Becy & Anthony had the rather cool idea of shooting their engagement session at the coolest cinema in Birmingham – The Electric

Some tricky lighting but I was up for a challenge and I’m really happy with the results.

To mix it up we also did some more around the Birmingham streets before taking their dog to the park where he was more interested in terrorizing squirrels than having his photo taken…

Their wedding is this weekend… 200 yards from our studio. It’s gonna be ace.

This weekend the world lost a true talent.

I can’t say I was a massive fan of her music. I did like it though and always knew Amy Winehouse was a gifted and unique singer.

Her music isn’t going anywhere though. Her talent lives on in her songs.

These photos were taken three years ago. I’m glad I got to photograph her and hear her voice live.

Rest in peace now, Amy.

Lee Thompson is a modern day Artful Dodger of sorts, and makes a living picking pockets.

But before you pick up the phone to inform the authorities, Lee’s talents are used purely for entertainment value! He’s so good, in fact, that he has toured with the legendary Cirque Du Soleil.

He also works weddings and corporate events. He’s also a top bloke.

He asked me to shoot some new promo photos for him and we had fun coming up with some interesting ideas for images which will hopefully capture his audiences’ attention.

Here are just a few from the shoot…

Interpol are one of my favourite bands and every time I’ve seen them live they’ve been amazing, intense and even better than on record.

And when they played in Birmingham recently they were better than ever! Even if they never played “Evil”!

Having said that, they’re not the easiest band to photograph. Their music suits dark, moody lighting and, not being allowed to use flash (officially) it was a little tricky to say the least. For the last minute or so of the third song (we only get to shoot the first three) I decided I’d be cheeky and sneak a few shots with a very low-powered flash. I’m glad I did.

This last shot was taken from my seat on the balcony later in their set. You can see what kind of lighting we were dealing with from this shot but I love the mood of it..

So you thought I just photographed scary, bearded rock dudes eh?

If I have any credibility at all, I’m seriously risking all that with this post but I could not care less. On Saturday night I was asked to photograph a total cheesy popfest at Birmingham’s LG Arena and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not the music, that’s for sure – almost all of it was throw-away rubbish – but it was fun shooting household names and, for me, something quite different from what I normally photograph. Plus, I can’t say photographing The Saturdays was exactly a chore!

The event was for local radio station BRMB and featured several big pop names, as well as X-Factor finalists and the slightly more credible headliners, The Script.

None of the acts were on for longer than 20 minutes. Some only performed two songs. Thankfully!

So, here are a few of my faves from my Saturday night popfest…

Mark Ronson played a DJ set…

McFly

Alexandra Burke

Teenage girls’ favourites, The Wanted

Tinchy Stryder

Shayne Ward

Example

Olly Murs

The Hoosiers

James Blunt

Joe McElderry (wearing more make-up than The Saturdays!)

Diana Vickers

The Saturdays

And… finally… The Script

Fun was had. But I listened to The Chariot on the car journey home just to balance it all out

If you’d like to buy prints of any of these images, please CLICK HERE

Halloween always brings the freaks out and it was good to see many of the 2000 people who showed up for this year’s Never Say Die Tour in Birmingham had dressed up for the occasion.

The gig, at Birmingham Academy, featured SEVEN bands for just £16. That’s just over £2 per band. Good value indeed. Especially when the bill was as good as this…

Headliners were Australia’s mighty Parkway Drive, a band who have released one of my albums of the year in Deep Blue. Support came from the legendary Comeback Kid along with Bleeding Through, Emmure, Your Demise, War From A Harlots Mouth (their new album, which I’m listening to as I type this, is immense!) and We Came As Romans (who I missed due to them coming on stage before 6pm!).

My fave bands of the night were Parkway Drive and War From A Harlots Mouth but I was blown away by Emmure too. A very good night of extreme music.

I think I have a little crush on KT Tunstall. Sorry Evelyne.

Last night she played in Wolverhampton at the Wulfrun Hall and she was fantastic as ever. Funny, smiley and entertaining as well as playing and singing brilliantly.

I’m definitely gonna try and catch her again when she comes to Birmingham in the new year…

Oh yeah, and Charlotte Hatherley is now in her band.

At the end of June I was lucky enough to finally photograph my favourite band. Twice!

You may have already seen the photos from Belfast Odyssey Arena and, since then, I’ve had a few messages from people waiting to see the Hyde Park photos. So here they are

It’s always a bonus when you get great support acts on the bill, and I was delighted to see another of my fave bands added to the bill… The Gaslight Anthem

Always fun and entertaining… The Hives

The main support was Ben Harper, who was joined on stage by Eddie Vedder for a cover of Queen’s Under Pressure.

And then it was time for the main event… And this setlist..

It was good to meet up with a few friends at the gig too. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Friday

And here’s a photo of me doing my thing, taken by Kerrang! photographer, Chris Casey.

Many thanks to Jen at Rock Sound and Ali at LD Communications.

A couple of weekends ago I was back at the Download Festival at Castle Donington to shoot on behalf of Terrorizer Magazine.

Download is one of my favourite festivals and this year saw some legendary names on the bill.

I had to miss the Saturday to shoot a wedding in London but here are some of my favourite shots from Friday & Sunday…

Unearth

36 Crazyfists

Oh look! It’s a Foo Fighter. Taylor Hawkins, to be precise.

Killswitch Engage

Time for a quick beer with Job For A Cowboy

As I Lay Dying

John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin… and now Them Crooked Vultures

Another Foo Fighter… Mr Dave Grohl

For Those About To Rock….

AC/DC

On to Sunday..

I think you know this man!

A great new band – The Damned Things… You may recognise a few faces here too.

My favourite band of the weekend… The amazing Dillinger Escape Plan.

No introduction needed…

The weekend finished with two legendary bands… Stone Temple Pilots and AEROSMITH!

Even the rain didn’t dampen the atmosphere.

A few weeks ago I had an email from Canadian comedian, Jason John Whitehead, who was after some new and different promo images.

If you haven’t heard of him yet, check out his YouTube video. He’s funny! And also a super-nice guy.

And he has a Pearl Jam tattoo. Respect!