You may have heard the term "Urbex" whilst browsing Facebook or Google and wondered what it is.
I discovered Urbexing purely by accident whilst, out of boredom, I was browsing images on google looking for inspiration, something new and different to shoot with my camera.
Among the menagerie of articles I read about Night photography, wildlife, light painting etc I came across a local photographer who's name escapes me at the moment, but the images on his website were what caught my attention.
Among dust covered units, cobweb encrusted books and rusting vehicles this man had captured something disturbingly beautiful, an art form that creates beauty from decay and ruin.
Of course I had to find out more and so I began researching Urban Exploration, it seems it began mostly in the USA and Japan then spread across to Europe and Britain, however do not quote me on that one as it was a long time ago and my memory isn't what it used to be so I may be recalling it incorrectly.
To begin Urban Exploring all one needs is a camera, flash, tripod, a torch and sturdy footwear and a bit of courage to potentially break the law.
Some would call it trespassing, Security guards may be present and be prepared to be arrested by the Police if caught.
Personally I tend to seek out places which I know either have no security or that I can gain access to easily, often I will try to find out who owns the property and gain permission or will shoot from a public access rather than entering a property.
Others will break into a location and explore the inside fully, and in the process often take much better shots than I get.
I am not going to break copyright by sharing others images, just search for "Urbex" "Urban Exploring" or even visit my Facebook group Urbex Yorkshire and view some of my own and our members images.
There are some unwritten rules to Urban Exploration, the first and foremost being "Take nothing but photo's and leave nothing but footprints" in layman terms.... many properties which have been abandoned still hold the previous owners possessions, and we like to leave a place as we find it, this means no stealing items left behind.
Trespass at your own risk, as I mentioned earlier personally I try not to trespass onto a property but many places can only be accessed illegally so be cautious and do not damage any part of the property.
Enjoy, the reason for Urban Exploration is enjoyment, as all photographers know, the taking of an image is a personal thing, we choose our frame and lighting to create what either our own eye sees or what we envision in our mind and that is part of the enjoyment to create a mind capturing image.
Friday, 27 November 2015
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
The World at war
I tend to try and avoid writing about political matters but with the recent activity and killings across the globe, and at the risk of "jumping on the bandwagon" I thought it time I wrote something about what is happening with the world today.
Before I begin with my rant (or is it an observation?) I recall many years ago finding myself with an interest in the Occult, Tarot reading, Demonology and Witchcraft were all on the menu, not a phase that lasted long I will admit.
It was during this time of my youth that I read about a prophet named Nostradamus, many will have heard of him if not read or seen documentaries about his prophecies, there was one translation which caught my attention.
As it was so long ago and it is quite late (2:17 AM) I can not recall the exact text but it said something about a war beginning in the latter end of the 20th Century in the East and this being the beginning of the end of the world.
Now I don't wish to alarm anyone and I am in no way a conspiracy theorist or a religious person but I have to admit old Nostra was right so it seems.
This aside, what happened in Paris on Friday the 13th November 2015 can not be put into words, I watched it live on Sky news and spent hours the next few days reading and listening teary eyed to interviews with the survivors about the horrors they witnessed.
Many of those who lost their lives were just kids, no older than my own eldest Two, out for what they thought was just a good gig watching The Eagles of Death Metal, I can only begin to imagine how scared these kids were when the bullets began to fly.
The bravery of those who survived and have to live with the sight of all that blood in their memories is admirable to say the least.
Now comes the part where fingers are pointed and blame is cast upon the innocent.
The media had waged war before it has even begun, this however is not a war between the East and West as Nostradamus predicted this is a war devised to divide the country, those who are more than happy to believe the propaganda that papers such as the "Sun" print and those of us who want nothing more than to live in harmony with all creeds and religions.
What I have viewed on Facebook over the last few days since the killings in Paris boils down to
segregation, people flaunting their views and opinions, some of my own friends have posted what could be considered racist or hate mongering posts whereas others have posted about peace and unity.
Unfortunately every man, woman and dog/cat has an opinion, the events of Friday the 13th seem to
have separated our communities, I have seen posts where people say "how do we tell the difference between a Muslim and a Muslim terrorist" people are looking at every person of a different skin colour or faith and putting them in the same category as ALL Terrorists, my answer to this one is, Joe Bloggs from number 22 could be a mass murderer or rapist, the fact is you can not tell by looking at a person no matter their creed what their beliefs are or what their intentions are.
The fear that is being instilled into us by the media along with hatred and distrust in fellow human beings is the spark to the flame, do you smell that? in the air, the faint tint of death drifting through the wind a smell which, if the segregation of British people continues will become stronger.
These will be deaths of your brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, is this what you want? does the world really need this? did we learn nothing from the sacrifice of our grandfathers and great grand fathers, yes Isis needs to be stopped as do all terrorist groups but if war is coming we should stand together, neighbor helping neighbor despite their background or origin.
This brings me to my good friend Malcolm Shipman the Landlord of a popular local Wakefield Rock music venue called The Snooty Fox.
Malcolm was touched so much by the atrocity of what is happening through out the world that he is arranging several events at The Snooty Fox over the coming months to raise cash for the families of the victims of Terrorism below is the video he has shot announcing them, he will also be offering Live Stream events as Pay per view for those who can not make it to the venue.
Please support Malcolm with this venture by sharing the video below and perhaps attending one of the gigs or watching the pay per live view.
Click the link below to view the video.
https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.shipman.3/videos/1093246704049523/?pnref=story
Before I begin with my rant (or is it an observation?) I recall many years ago finding myself with an interest in the Occult, Tarot reading, Demonology and Witchcraft were all on the menu, not a phase that lasted long I will admit.
It was during this time of my youth that I read about a prophet named Nostradamus, many will have heard of him if not read or seen documentaries about his prophecies, there was one translation which caught my attention.
As it was so long ago and it is quite late (2:17 AM) I can not recall the exact text but it said something about a war beginning in the latter end of the 20th Century in the East and this being the beginning of the end of the world.
Now I don't wish to alarm anyone and I am in no way a conspiracy theorist or a religious person but I have to admit old Nostra was right so it seems.
This aside, what happened in Paris on Friday the 13th November 2015 can not be put into words, I watched it live on Sky news and spent hours the next few days reading and listening teary eyed to interviews with the survivors about the horrors they witnessed.
Many of those who lost their lives were just kids, no older than my own eldest Two, out for what they thought was just a good gig watching The Eagles of Death Metal, I can only begin to imagine how scared these kids were when the bullets began to fly.
The bravery of those who survived and have to live with the sight of all that blood in their memories is admirable to say the least.
Now comes the part where fingers are pointed and blame is cast upon the innocent.
The media had waged war before it has even begun, this however is not a war between the East and West as Nostradamus predicted this is a war devised to divide the country, those who are more than happy to believe the propaganda that papers such as the "Sun" print and those of us who want nothing more than to live in harmony with all creeds and religions.
What I have viewed on Facebook over the last few days since the killings in Paris boils down to
segregation, people flaunting their views and opinions, some of my own friends have posted what could be considered racist or hate mongering posts whereas others have posted about peace and unity.
Unfortunately every man, woman and dog/cat has an opinion, the events of Friday the 13th seem to
have separated our communities, I have seen posts where people say "how do we tell the difference between a Muslim and a Muslim terrorist" people are looking at every person of a different skin colour or faith and putting them in the same category as ALL Terrorists, my answer to this one is, Joe Bloggs from number 22 could be a mass murderer or rapist, the fact is you can not tell by looking at a person no matter their creed what their beliefs are or what their intentions are.
The fear that is being instilled into us by the media along with hatred and distrust in fellow human beings is the spark to the flame, do you smell that? in the air, the faint tint of death drifting through the wind a smell which, if the segregation of British people continues will become stronger.
These will be deaths of your brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, is this what you want? does the world really need this? did we learn nothing from the sacrifice of our grandfathers and great grand fathers, yes Isis needs to be stopped as do all terrorist groups but if war is coming we should stand together, neighbor helping neighbor despite their background or origin.
This brings me to my good friend Malcolm Shipman the Landlord of a popular local Wakefield Rock music venue called The Snooty Fox.
Malcolm was touched so much by the atrocity of what is happening through out the world that he is arranging several events at The Snooty Fox over the coming months to raise cash for the families of the victims of Terrorism below is the video he has shot announcing them, he will also be offering Live Stream events as Pay per view for those who can not make it to the venue.
Please support Malcolm with this venture by sharing the video below and perhaps attending one of the gigs or watching the pay per live view.
Click the link below to view the video.
https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.shipman.3/videos/1093246704049523/?pnref=story
Friday, 3 January 2014
What is a biker
"riding a push bike doesn't make you a biker"
The above is a very valid quote from a young lad I know on Facebook who is himself into bikes it was his response to a profile picture I posted of myself with the UBAKA patch which was provided by a good friend and UBAKA member.He is 100% right in that riding a bicycle doesn't make you a biker, however due to health issues an electric bicycle is what I choose to ride these days.
This does not mean that I am not still a biker, for many years I rode motorcycles, I spent more time skidding down the tarmac on my rear than I did with it on the seats of the bikes I've owned and came to the conclusion it was safer for all if I didn't ride any more.
In the past Twenty years I have been an active member and affiliate member of many Motorcycle clubs, Out of Touch Mcc, NHMA (national association for bikers with disabilities), Captives national (affiliated member), Bedford MAG (motorcycle action group) and more recently I am getting involved with UBAKA (Urban Bikers Against Kid Abuse) a very worthy cause.
I have also been to many bike rallies over the years, endured the embarrassment of being a rally virgin, contributed in the embarrassment of other rally virgins, partied till the sun came up.
Yet to me none of these things are what truly make a person a biker, by all means they all contribute to it but the one thing that always stood out to me about the people I came into contact with all over the country on my travels was FAMILY, being a biker is about brother and sisterhood, Comradery and respect.
I know many bikers, like myself, that no longer ride, whether this be for financial reasons, health or other valid reasons this doesn't make them any less a biker than the woman speeding past on a Kawazaki Ninja or the ageing harley rider you see cruising along or even the young lad on his 125cc learner bike.
Being a biker is a way of life, for quite a few years i was out of the biking scene I tried to be something I wasn't but getting back in touch with my first ever club ( Out Of Touch Mcc) and a lot of my old club friends, made me remember what it was all about, once a biker, always a biker there is no escaping it if it is in your blood.
I could go on all day about all the fantastic people I have met and the lessons they taught me, the experiences I would never have known about let alone felt if I had not come into contact with bikers in the first place but this post is more about what being a biker means to me.
Yes I may not ride a motorcycle any more, but I am still a biker through and through.
Love Honour and Respect
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Pay to play on the streets?
For many years I traveled around the UK to various cities and towns, the way I survived was to use my talent as a guitarist to earn money to feed myself just as many other buskers have and still do, in later years the money I made went toward music and recording equipment and at one time I had a nice collection of old guitars and a fairly decent home studio all paid for by playing my acoustic guitar on the streets.
The money wasn't bad I have to admit on a good day I could make upto £40 on an average day £5-£10 but it wasn't the money that I did it for (except in the early days) I began to find myself gaining something much more satisfactory, a small sense of worth, seeing a smile on someones face or a small child dancing away as I played was much more of a payment then any cash that was thrown into my guitar case.
I never once asked for money, I did have a sign which stated what the money would be spent on and as such people were not under any obligation to give me anything, these days, with home recording being so inexpensive many buskers have taken to selling their own CD's while playing as an extra way to make a living from their music.
I discovered a young man by the name of Johnny Walker on Facebook, as a local-ish lad and a very talented and well known busker around Yorkshire I added him as a friend, I was soon astonished by the abusive way in which he had been treated whilst busking in a few cities by Council officials and police, If a license was required Johnny had paid for it and as such was legally allowed to busk, however as he had CD's available the Council officials were wanting to charge £40 for him to sell his music.
To get around this Johnny labelled his CD's in the box as available free or for people to make a donation of £7.99 if they so wished, this didn't seem to go down well with the big wigs at the Council and as such they revoked Johnny's license for busking in York.
This is yet another blatant attempt of someone wanting a piece of somebody elses pie that they had no input in baking, why should a musician pay an extra fee to sell his/her music while they play?, surely the fact that the public are getting FREE entertainment, often from very professional musicians, should be enough, most buskers don't make a lot of money from it, many do it as a means to survival, others do it purely for the love of performing.
With many live music venues closing down or charging bands to play the streets were the one place, the one haven away from the wolves who pray on musicians until now, and those wolves are no longer the dodgy manager or agent or venue owner, they now wear the guise of a Council official or Police officer.
Below is a video of Johnny Walker giving a speech today in York after having his busking license suspended.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOPSd-x4-A&feature=youtu.be
And here is a link to his website where you can support the cause.
http://streetslive.org/
Also you can find Johnny on Facebook or at his personal website:
http://www.jonnywalker.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/JonnySongs
The money wasn't bad I have to admit on a good day I could make upto £40 on an average day £5-£10 but it wasn't the money that I did it for (except in the early days) I began to find myself gaining something much more satisfactory, a small sense of worth, seeing a smile on someones face or a small child dancing away as I played was much more of a payment then any cash that was thrown into my guitar case.
I never once asked for money, I did have a sign which stated what the money would be spent on and as such people were not under any obligation to give me anything, these days, with home recording being so inexpensive many buskers have taken to selling their own CD's while playing as an extra way to make a living from their music.
I discovered a young man by the name of Johnny Walker on Facebook, as a local-ish lad and a very talented and well known busker around Yorkshire I added him as a friend, I was soon astonished by the abusive way in which he had been treated whilst busking in a few cities by Council officials and police, If a license was required Johnny had paid for it and as such was legally allowed to busk, however as he had CD's available the Council officials were wanting to charge £40 for him to sell his music.
To get around this Johnny labelled his CD's in the box as available free or for people to make a donation of £7.99 if they so wished, this didn't seem to go down well with the big wigs at the Council and as such they revoked Johnny's license for busking in York.
This is yet another blatant attempt of someone wanting a piece of somebody elses pie that they had no input in baking, why should a musician pay an extra fee to sell his/her music while they play?, surely the fact that the public are getting FREE entertainment, often from very professional musicians, should be enough, most buskers don't make a lot of money from it, many do it as a means to survival, others do it purely for the love of performing.
With many live music venues closing down or charging bands to play the streets were the one place, the one haven away from the wolves who pray on musicians until now, and those wolves are no longer the dodgy manager or agent or venue owner, they now wear the guise of a Council official or Police officer.
Below is a video of Johnny Walker giving a speech today in York after having his busking license suspended.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOPSd-x4-A&feature=youtu.be
And here is a link to his website where you can support the cause.
http://streetslive.org/
Also you can find Johnny on Facebook or at his personal website:
http://www.jonnywalker.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/JonnySongs
Sunday, 16 December 2012
blame guns? mental health? why not just blame the killer!
Following the recent tragic shooting at a school in Connecticut I've noticed a lot of posts on facebook from people with strong opinions on revoking the right to carry arms in the USA.
This tragedy has hit us all hard, none more so than the relatives of those innocent children and heroic teachers who gave their lives protecting the students they taught.
My thoughts are with them all at this difficult time and I am disgusted by some of the comments I have seen written on facebook regarding the events, one person even wrote a very nasty reply to someone's post blaming the shooters Autism as the reason for him committing this atrocious crime stating " These monsters need to be locked up.......all of them"
Yes it was a factor that the young man in question was mentally challenged, however I know many people who have been diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, yes some of them may be violent or aggressive but so can any "normal" person having a mental illness does not make a person a threat to society and neither does owning a gun.
It is also a factor that the Shooters mother owned weapons, it could be argued that if she hadn't owned the weapons this would never have happened, if gun laws weren't so lapse in the USA this wouldn't have happened, if all guns were destroyed and gun shops closed down this wouldn't have happened.
We can look far and wide and dig deep looking for answers and reasoning but when all is said and done it is the gun owners responsibility to keep their arms in a secure locked rifle cabinet or box and out of access to others in the household, prevention doesn't come from banning firearms, they will always be available on the black market, prevention comes from teaching our children the difference between right and wrong, respect for a firearm and perhaps stricter licensing in the USA.
Now as a Brit I know that any change in gun laws in the USA isn't of a concern to us as gun crime over here is minimal, this isn't because guns are not available, after all if you wanted to buy a firearm without a license it is simply a matter of finding the right people.
There are many LEGAL firearms owners in the UK and I know personally quite a few and have even spent some time at a shooting range with a small group of friends who have section 1 firearms certificates, and I thoroughly enjoyed the days activity shooting a couple of different calibre rifles at targets, my friend even brought along his 13 year old daughter to have a go for the first time and she too enjoyed herself.
I enjoyed it so much that I am even considering getting a license myself and a couple of rifles, one big difference between the UK and the USA is Automatic weapons are not allowed, to those who are not quite sure of the difference an Automatic weapon will shoot constant bursts (basically a machine gun in laymans terms) and hand guns have to be a certain barrel length (24 inches minimum I think is the correct length) so that the handgun can not be concealed.
many of these massacres and shootings that take place in America were done using Automatic weapons or Handguns (there will be exceptions) so perhaps the answer lies in limiting guns, Automatic rifles have no place in protection of the home, they have no place on a range or in hunting they are made for one purpose, Military.
Unfortunately as I mentioned before guns will always be available and the only prevention is knowledge and teaching the correct use of a gun for sport or hunting, if the person applying for a firearm has mental health medical problems obviously putting a gun in their hands would not be a great idea as they don't think like you or me in a logical sense, and as such are not able to understand the consequences of using a weapon, if you have someone with a mental health issue living on your premises, by all means don't keep any guns in the premises, keep them at a gun club or a secure lock up away from vulnerable people.
I am in no way defending the shooter for his actions but to put the blame on a gun or mental health is wrong no one knew this lad would do this, there are as many people murdered using household instruments (hammers, screwdrivers, kitchen knives) throughout the world should we ban and blame these when such a thing happens? tragedies happen there is no one to blame other than the thoughts and actions of one man (boy) no one will ever know his reasoning behind it all we can do is grieve for those who's lives he took and hope people learn from it so it doesn't happen again.
This tragedy has hit us all hard, none more so than the relatives of those innocent children and heroic teachers who gave their lives protecting the students they taught.
My thoughts are with them all at this difficult time and I am disgusted by some of the comments I have seen written on facebook regarding the events, one person even wrote a very nasty reply to someone's post blaming the shooters Autism as the reason for him committing this atrocious crime stating " These monsters need to be locked up.......all of them"
Yes it was a factor that the young man in question was mentally challenged, however I know many people who have been diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, yes some of them may be violent or aggressive but so can any "normal" person having a mental illness does not make a person a threat to society and neither does owning a gun.
It is also a factor that the Shooters mother owned weapons, it could be argued that if she hadn't owned the weapons this would never have happened, if gun laws weren't so lapse in the USA this wouldn't have happened, if all guns were destroyed and gun shops closed down this wouldn't have happened.
We can look far and wide and dig deep looking for answers and reasoning but when all is said and done it is the gun owners responsibility to keep their arms in a secure locked rifle cabinet or box and out of access to others in the household, prevention doesn't come from banning firearms, they will always be available on the black market, prevention comes from teaching our children the difference between right and wrong, respect for a firearm and perhaps stricter licensing in the USA.
Now as a Brit I know that any change in gun laws in the USA isn't of a concern to us as gun crime over here is minimal, this isn't because guns are not available, after all if you wanted to buy a firearm without a license it is simply a matter of finding the right people.
There are many LEGAL firearms owners in the UK and I know personally quite a few and have even spent some time at a shooting range with a small group of friends who have section 1 firearms certificates, and I thoroughly enjoyed the days activity shooting a couple of different calibre rifles at targets, my friend even brought along his 13 year old daughter to have a go for the first time and she too enjoyed herself.
I enjoyed it so much that I am even considering getting a license myself and a couple of rifles, one big difference between the UK and the USA is Automatic weapons are not allowed, to those who are not quite sure of the difference an Automatic weapon will shoot constant bursts (basically a machine gun in laymans terms) and hand guns have to be a certain barrel length (24 inches minimum I think is the correct length) so that the handgun can not be concealed.
many of these massacres and shootings that take place in America were done using Automatic weapons or Handguns (there will be exceptions) so perhaps the answer lies in limiting guns, Automatic rifles have no place in protection of the home, they have no place on a range or in hunting they are made for one purpose, Military.
Unfortunately as I mentioned before guns will always be available and the only prevention is knowledge and teaching the correct use of a gun for sport or hunting, if the person applying for a firearm has mental health medical problems obviously putting a gun in their hands would not be a great idea as they don't think like you or me in a logical sense, and as such are not able to understand the consequences of using a weapon, if you have someone with a mental health issue living on your premises, by all means don't keep any guns in the premises, keep them at a gun club or a secure lock up away from vulnerable people.
I am in no way defending the shooter for his actions but to put the blame on a gun or mental health is wrong no one knew this lad would do this, there are as many people murdered using household instruments (hammers, screwdrivers, kitchen knives) throughout the world should we ban and blame these when such a thing happens? tragedies happen there is no one to blame other than the thoughts and actions of one man (boy) no one will ever know his reasoning behind it all we can do is grieve for those who's lives he took and hope people learn from it so it doesn't happen again.
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Working with Bands & Musician's
It has been quite a while since I updated here and also quite a while since I did any photography, times are hard in the financial climate we live in and business is slow unless you are willing to work for free, which of course none of us really want to do.
This brings me to the reason for this Blog entry, I saw a post on Facebook by a very talented photographer stating that a band were using his images without giving credit, now this is something I too have personally been a victim of, and yes Victim is the correct terminology for this situation.
The said tog had agreed to supply the images he took of the band for free under the condition that his logo was displayed on the images used, and/or credit be given to him in the form of a note posted with the image on whatever site it was being used on.
This is a simple request by the tog and one I also use to protect my copyright ownership of the images I take, yes that is right, if I take a photograph of a band I own the copyright to the images unless previously stated in a written or verbal contract.
Is it too much to ask for bands to respect the photographers work and leave the copyright watermark on the image or at the least state who took the photograph, especially if the tog did so for free, which brings me to my second point.
For the first year I was taking band photo's I did a lot of shoots for free under the impression this would get my name and my work known on the local music scene, although this was true and I am quite respected among the local music community it was also my biggest mistake when starting stageside photography.
Because I had done so many shoots for free this was now expected as the "norm" from promoters and bands alike, once you start charging work begins to dwindle, over the last two years I have had only a handful of shoots with bands who were willing to pay for my services and to these I say thank you and I thoroughly enjoyed working with you.
Now however it seems the end for Stageside is nigh, I see many posts from musicians and bands complaining about "pay to play" venues or stating what they provide and that they should be paid for providing their music and performance, and while I agree whole heartedly it makes me wonder if there is some double standards going on here, musicians rightly expect to be paid, yet they seem to want photographers to work for free? what makes their service any different to ours? or less valuable?.
After all, who's images do the bands use for press packs and promotion, t-shirts, posters and even album and EP covers? without promotion bands don't get anywhere and so your music is left being played to a handful of people, take a moment to think what a photographer is giving you when they do a photo shoot..
Firstly their time, like yours, is precious the hour or two they spend photographing you could be spent on promoting their own work or on a paid job.
The equipment a photographer uses is rarely cheap, we have to pay for this ourselves this often includes, the camera's (one as a back up), lenses, flash units, tripods, secure bag for carrying the equipment, among many other gadgets and filters etc none of which is paid for by the client.
Insurance is another out going for the photographer, we have to have insurance to cover theft, damage to equipment as well as public liability insurance to cover any accidents which may occur during a shoot (rare but things do happen) this is more money out of our pockets.
Transport, fuel costs to and from gigs or locations again comes out of our pockets long before we are paid for a shoot.
And of course there are other outgoings such as food and drink (we are human and need this) while on shoots, props, models all cost money (the latter can be used for free but for a professional look a paid model is preferable) .
We also have household bills and living expenses to cover, after all for most of us photography is our job, our lifeline to surviving.
So now you have an idea of what outgoings we as photographers have before we even get to a photo shoot, perhaps you will stop complaining about not getting paid for a gig and start putting your hands in your own pockets and paying photographers for their work if you have a right to be paid so do we.
This brings me to the reason for this Blog entry, I saw a post on Facebook by a very talented photographer stating that a band were using his images without giving credit, now this is something I too have personally been a victim of, and yes Victim is the correct terminology for this situation.
The said tog had agreed to supply the images he took of the band for free under the condition that his logo was displayed on the images used, and/or credit be given to him in the form of a note posted with the image on whatever site it was being used on.
This is a simple request by the tog and one I also use to protect my copyright ownership of the images I take, yes that is right, if I take a photograph of a band I own the copyright to the images unless previously stated in a written or verbal contract.
Is it too much to ask for bands to respect the photographers work and leave the copyright watermark on the image or at the least state who took the photograph, especially if the tog did so for free, which brings me to my second point.
For the first year I was taking band photo's I did a lot of shoots for free under the impression this would get my name and my work known on the local music scene, although this was true and I am quite respected among the local music community it was also my biggest mistake when starting stageside photography.
Because I had done so many shoots for free this was now expected as the "norm" from promoters and bands alike, once you start charging work begins to dwindle, over the last two years I have had only a handful of shoots with bands who were willing to pay for my services and to these I say thank you and I thoroughly enjoyed working with you.
Now however it seems the end for Stageside is nigh, I see many posts from musicians and bands complaining about "pay to play" venues or stating what they provide and that they should be paid for providing their music and performance, and while I agree whole heartedly it makes me wonder if there is some double standards going on here, musicians rightly expect to be paid, yet they seem to want photographers to work for free? what makes their service any different to ours? or less valuable?.
After all, who's images do the bands use for press packs and promotion, t-shirts, posters and even album and EP covers? without promotion bands don't get anywhere and so your music is left being played to a handful of people, take a moment to think what a photographer is giving you when they do a photo shoot..
Firstly their time, like yours, is precious the hour or two they spend photographing you could be spent on promoting their own work or on a paid job.
The equipment a photographer uses is rarely cheap, we have to pay for this ourselves this often includes, the camera's (one as a back up), lenses, flash units, tripods, secure bag for carrying the equipment, among many other gadgets and filters etc none of which is paid for by the client.
Insurance is another out going for the photographer, we have to have insurance to cover theft, damage to equipment as well as public liability insurance to cover any accidents which may occur during a shoot (rare but things do happen) this is more money out of our pockets.
Transport, fuel costs to and from gigs or locations again comes out of our pockets long before we are paid for a shoot.
And of course there are other outgoings such as food and drink (we are human and need this) while on shoots, props, models all cost money (the latter can be used for free but for a professional look a paid model is preferable) .
We also have household bills and living expenses to cover, after all for most of us photography is our job, our lifeline to surviving.
So now you have an idea of what outgoings we as photographers have before we even get to a photo shoot, perhaps you will stop complaining about not getting paid for a gig and start putting your hands in your own pockets and paying photographers for their work if you have a right to be paid so do we.
Saturday, 29 September 2012
New photo shoot concept.
it's been ages since I did anything photography wise, I've got some horror shoot concepts I'd like to have a go at but need some other creative minds to give their input and maybe provide help with make up and costumes. anyone fancy a little project? if you think you can help make these concepts a reality email me at stageside@live.co.uk
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