Today many websites are joining in protest of the US Governments SOPA/PIPA bill by blacking out their content and providing links to information about the proposed bills. Among the protestors is Wikipedia which has blacked out its English language pages for the first time ever.  Flickr has also given its members a chance to join in the protest by blacking out their photos for 24hrs as you can see above.

It’s hard for me as a photographer, on one hand I’m in favour of better protection for my own IP, but the heavy handed methods and sneaky introduction of this bill worries me.  For now the bill would only affect users in the US directly, but by censoring and limiting every internet contributor in the US, we’ll all be affected.  It’s also not unforeseeable that, if passed, the US could pressure the Canadian, and in fact any other government to also enact similar laws.

I believe there should be better protection of IP on the internet, especially protection available to those who don’t have the money to bring legal action on their own, but not at the expense of unilateral government controlled censorship.  There’s plenty of ways to bring IP to the internet while minimizing your risk of piracy, Apple has proved it’s possible with iTunes.  Why should I go to the trouble of pirating music when it’s available to me at a click of a button, for a buck a track, anywhere there’s internet.  Companies like Apple and Netflicks have proven that, when offered a product at a reasonable price, people will pay rather than pirate.  The companies lobbying for this bill need to start working with the internet instead of trying to legislate it away.  Please take a second and read the Wiki article on how SOPA/PIPA will affect you, and join the protest in any way you can.

I’ve been shooting bands for almost a decade now, and while looking back over thousands of performance shots last week, I realized that all the bands I’ve photographed fall into two categories: “That show was amazing” and “Wow, I don’t even remember taking these pictures”. I know that’s a pretty obvious statement; of course I’m going to remember some bands and forget others. What wasn’t obvious at first, however, was that the more I thought about the bands I had forgotten shooting, the more I realized musical ability had very little to do with whether I remembered the show or not. I had shot some amazingly talented musicians but had completely forgotten their live show, while I could remember in detail some four song sets of the smallest and off-key garage bands. When it comes down to it, the common denominator is that some bands forget that when you put out a CD you’re a musician, but as soon as you go on stage, you’re a performer. If you want to be remembered, you have to put on a show, be larger than life. Occasionally when a band asks me to come shoot their show, they’ll ask if there’s anything special I’d like them to do; well, here it is: my guide to getting the best photos you can out of your performance.

All the other guidelines I came up with really are just subpoints of this first, all important rule. As a band you’re going to be remembered for two things: what you look like and what you sound like. Most of your fans may never see you play live; almost all of their exposure to what you look like is going to be through photos and music videos. If you really want to be remembered your goal should be that every time someone sees a picture of your band they hear one of your songs in their heads, and every time they hear one of your songs, they get a mental picture of you playing it. To do this, you can’t just sound memorable; you have to look memorable as well. I’m not saying you have to be good looking, just interesting. There are tons of butt ugly but memorable faces in music.

If you took the stage clothes of Elvis, The Beatles, David Bowie and Liberace and put them on a mannequins, most people could play “name that band” successfully. This doesn’t happen by accident. These performers didn’t wake up in the morning, throw on jeans and a tank top, go to work at Starbucks then head over to their gig later on that night and perform. Their image was something they worked on and cultivated. Some bands might think that working on their look is something to worry about once they get famous, but cementing an image in the minds of your fans early is part of how you get there. Get together as a band and decide what you want to look like when you perform. It doesn’t have to be an outlandish costume, it can just be a theme or color scheme, but make sure everyone’s on the same page. If you’re going to be taken seriously as a band, try not to go on stage wearing the same clothes you bum around all day in. Even if you decide to go the jeans and plaid shirt grunge direction for your look, dress it up a bit. Wear your best plaid shirt, wear a funny or interesting t-shirt underneath, throw some pins on your guitar strap or throw some patches on the knees of your jeans. Wear clothes with textures or patterns, accessorize, wear a ring or two or a necklace and stay consistent gig to gig.

Giant Hand is a great example of this; his “uniform” consists of jeans, a plaid shirt, horned rim glasses and a pair of Converse, normal street clothes but done well. His clothes are clean, fit him well and he keeps it consistent from gig to gig; he’s made street clothes into a memorable look. You’re branding yourself; Pepsi doesn’t change its logo or the color of its cans every week because they want you to be able to recognize a can of Pepsi from across the room. I can’t stress how important it is to look interesting or memorable. If you go on stage with plain jeans and a white t-shirt, the pictures of you I take are going to be boring, and people have the attention spans of gerbils with ADD; the better you look, the better my pictures will look and people will spend more time looking at them. And like I said, make sure all your band members get this, just because you’re not the lead singer, doesn’t mean you get to slack off. The whole band is in the spotlight (well, except for the drummers, sorry guys, you usually get shoved to the back in the dark; getting a good picture of a drummer is a whole different challenge). If the lead singer is the only one dressed up, guess what? he’s the only one I’m taking pictures of. A good rule of thumb to follow is this: “If your audience is more dressed up than you, you’re doing it wrong”. This applies to all genres; if you’re at the bar for a drink before going on, you want to be inspiring the thought “He/She must be in the band” in everyone around you. If you’re still not quite sure what I mean, get on YouTube and look at the live performances of Kiss, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson or Lady Gaga; these are performers who have really turned it up to 11 when it comes to being remembered for what they look like. You may have never heard one of their songs, but you could still pick them out of a crowd.

The second big part of being remembered is putting on A Show. You’re not in the studio any more; you’re on stage performing for a live audience. I shot a band a year or so ago that got up on stage and played their latest album, start to finish, flawlessly. They stood in front of their microphones for an hour and change and pumped out sonic gold… I’d tell you who they were… but I can’t remember. The only memory of that night I have is the thought: “Wow, this sounds amazing, but I just bought the album… Why’d I just pay $20 more for the same experience I could have got at home, minus the smell of spilled beer?” If you stand stock still in front of your microphone the whole show, you’ve limited the number of interesting pictures I can take of you to a maximum of one shot per band member and a group shot, and given that you’re standing still, they’re probably not going to be the most interesting pictures. Move around, jump around, get down on your knees, get up on an amp, jump on your bass players back… anything, don’t just stand there. Granted, some bands will suit doing this more than others, but that’s just one way you can make yourself more interesting on stage. Putting on a good performance can be even more important that playing good music. When I was asked to shoot Skull Fist, a Canadian metal band, I was hesitant because after listening to a couple tracks I could tell it wasn’t my type of music, but I’m so glad I went. They put on such an energetic show it made me love the music. I’ll probably never listen to them on my iPod, but for an hour I was a hair metal fan. And get the audience involved in the show; if you just stand there, chances are so will they.

Talk to them in between songs, tell a joke or an anecdote, or have a song that the audience can sing along with. During Wax Mannequin’s last show in Ottawa, he had the whole audience singing along to “The Log Driver’s Waltz” and did his encore of “The Price” while walking from table top to table top. The crowd loved it and it made for great photos. Use your face to your advantage, be expressive and exaggerate the emotions of the song. If you hide your face behind a mic the whole time, again, I’ve got pretty much one shot to take and I’m done. Try playing in front of a mirror and ask yourself, “Do I look as into the song as I want my audience to be?” Energy is contagious. If you look like you’re into performing, the audience will get into the performance. Look at your audience, don’t spend the whole time looking at your mic, your guitar, the ceiling or with your eyes closed. A look instantly forms a one to one connection, whether it’s with someone in the crowd, or my camera. Speaking of cameras, if you want really good stage portraits, try to integrate subtle posing into your act. Know where the photographers are in the audience and throw them a look, a smile, a wink or a pose… and try to hold it long enough for them to grab the shot. About 2-3 seconds is usually long enough for me to realize you’re posing, focus, frame and shoot. With practice it can be done seamlessly without anyone knowing you’re intentionally posing for the camera. Or if you don’t think you can make it look natural, have some fun with it.

When I was shooting Electric Six, the lead singer took a minute in between songs to announce: “Okay, this is for all the cameras in the audience,” and proceeded through a series of exaggerated rock ‘n’ roll poses. It got a ton of laughs from the audience and I got some great shots. If you want some reference material to study, take a look at the live performances of artists like Iggy Pop, undeniable king of stage dancing, or Nick Cave, who’s got eyes that look right through you. Both of those guys can perform in nothing but a pair of jeans (and often did) and still give photographers tons to work with.

So remember, if you want good pictures from your show take some time and think about what you’re going to look like from the audiences perspective. Look the part, act the part, be a performer not just a musician when you’re on stage. I’m only as good as my subject and if you give me something to work with, I’ll do my best to create pictures people will want to look at.

Take a look at the band shots I’ve posted in the Live Music section of my Flickr, these are performers that gave me pictures good enough to put in my portfolio.

Last month was a great month for concert photography; three of my favourite Canadian acts came to town, all three of which I missed last time they played. First up was the Kelp 17, the Kelp Records anniversary weekend.

Every year Kelp Records throws a weekend music festival featuring Kelp bands past and present. Tons of great bands played, but of particular interest for me was The Acorn and Andrew Vincent. The last time I was able to catch The Acorn was two years ago at Kelp 15 when the festival was hosted at The Mayfair Theatre. Acorn fans got a real treat that night as Rolf and the band played their first full length album, The Pink Ghosts, from start to finish.

Day two of Kelp 17 featured Andrew Vincent reunited with his old backing band The Pirates (Scott Terry and Bryan Curry). Another flashback set, they played their classic hit album I Love the Modern Way. Here’s the rest of my Kelp 17 shots up on Flickr.

The next weekend Wax Mannequin came back to town to play Irene’s in the Glebe. I missed him playing the same venue a few months earlier and was pretty bummed. I caught Wax Mannequin’s show at Zaphods last year and have been dying to catch him play again. Finding a lot of new music kind of bland and formulaic recently, I don’t often come across an act that sounds so totally different from anything else out there. I’ve seen and photographed many bands over the last few years and no one, absolutely no one has the same presence, enthusiasm and charisma on stage as Wax.

He’s a one man show, but sonically he fills the room like a juiced up, angry wolverine orchestra. A true Canadian act, he even belted out a cover of The Log Drivers Waltz, from the National Film Board animated short you might remember if you were born in the late 70’s or early 80’s. The clip below is from another show, but I just had to post it, this song really brings back memories.

As an extra bonus, he had copies of his newest 7″, Hear Some Evil, at the show, a collaboration with The Burning Hell. Wax has worked with The Burning Hell often in the past, always with great results. If you ever get a chance to see him play, go, don’t think, just go… I promise you won’t regret it. You can see the rest of my pics from Wax Mannequin at Irene’s on Flickr.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to shoot Apocalyptica right here in Ottawa not 50 ft from where I work, actually. At the time I thought it would be the greatest show I’d ever get to shoot. Not only is Apocalyptica visually an amazing band to photograph but they’re one of my favorites musically as well. Well last month I did one better.

Rasputina is a band that is completely undefinable, they don’t easily slot into any of the conventional musical genres when you look at their discography as a whole. They’ve toured with everything from Marylin Manson, to traditional folk musicians. They slip from haunting sea shanties to grungy industrial ballads and the incongruity makes them all the more enthralling.

They’ve been in my top five bands list since I first heard them on Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge, back in the early nineties when Alternative was actually an alternative to rock and pop and the station still played stuff you don’t hear on the top 20 stations. I never thought I’d ever get a chance to see them, let alone shoot one of their shows as they hadn’t been to Canada for over a decade. When I heard they’d be coming to Lee’s Palace in Toronto I grabbed a ticket immediately even though it’s a 6 hour bus ride away.

It took me a while to figure out exactly who I’d have to contact to get permission to shoot the show, but eventually I got a hold of the promoter for the venue got it all worked out. I had my ticket, I had my photo pass now I just had to figure out what the hell I was going to do at 2am after the show on a freezing February night, when the next bus out was at 7am. I ended up finding a hostel right across from the bus station, Backpackers On Dundas. If you ever need a place to crash in TO, I highly recommend them. For $24 a night I got a very clean bed in the heart of down town Toronto. The staff was great and so were the other guests. I was kind of hesitant as I’ve heard hostel horror stories from friends but I actually can’t wait to hit them up again on my next trip through town.

On a kind of side note on getting permission to shoot the show, I’ve noticed a new trend when it comes to concert photography. You can usually tell by the venue as to whether you’ll need prior permission to bring a camera. There’s obviously places like big stadiums or concert halls where it’s a no-brainer that you’ll need to be on someone’s list, and with small venues and local acts it’s rarely ever a problem, but there’s a middle ground where you’re not quite sure if the band or the venue is big enough that there might be an issue if you just show up with a pro camera.

I went the safe route with this show because I didn’t want to risk being turned away. I was told in no uncertain terms by both the venue and the promoter that nothing bigger than a cell phone or point and shoot would be allowed if I didn’t get approved. I got on the list and when I got to the club I was told the standard “first three songs, no flash” rules and got settled. As the place started to fill up I noticed quite a few people with DSLR’s though and after a few conversations it turned out I was the only one that actually had permission to shoot. DSLRs are becoming so common now that many bouncers don’t blink an eye at them anymore. On one hand, I like shooting with permission as I usually get access to the best shooting spots and I know I’m not going to be turned away at the door. However having to stick to the venues first three song rules and other restrictions can be annoying. It’s going to be very interesting to see how photography rules evolve as cameras become more proliferate and smaller and smaller. I just picked up the Sony Nex 3 as my traveling camera when I don’t want to lug the whole SLR rig around, it’s got the same size sensor as my DSLR and promises to have every bit as

good image quality. Ten years ago when DSLRs were upwards of $10,000 and marketed to serious professionals exclusively, I never thought I’d own one, now they’re everywhere. Now we’re seeing the next evolution, a camera with every bit as good a sensor as my Canon that fits in my pocket. It’s not going to replace my Canon kit for serious shoots, but it’s going to be a great alternative when I have to go without my pro gear, and it’s only a matter of time before the pocket camera rises right to the level of the monster DSLRs I’m used to.

However the photography rules turn out in the future, I’m sure I’ll find a way to adapt. I love shooting concerts and this one in particular gave me another check on my bucket list. Rasputina is a band I never thought I’d get to see live and being able to shoot them was icing on the cake. You can see the rest of my shots from the Rasputina concert at Lees Palace on my Flickr.

The most important piece of advice I can give to any aspiring band photographer is one simple word: Flickr! Out of everything I’ve done to advertise myself, Flickr has been far and away the best bang for the buck. I’ve gotten more exposure and more paying gigs through Flickr than from anything else. Properly tagged, with good descriptions and titles your photos can be searched and found by millions of people and the investment of time is minimal if you have a good workflow set out.

Case and point; I got an email last week from the band Skull Fist asking if I’d come shoot their show. I thought maybe I’d seen them play before, or talked to them at a previous show, but it turns out they found me through Flickr. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but as my Flickr portfolio has grown, it’s becoming more and more frequent.

As for the show itself, I haven’t had that much fun shooting a band in a long time. If you keep up with this blog you’ll know the one biggest complaint I have about live music is that many bands don’t pay much attention to performance aspect of the show. Live music should be larger than life, I’m not saying every band should go completely KISS and show up in spikes and make-up, but you should at least look like you didn’t just roll in from your day job. And move around a bit on stage, too many bands perform on stage like they’re

laying down a track in the studio. You might sound great, but sound is only one part of why people go see live bands. Well Skull Fist did not disappoint.

You may not like metal, but you have to give credit to any band that really turns it up to 11 to put on a memorable show. I`m going to make a point of shooting more metal shows in the future; my shots are only ever going to be as good as the band I`m shooting… lighting, gear, technique… these things are important, but they only let you reach the full potential of your subject. If your subject is boring, the best you can hope for is technically capable, but boring pictures. Well Skull Fist made me look good. They look the part, they act the part; Valhalla or bust… they`re here to rock.

I also have to give props to the crowd at Mavericks. A lot of my time shooting a show is spent looking over my shoulder for the inevitable flying beer… or body. I have a hard enough time avoiding the jostle at an upbeat alternative show, being a full line up of metal I was expecting WWIII on the dance floor. And while the mosh pit deserved it`s name, everyone was very conscious about giving me my space, in fact the crowd even came to my defense when the sole drunk that wasn`t with the program started getting physical with me.

So my thanks go out to the crowd at Mavericks… you let me get on with my business and good times where had by all. Skull Fist are currently touring eastern Canada followed by a tour out west then off to Europe, so check them out while they`re still on this side of the pond if you have a chance. Even if you`re not generally one to go to a metal show, trust me you will be entertained. You can see the rest of my shots of Skull Fist on Flickr, as well as shots from the other amazing bands in the line up: Aggressor, Black Moor and RottawaY.

Ottawa has had a long tradition of great street performers, but in recent years the number of acts hitting the streets has been declining and we have Big Brother Business to blame.

Busking used to be a great way for struggling musicians and performers to make a buck and maybe get yourself noticed, but now businesses want to take a cut. City of Ottawa requires buskers to cough up $200 a year for a buskers license in order to work the Byward Market… but it doesn’t stop there, each financial district has it’s own Business Association that can levy it’s own fee for buskers… you want to work the streets in front of Parliament, that’s another license… you want to work Elgin… popped again… Bank St pull out your wallet boys and girls.

When I came to Ottawa for University in ’99 the Market was full of amazing buskers from all over the world. Acts from Europe and Australia especially loved coming to the Capital, ten years later I walk around the market and in a good week I see one fresh face I haven’t seen before. Mostly it’s the same half dozen acts that to be honest, have gotten lazy. Those that can afford the license now seem to think they own the place and don’t really have to try anymore. Don’t get me wrong, there are still quite a few quality performers out there, the ones that really put on a show… engage the audience and really seem like they’re serious about it, Stunt Double Circus comes to mind. But you can tell there’s a lot of buskers that are pretty much just phoning it in now… it’s not enough to show up in dirty jeans and a t-shirt and bang out the same three songs all day if you want people to cough up their pocket change in a time where pocket change is getting harder to hang on to. And out of town acts are virtually non-existent so far this year, some struggle to just break even between room, board and travel expenses to tour different countries, being popped for a license on top of all that just doesn’t make Ottawa a financially attractive place to set up shop.

Busking has been integral to making the Market what it is today, and now business and industry is turning it’s backs on part of the reason the Market is so successful. Many great Canadian acts got their start busking, we wouldn’t have the Barenaked Ladies without it, but now it seems quality buskers might be a dying breed in this corner of the country. Be warned Ottawa, if this continues street theater will be gone from this town and it may never come back.

You can see more shots of Ottawa Street Music on my Flickr. If you see someone there, they’re worth checking out… throw them an extra buck or two. You may have seen my Stunt Double Circus pics already, but they’re definitely worth checking out in person if you get the chance.

This Monday I shot a free show at Zaphods featuring Raised by Swans with openers Mouth and Pink Moth. The free concert series at Zaphods can be a mixed bag, sometimes great and sometimes not so much. The lineup this time was a bit of an odd mix. Mouth started off the show; two guys and a girl on drums who have just moved to Ottawa. Great energy and a great stage presence, definitely a band to keep your eye on. There’s nothing better as a photographer than shooting a band that really works the stage and moves around and these guys didn’t disappoint.

Next up was Pink Moth, a solo artist that mixed live guitar and haunting vocals with an iPod for a backup band. Easy on the ears, he laid down some hypnotic tracks that had a resonant musical quality. A great act, but to be honest I’d much rather listen to this type of music at home with a cup of tea and a book… it doesn’t make for the most entertaining live show.

The headliners, Raised by Swans, were recommended to me by a friend and were the reason I came to the show in the first place. They’ve been described as “The Canadian equivalent of Sigur Ros, Mercury Rev, or Radiohead – luscious, ambient, and dream-like” and that’s about the best description I’d be able to give. Great sound, great depth, but again… not the most interesting band to watch live. I know I’m biased being a photographer, but I go see live shows for the show that’s put on. If a band’s going to come and play in jeans and t-shirts, standing still for the whole set, to be quite honest I’d rather save the price of admission and buy their CD to listen to at home instead. This type of act usually sounds better on a CD anyways.

I’m not saying Pink Moth and Raised by Swans didn’t play great music, but I just wouldn’t pay to see their live act. In this respect Mouth won hands down for the night. They jumped, they screamed, they fought… they rocked, plain and simple. Without a doubt, buy a copy of Pink Moth and Raised by Swans’ album, you won’t be disappointed, but do yourself a favour and go see Mouth the next chance you get.

You can see more shots of Raised by Swans, Pink Moth and Mouth on my Flickr.

I’ve been wanting to see Electric Six in concert for years now and they finally came to the capital. Best known for Danger! High Voltage, made popular by the first Charlie’s Angels flick, their tongue in cheek style is pretty unique and they put on an amazing live show.

I’m always afraid that when a band is touring with a new album they’re going to play that heavily and cut down on the classics but Electric Six did not disappoint; Gay Bar, Dance Commander, Improper Dancing and a couple other hits all made appearances. The opening bands did an amazing job as well. First up was Ottawa’s own Tympanic, followed by Sweet Thing out of Toronto. Check out either if you get the chance!  I’ll definitely be picking up Sweet Thing’s new release due out soon, but in the meantime you can grab a free track download from the band at sweetthingmusic.com.

For anyone shooting shows in Ottawa, I’m retracting previous statements that Mavericks is a poor place to shoot. They’ve done some remodeling; raising the stage and putting in better lighting. They’ve also removed the two huge poles that used to block view from the corners of the stage. They’re still not the best venue in Ottawa but have made a huge step forward. One thing you still have to watch for… it’s still the roughest bar in Ottawa. We waited for three hours at the foot of the stage making sure we had a great spot to shoot from only to be violently shoved out of the way by crazed and sweaty metal heads once Electric Six came on. Be prepared to stand your ground and keep your camera out of danger. I’ve never been a proponent of UV filters for lens protection, but after the amount of flying beer and sweat I encountered I may change my policy for Mavericks.

I’ll be keeping an eye on Mavericks in the future, they seem to be attracting bigger and bigger acts, and with the new stage and lighting aren’t a total pain to shoot now. You can check out the rest of the pics of Electric Six, Sweet Thing and Tympanic on my Flickr.

It’s been a while since my last post; it’s been a fairly busy winter and a couple projects are nearly wrapped up that I’ll be featuring in the next few weeks. First on the list is a project I shot almost two months ago that’s been in the works ever since.

The day after New Years I shot The Love Machine at Club SAW.  Some of the photos appear in the latest issue of  The Dinner Jacket Magazine along with an article about the band; you can take a look at it here (p32-35).

Along with the standard band shots, I wanted something punchy for a full page photo to start the article. It’s difficult to get the whole band in on stage in such a way that everyone’s recognizable, especially in portrait orientation, so I decided to go with a photo montage of the band members. I wanted to do something special with this one and I’ve had a collection of old watches available to me for some time that I’ve been meaning to use for something, and this seemed to fit perfectly.

Shooting the watches was somewhat of a challenge as I had to shoot them pretty close with a macro lens and still be able to light them adequately to avoid nasty reflections. Most of my time was spent cutting and splicing different watch bits up in Photoshop and figuring out how to create the letters I was missing to spell out “Love Machine” from the letters stamped in the metal bits. In the end the composite was comprised of about two dozen layers and weighed in at a whopping gig and a half.

You can see some more shots from The Love Machine at Club SAW on my Flickr. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more band shoots and pics from Winterlude.

Made the trip over the border to Wakefield to see The Burning Hell at The Black Sheep Inn last weekend. Last time I saw Mathias at Zaphods it was a cold and blustery winter night and very few people braved the weather to see the show. This time the place was packed and were treated to an amazing show.

I’m still amazed at the high iso capabilities of the 50D, paired with my 85L I can get shots in even the dimmest bar.  My new (to me) ’65 Leica also arrived that weekend and I took it for a spin during the show, I’ll be posting shots from it in the next week or two… soon as I get around to developing the roll.

It’s too bad Wakefield is so far a trek, between the The Black Sheep and Cafe 1870 there’s always great acts playing. I try to make it out there when I can, but hopefully Ottawa will take the hint and start booking the same quality of music.  You can see more shots of The Burning Hell at The Black Sheep on my Flickr.