Dan Smyth

What a lot of catching up I have to do! As it's been since September since I last blogged I'm going to have to break up this goliath of a blog post into a few smaller, more manageable pieces.

I've just come back from an amazing trip to Thailand and Hong Kong so stay tuned for pictures from that.

Cast your mind back to September, California's Best Coast were in town for a super intimate show at the Borderline. The gig was excellent with Beth & co on fine form, shame the Borderline is a bit hit and miss when it comes to photography.

 

 

 

Dan Deacon’s shows are like no other. Forget traditional notions of a band being onstage with the audience in front, Dan takes his array of synths, toys and lights right into the crowd – fully immersing himself and cutting off the safety of the stage. Within moments the whole room is sat on the floor (under Dan’s instruction) before jumping up and turning the venue into a moshpit. One of my shots from this actually made it into the Independent which was really nice to see.

 

 

 

French music streaming service Deezer turned one last year and, like any one year old, celebrated by throwing a party at the exclusive Hospital Club in London’s Soho. The show was limited to just a few lucky winners, music press and industry types but was being live streamed on the internet for all to watch from the comfort of their own homes. The evening’s entertainment came from the lovely Staves (first time I’d seen them live), Slow Club, and a very stripped back set from Villagers.

 

 

Over the last couple of years I’ve built a relationship with a great little theatrical production company who’ve invited me to shoot their rehearsals. Their most recent production ‘The Ones Who Kill Shooting Stars’ was brilliant and I popped down one afternoon to grab some stills for them as they were doing their final dress rehearsal.

 

 

Something I’ve been wanting to blog for a while is the wedding I shot back last summer in the South of France. I’m just going to post one for now but it was an amazing experience.

 

 

 

I’d been tipped off by a friend about Norwegian singer/songwriter Bernhoft who was playing the beautiful Union Chapel so I went along with my camera. It was such a lovely, minimalistic show, just him, his guitar and some loop pedals...

 

 

Stay tuned for part 2 as still to come I've got photos of bands including Twin Shadow, Purity Ring, Haim and Disclosure as well as portraits of McFly's Harry Judd and photos from my Asian adventure!

 

Crikey. Time to dust off these cobwebs!

 

Lots of catching up to do - Since we last spoke I've been pretty busy: gigs, festivals, theatre shoots, some sport and even a wedding!

 

All the way back in May I shot folk-pop chart topper Michael Kiwanuka in Shepherds Bush. I wouldn't normally listen to his music but the show was really enjoyable. Unfortunately his chart success had led the (already small) pit to be packed to the brim, meaning little manoeuvrability. Here's a pic of him in action - click through for the full set. 

 

 

Next on the list was up and coming rapper Mac Miller at the Forum in Kentish Town. I'd shot his fellow Pittsburghian(?)  Wiz Khalifa last year and had a blast so was really looking forward to seeing if the hype was justified for Mac. He really put on a show and the crowd went nuts for him. Click the image below for the set from the night.

 

 

Finishing off the month I did a dress rehearsal shoot with a theatrical group that I'd worked with before. I always love doing something a bit different and both myself and the client were really pleased with the results. You can check out the pics over on their website.

 

Hot Chip played Heaven in London in mid-June and I was really excited to hear the new material live. I've been a fan of the band for a long time now and always try to catch them when they're on tour. As always, click the photo below for the rest of the set from the gig.

 

 

In June I stepped right out of my comfort zone - I shot my first wedding. Having been approached by the bride at the start of the year, I'd booked myself onto photographer Steve Gerrard's wedding photography course up in Birmingham to get a few pointers (you can read more in my February post). For the wedding itself I was whisked off to sunny Nimes in the south of France where I would be based, before shooting the wedding itself on the most beautiful vineyard the following day. I had an amazing time and was really pleased with the results. Watch this space for a proper blog on the big day itself and my experiences shooting my first wedding.

 

Now we're into July and shooting my first festival of the season - Latitude! I'd shot the festival back in 2010 solely on a 30mm lens (long story) so was eager to get back and give it a proper go when I was better equipped. I love shooting Latitude. It's such a brilliant festival - just the right size and the music is always my cup of tea. I was there shooting for an agency which is it's own fun and generally means doing everything a little more briskly than you would normally (I'm pretty sure I shot more bands than any other photographer that weekend). We had a bit of rain but I didn't let it dampen my spirit - even when I woke up to find my gear and laptop somewhat dewy the next morning! Below is a pic of Anthony Gonzalez from  M83 who played the Word arena on the Sunday - click it to see more of my favourite shots from the weekend.

 

 

Living in quiet Surrey has it's benefits. In this Olympic year Dorking has made a bit of a name for itself: firstly popping up in the Apprentice as the candidates visited Denbies vineyard but then again as the host of part of the London 2012 Olympic Cycle Road Race.  The centrepiece of the circuit was a loop of nearby Box Hill, including the infamous zig-zag. Given that I don't get the chance to do anywhere near as much sports photography as I'd like I couldn't pass up this opportunity. I'd planned to catch them on a corner at the foot of the hill so as to get them at their slowest and ensure the sharpest shot. I was fortunate enough to have a certain Mr Bradley Wiggins stick on the outside of the road and come nice and close to where I'd positioned myself. Below is a shot of Bradley and co as they prepared to take on Box Hill.

 

 

At the start of August I got to shoot part of Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre, this year curated by Antony Hegarty of Mercury Prize winning Antony and Johnsons. Hercules and Love Affair headlined this particular night and it was rumoured that Antony would be joining them onstage to perform ' Blind', a track voted Pitchfork's number one song of 2008, and that'd never before been performed live by the two acts together. They didn't disappoint. Check out my set from the night below. 

 

 

I've just come back from Reading Festival where I was shooting for The 405. It was pretty surreal shooting a festival that I'd spent my teen years attending and at the time never dreamed I'd be photographing in an official capacity. If you head over to The 405's website you can see a selection of my pics from the weekend. Keep an eye on my Twitter and Facebook pages for news of when my gallery is live on this site!

 

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I'm running pretty far behind on these. Apologies!

 

Just after posting my last blog I went along to the Africa Centre in Covent Garden to photograph a band called ∆ (Alt-J). Boy are they good. The venue was tiny and the lighting was terrible so it was a flash affair but when you've got music like that it's all good. As always, below is a pic from the show and if you click through you can view the whole set from the night (including support, The Physics House Band, who were also excellent)

 

 

 

Next up was Record Store Day! One of my favouite days of the year, and even more so now I have my own record player. I popped down to Southsea (where I used to live) to visit the newly-opened Pie & Vinyl  - Southsea's only record store and pie cafe. I loved it. Such a brilliant little shop and just what Southsea has needed for so long. If you're in town make sure you pop by. The owners are great guys and they've got loads of awesome records as well as tasty pies!

 

 

  

 

One of my favourite new bands, Clock Opera, played their first ever instore a few weeks back so I went along to Rough Trade East to take some pictures of the guys in action. Please do listen to their recently released debut album, Ways to Forget, if you get a chance. 

 

 

 

 

Last week saw me shooting the return of New Zealander Pip Brown aka Ladyhawke in Shepherds Bush. I really liked a large part of her debut album so was keen to see what she'd come back with! She didn't dissapoint and put on a great show. Full set below...

 

 

 

 

Last night I was at one of The xx's comeback shows in Battersea. This was the third show in one week for the band, giving the new material its first public airing. I put down the camera and enjoyed a show of great music from one of my favourite acts. All the new songs sound amazing and could well set them on course for album of the year. You can hear recordings of the new tracks all over YouTube at the moment if you're interested. Once a photographer, always a photographer though - I managed to snap away a couple of decent(ish) shots on my phone - be sure to follow me on Instagram (dansmythphoto) to see more of my adventures when I'm caught without my D700.

 

 

 

 

IN OTHER NEWS: 

 

- I've finally got round to uploading the gallery of pics from my recent trip to Munich. If you get a chance, please do check the photos out here.

 

- Next month I'm shooting my first wedding! Exciting times! Hopefully it'll mean that next year I'll be able to offer my wedding services out to everyone - watch this space.

 

- For those of you that don't know, I also run a 'music blog' or sorts where I post lots of great new music I'm in to. If that sounds like your cup of tea, head over there and give some things a listen:  withayonehundred.tumblr.com

 

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Time for another update.

 

March has been relatively quiet photographically as my day job interning in digital communications at Teenage Cancer Trust has really picked up. At the end of the month we had our annual shows at the Royal Albert Hall where I was assisting with the social media and web. You can see the pictures and videos from the shows over here on their website -  www.teenagecancertrust.org

 

I've been able to get the camera out as part of the job and a few weeks ago was down on Oxford Street, outside HMV, for the 50/50 Challenge. People raised a minimum of £50 for Teenage Cancer Trust and in return get a professional buzz-cut in the window of HMV's flagship store. This was all to coincide with the release of the film 50/50 (starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen) on DVD.

 

Shooting through glass on a sunny day has its challenges but I'm really pleased with the results. The full set of my shots from the event are up on their website here.

The one gig I did shoot this month was YADi - a really talented singer with a great voice and awesome electro-pop tunes. She was playing Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, and once I'd found the venue I had a blast. I was able to shoot the entire set and was really impressed - she was even better than the time I'd seen her before, supporting CSS at Heaven last year. Make sure you check out her music here and the full set of photos from the evening here.

 

The reason behind this post being slightly later than normal is that I've just come back from Munich. I've been away in Germany for just under a week with a bunch of other photographers so expect a lot of shots both here and on my Facebook page over the coming weeks along with a seperate full blog post. It really is a lovely city and has much more to offer than just beer. Saying that, here's a picture of some beer. 

 

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Since we last spoke I've been busy snapping away at all manner of things. 

At the start of the month I was off to catch chart-topping Australian Gotye performing at his album launch show in the beautiful Wilton's Hall. Over the past month or so you haven't been able to turn on the radio without hearing 'Somebody That I Used To Know' so I was intrigued to firstly see what his live show was like but also just to hear more of what he has to offer. Turns out the rest of his stuff is really good too. Unfortunately though it wasn't the easiest shoot as there wasn't a pit and Gotye had surrounded himself in a fort of percussion and synthesisers. 

 

 

Next up was one of my favourite acts of recent years. Active Child is often over here in the UK (I'd caught him at both Truck and Latitude Festivals in the past) and yet not seemed to 'make it' as it were. Fortunately with his (awesome) debut album out he was back over here to perform at St. Giles-in-the-fields church in central London. Now, I'm used to dealing with dark venues but this really was something else. The only light we had other than the candles on the speakers were a couple of LED uplights. Not the easiest shoot ever but it was worth it to be able to catch the performance in such a special venue like that. Support on the night came from the rather brilliant Man Without Country so be sure to check them out too. Below is a shot from the gig - as usual click through to see the whole set from the show.

 

 

This next gig should technically be in next month's blog BUT as I'm running behind I figured it'd slot nicely into this one.

Sleigh Bells: one of my favourite and at the same time, least favourite bands to shoot. Having seen them before at the Great Escape in Brighton and at Heaven last year I was well aware of what I was getting myself into and yet I couldn't say no. They were playing at the Electric Ballroom in Camden this time and I was all excited to witness their show. Unfortunately it appeared that no one informed the lighting guy. Sleigh Bells are normally pretty heavily backlit but this was taking it to new levels. We didn't get ANY front light until half-way through the third song and even then it was only on for a split second. Here's a shot from that split second.

 

 

In other, non-music related news, a few weeks ago I ventured up to Birmingham to go on one of Steve Gerrard's (not the footballer) wedding photography courses. I've been wanting to explore this area of photography for a while now and I'm shooting my first wedding this summer so I figured it'd be the perfect time to learn. Having left the house at goodness knows how early to drive up 'north' I finally found Steve's studio at the Custard Factory. After going through his work and learning about his style we ventured into the business side of things: finding clients, pricing, etc. We then went for a stroll out into the streets around the studio to do a shoot with a couple Steve had got along to model for us. Despite not actually walking that far we found several really interesting places to shoot. Once we got back Steve then went through and did a live edit of the shots he'd just taken with the models so we could see his workflow and how he processes his images before showing them to the client. 

 

I had a great time and learnt a lot so it was definitely worth doing. I'd certainly recommend the course to anyone looking to venture into the field or build upon what they already know of photographing weddings.

 

Below is one of my favourite shots from the day and you've guessed it, if you click through you can see a set from the day. As it's my first proper wedding-style shoot it'd be great to hear your feedback - feel free to leave a comment on this blog post or message me on Twitter @dansmythphoto. Thanks!

 

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How is it already February? Time flies.

I haven't blogged properly in 2012 so here goes a little something about what I've been up to and shooting over the past month.

 

January started and I wasn't shooting gigs at all. I was shooting dead whales on beaches. That's not something I ever thought I'd be writing...

I spent the period between Christmas and New Year up in Norfolk and on boxing day at Sperm whale washed up onto a nearby beach. I went down with my tripod as soon as I heard and was able to pick out some detail of the damage vandals had done to the body using the light from a mobile phone. It was really sad seeing it like this but at the same time I was also really pleased to have been able to document it this way.

 

 

 

My first show of 2012 was One Direction in Hammersmith. Start as you mean to go on hey. It was actually a really interesting show to shoot as there was no pit so we were shooting from the aisles. That's all well and good but as soon as the boys came onstage all the audience leapt out of their seats and charged up the aisles, surrounding us. One group of girls had made dolls of the boys with their BBM numbers written on, awhh. Pop shows are always good to shoot though as the lighting is generally pretty favourable. Below is a shot from the show, click it to go through to the full set.

 

 

 

While I was cleaning my room I discovered 3 rolls of unprocessed 35mm film. I'd no idea when they were from or what camera I'd used them with so decided to get them developed to see what was on them. Turns out they were from my trip to Venice last year and then Glastonbury! Some of the shots actually came out quite nicely, here's my favourite - the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury:

 

 

 

On to gig two of 2012 - Childish Gambino. So, for the past year I've been really into an American sitcom called Community. One of the actors, Donald Glover, is also a rapper! Who knew! What's more is that his rap alter-ego is actually really good. He'd been playing various shows in the US but was yet to venture into Europe. He was performing in the aptly named CAMP (his album is also called Camp) in East London, which is a tiny, dark basement room with 2 or 3 lights, that's it. I'm not normally a fan of using flash at concerts but the ceiling was nice and low so I could get a good bounce from it. Here's one from the gig, it's a different style for me but I hope you still like them - click through to see the whole set.

 

 

 

Over the weekend I was reading the paper, as you do, and while reading the Culture section of The Sunday Times I spotted a picture of mine! There was an article about electronic artist and producer SBTRKT, and above they'd used my photo of him DJ'ing at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton a few years back. What a nice surprise! Below is the tearsheet - if you've got a Times online subscription I'm sure they've still got the article online for you to read.

 

 

 

Just enough time to squeeze one more gig into what is normally a pretty slow month! A new venue has recently opened up near me in Surrey, it's called the G Live and being only 25 minutes away it's pretty handy. Last night Kaiser Chiefs played there and put on a great show. What you forget though are how short their songs are - 3 songs were over before I knew it. The venue itself is nice though, if a little too clean, and the staff were good for a laugh even if the security wouldn't let us stay in the venue for the support after we'd done our three. Hopefully I'll be back shooting again there soon. I had a quick edit through the shots last night, so here's one for you. There's another on my Facebook page so be sure to check it out, and if you feel so inclined - like the page too - facebook.com/dansmythphoto

 

 

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So we're now a whole week into 2012, I guess that's as good a time as any to look back over the past year.

 

It's safe to say I had a pretty good one. I photographed everyone from Sleigh Bells to Tinie Tempah to Kylie Minogue! Not only that but I've had more photos published, both nationally and internationally, and done shoots for the likes of Aviva and NextRadio. I was also accepted into a collective of up-and-coming music photographers alongside people whose work I've admired for many a year.

 

Below is a selection of my favourite music photos that I'd taken in 2011 - hope you enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed taking them.

Each image links through to the gallery from the gig

 

 

 

I've also been lucky enough to do some globe-trotting this year and have visited both Venice and the Bahamas. If you could do with pretending you're somewhere warm and far away click the images below!

 

 

Here's to a great 2012! 

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Those of you that follow me on Twitter ( @dansmythphoto) will have heard the fun I had shooting Friendly Fires' second night at the O2 Brixton Academy. On arrival I was greeted by a drum group fronted by a trio of dancers straight out of a carnival! Next came the real fun though. The first support act were Chad Valley (aka Jonquil frontman, Hugo Manuel's side-project), as I walked over to the pit to get myself ready I was told by the security that I wouldn't be allowed to shoot either support. This being the first I'd heard of the rule I questioned him as to the reasoning. His answer was the most ridiculous response I could ever have drempt of: "They're only DJs, who's gonna want pictures of 'em".  The basis for not allowing me into the pit was solely on HIS OPINION that no-one would want pictures, not any rules given to him by the management or PRs. Suffice to say I wasn't having any of it and informed him that I would be shooting both Chad Valley and SBTRKT and that neither of them were in fact DJ'ing as he had implied (even if they had been I'd still have wanted to take pictures).

 

Chad Valley were great, not brilliant to shoot though as it was just Orlando with a mic, a laptop and some buttons. SBTRKT though were another thing entirely. Having seen them twice before (once in his DJ guise) I had an idea of what to expect, but was still absolutely blown away. Their live show has improved so much since I saw them last at Glastonbury.

 

After shooting SBTRKT I was ushered back to the hallway at the side of the stage where I bumped into Friendly Fires' drummer Jack Savidge. Had a brief chat about how they'd moved around elements of the show so us photographers could see them! what a thoughtful chap.

 

Friendly Fires came onto the stage and just blew me away. I haven't had such a smile on my face in the pit for a while. After hearing that the lights the night before had been iffy I hadn't got my hopes up but they'd certainly got their act together and put on the most amazing show.  The dancers came back on, Ed was pulling out all the moves, they had a brass section - it was all just perfect. To top it all off I was actually really pleased with the photos so that's always nice!

 

Click the image below to view the full set from the night.

 

 

 

 

This week I was back in the pit for what may well be my last concert of 2011. I was shooting CSS (or Cansei de Ser Sexy) at London's Heaven - knowing the venue fairly well it was never going to be a massively bright gig but when you add in the movement of lead singer Lovefoxx it becomes somewhat challenging. Fortunately I managed to grab a few shots, including the below just as they briefly flicked the lights on. I'll hopefully get the full set from the gig up onto the site tomorrow evening.

 

 

 

 

In non-concert related news, the weekend before last I was leading a team of 4 photographers around central London. It was part of this year's University 'Photohunt' in London - Students from Universities up and down the country converge on London and shoot a selection of themes and locations based on a list that is given to their team at the start of the day. I've got no idea if my team won or not yet but it's always great to be involved and a lot of fun meeting the aspiring photographers that take part.

 

Be sure to 'Like' me on Facebook too - I've just reached 120 fans! Would be nice to get that up to 150 for 2012! Spread the word! 

 

Time to start thinking about an end-of-year review I guess! Crazy how fast this year has flown by.

Bit of a backlog of gigs to tell you guys about! It's been nice to finally get back into the swing of the London gig scene and with 3 gigs done in the past 3 weeks we're off to a good start. The rest of November and December promise to be great too with the array of the artists that I'll be potentially photographing.

 

Wu Lyf were playing at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, which I've always liked as a venue - now more than ever as it's the right side of London for me! Unfortunately though that night I was over the other end of town grabbing dinner with some friends after work and as always, that was the night the tube decided to be annoying. The line I wanted was suspended and the others had severe delays. This all meant I missed the support, Young Montana, but from what understand he wasn't all that to shoot anyway. It was just a shame as the songs of his that I've heard I've been really impressed with. 

 

There's been a lot of hype and mystique surrounding Wu Lyf so a show as big as this was a pretty big deal for them. They sounded great from what could hear and you could tell the fans were really loving it. I also finally got to meet Jason, aka Ace Jace, which was great as I've been really into his work for a while now but recently more than ever. The gig itself was a little dark but I managed to catch the moment when everything came on at once which was lovely - Click the picture below to go through to the full set from the night.

 

 

 

Then came the fireworks! (Not at the gig) 

I popped down to the coast to see my Uni friends and current members of the University of Portsmouth's photographic society to shoot the annual Gunwharf Quays fireworks. I managed to dash down from work and made it with roughly 10 minutes to spare before the first ones went off! It was raining and the sky was cloudy so I wasn't expecting amazing photos but it was good fun all the same after not seeing ANY fireworks last year. As before, click the image below to go through to the full set from the evening.

 

 

Time for some rap. Tinie Tempah and Wiz Khalifa within days of each other. 

 

Both very different shows with very different photographic challenges. Tinie was performing at the O2 Arena so the light was always going to be fairly decent, the fun came with his movement around the stage, video cameras in the pit, and layer of smoke filling the bottom of the stage. Fortunately he put on a great show and pulled a couple of poses out for us. For Wiz, the challenge was the time - we were only given two songs within which to shoot. I'm really happy with the results from both gigs though so you may see me shooting more rappers in the future. Photos link to the full sets.

 

 

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Been a while since my last post!

 

I've got some gallery updates for you lucky people. Firstly, in my last post back in September I promised more photos from Southsea Fest - well, I delivered on that promise a while ago but forgot to blog about it. Anyway, please click the below image of one of my favourite bands of the day, Stagecoach, getting right into the audience.

 

 

Last week I was back in London to kick off the Winter gig season. I'd missed Death From Above 1979 the first time around so when they announced they were reforming for a tour I was pretty excited to say the least. Apart from being amazing live I also bumped into a lot of friendly faces in the pit, which is always fun. I also finally met photographer Tim Boddy in real life. He's very nice as are his pictures from the gig so be sure to check them out. 

 

 

That's not all for Dan Smyth though. Last weekend I was busy taking portraits of unsuspecting people as part of Aviva's You are the big picture campaign, where they project people's faces onto the side of the National Theatre in London. Every picture I took they donated £2 to Save the Children wich was pretty cool. I was shooting with a bunch of really nice guys too which always helps. You can find out more information about the project here:  http://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-brand/you-are-the-big-picture/

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