James Morrision at the Albert Hall and featuring on Later With Jools Holland in April earlier this year. I used to see Karima play acoustic sets at open mic nights in Blackpool years ago and I've always considered her to be an incredibly talented musician. As an avid lover of live music, I try and go to as many gigs and festivals as I possibly can. Admittedly, I don't always photograph the gigs I go to (we all deserve a little bit of time off from time to time), but I just had to take this chance to photograph Karima play.
Photographing live performances can sometimes be rather difficult. This is because a) the ambient light is very low (or next to non-existent) and b) musicians tend to move around as they play. Obviously you can use flash to help you out in those sort of situations, but I tend to find that firing a bright light at someone constantly (especially as they're playing a beautiful song they've painfully crafted) just isn't that fair. So, I refrain from using flash unless I've asked the artist beforehand and they're comfortable with me doing so. Fortunately I was able to get really close to Karima during the gig and so I managed to get away without using any additional lighting. I knew that the pictures would turn out quite grainy, but I thought this would add to the overall atmosphere when I converted them to black & white. This is my favourite photograph from the ones that I took last night as it really shows the passion of her performance.
I always like to share and promote talented artists, so I thoroughly recommend that you check out Karima's debut album 'The Author'. It's certainly music to my ears.
Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 3200
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 1/60th sec
F-Stop: f/5.6
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The Living Statue
19/06/08 18:24 Post: Blackpool Vistas
Taken at 2:03pm on Blackpool Promenade, Saturday 14th June 2008.
A walk along the promenade reveals the living statue, one of a number of street performers providing light entertainment for Blackpool tourists during the summer months. Blackpool is synonymous with providing popular entertainment for the masses, but I wanted to explore what is available on street level (there is certainly more to the town’s ‘pleasure identity’ than The Pleasure Beach and Blackpool Tower). This location (opposite Central Pier) is a popular hot spot for local street vendors, performers and beggars as there are usually many passers-by along the promenade. I took a few candid photographs from across the street before the living statue noticed me, but once I had been spotted, I crossed over to put a couple pounds in his box to say thanks for letting me take his picture. He posed for a few photographs too but my favourite is this shot taken just as he noticed me taking pictures.
Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 75mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/8.0
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