All Time Low – Live Music

The All TIME LOW

The first time I had heard of the The All  Time Low was an album called Punk go Crunk, They did cool cover of Umbrella by R&B singer Rihanna. I am big fan of Punked up covers so I kinda thought  I would be a fan of band live.  Turns out the best thing about this band was how they party after the show. Which is not leave you in any doubt about how good they are live. Amazing, does come close to there stage presence. But the Double Jack that I was bought after..  well .. Thank you.

These photos are from the Birmingham leg of the Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2010 With The Blackout, My Passion and Young Guns.

All Time Low Hail from from Baltimore, Maryland,  they formed back in 2003

So far they have 3 releases

• The Party Scene (2005)
• So Wrong, It’s Right (2007)
• Nothing Personal (2009)

These boys are ones to watch for sure.  American Pop Rock for the Win.  But when a band formed to play Blink songs and named them after a New Found Glory Lyric, It was never going to bad.

The band was eventually selected as Alternative Press Magazine’s Band of the Year for 2008

Lightroom – Workflow

Adobe Lightroom 2 +

Just some workflow insight ,

I have been a HUGE fan of Lightroom for a while. Proof checking, editing, printing, web gallery creation,  the list of time saving functions is crazy.  If your a Pro photographer and your not using Lightroom, your doing something wrong. If your working with a batch of frames, Photoshop is only really used in a final editing stage. Most of my edit work happens with in Lightroom these days.

There are a few functions that I would still love to see in Lightroom, It would be great to able to run Photoshop actions (using the photoshop engine) inside Lightroom, Add layer styles, create comp layers also, it would be really cool to able to sync your Presets into layer styles in Photoshop. Just some of these little additions would make Cross Platform (cross software) editing much streamlined projects when colour matching is important. Using the correct tool for the correct job. Why use Photoshop for simple things like contrast changes.

Anyway,  here is some Lightroom fun , You can put the Web module of Lightroom into “advanced mode” (an “experimental and unsupported” feature – so try this at your own risk) which will expose MANY more customization options in the Lightroom panels.

To go into Advanced Mode you’ll need to use a keyboard combo:

“Control Alt Shift /” on PC
“Cmd Alt Shift /” on Mac

Do the same to Return back to the normal version.

I get asked alot, what the best editing processes are , Its really simple.  Do whats best and most logical for you.  I use this work-flow as a rule

Adobe Bridge > Lighroom > Photoshop > Lightroom > Bridge

Bridge -

I use Bridge to remove blank frames or frames that are clearly not useable, Rename files and upload into Lightroom a quick selection of photos that are going to be edited.

Lightroom -

Lighroom is used to pull out a final selection of photos, Crop and Colour the photos, Overall pages edits are done. Vignettes, tones, curves, hue, saturation and Camera Calibrations are also done ( I never sharpen at this stage !!- you only ever want to sharpen a Final Product. Its always the last step. If you are not going into Photoshop after, then finish your photo in Lighroom )

Photoshop -

There is no way I could list the steps in here of what can you can do.  As a rule though, Skin is touched up and sharpened for which ever media the product is headed towards, Change colour Sets depending on the Products destination ie : RGB or CYMK  etc..

After this stage no other editing process should be needed.

Lightroom  -

Back into lightroom to make batch size changes, Create Web Galleries, Contact sheets, Slide shows etc..

Bridge -

Bridge is then used as the content management  tool, Using the Pre-made Actions you can send photos into other programs such as Photoshop to add watermarks borders, Prep for web, Border or any other Presets that you use.

Each stage is very important, and should leave you with a clear workflow.    Pick the Photos, Edit the Photos, Make them PERFECT, Edit them for purpose. Store them in a correct manner.

If you use your noodle, you should not go far wrong.  Just do what works for you, but ONLY IF YOU ARE USING LIGHTROOM !!

Digital Wings – (Danny Bennett) | Digital Art

The main idea behind this project was the angel wings. I have been wanting to find some good angel wings for quite while.  I really wanted to build some proper ones of my own.

Our Model is Danny Bennett,  who is playing the role of the devil.

This one is a little harder than the last

Step one !

Build some wings!  Last year I was down in London, walking around the Natural History Museum, I grabbed a few photos that I could use at stock photos for some projects just like this one.

Having a good stock libary is a very important tool in the birth process of any project. The first step was to strip back all the things I didn’t want to use in this photo. Using the EXTRACT tool I freed my bones wings that would become the main shape of the wing and give me a proper shape to work from.  Once the wings were free I used the STAMP tool to smarten back up the wings. For me building things up in layers in the main object here.

Once I have my bone wings, I used the PERSPECTIVE tool to shape the wings ( you can use any tools you like.) Using two Wings shaped to show the top of the wing and the under-feathers ( I can build up the feathers and colours to show the different sorts of feathers) I want real looking wings, yet wings that can not attached to any normal bird, after all, we are making Angel wings ! I created a few patterns using brushes and started to work on the wings to give them texture and depth. Using about 4 or 5 layers in different shapes and sizes, using blurring effects to blend them I started to build them up. Remember, you only have to build one wing !

Once you have your wing, ( mine took quite a time to build ) you can spin a copy over to make your full set. Maybe again shape them to give you a shape you like when you have your full wing span.  Most people never colour angel wings, its up to you though. Since you should have all your wings elements in at least 3 layers ( top layer, middle layer, bottom layer, the top layer being the bigger feathers at the bottom of your layers ) They should be really easy to colour.  Make a Layer section for each wing section, Flip the layer into some nice blending mode and colour, Simple.  Using a Layer mask, remove the bits to show off the parts of the wings that have colour and give them a realistic looking layer system.  I have built some quite Gothic looking wings with sharp feathers and lines. I used some photos of Bats and Insect wings as my references.

So you have some KILLER wings..     Lets make our Angel.

Our Model is Danny Bennett , but use anyone of anything you like !!  Get your self a cool photo, Cut them out and  attach.  Simple.  This is your first chance to see how your wings really sit and what they look like. After I had placed Danny infront of the wings, they looked light and unreal. I added some heavy black feathers that curl over. and gave some darker colours to the underneath. Go away, Have some tea and come back to have a look at what you have with some fresh eyes.

So now after your break, What have you got. Is it any good ?  what changes would really make this photo POP out ?  I decided the end of the world was about the right setting for my new Demon.  After a quick flick over my stock image gallery, I pulled out some good stuff that I was going to use as my background. Pull them all out, open them all up and place them over the screen. work out where they can go, where they fit best and look good. I have used a flaming Demon and a Sewer Drain. The ideas behind this setting are taken from a comic book.

Once you have your background layered up and blending all sorted. ( I have about 20 layers just for the background ) Use Alt+Ctrl+E to merge them, Group up the layers you don’t want and clean up your layer stack. Keep stuff named and grouped, Colours are cool to use too ! I would expect you to have about 40-50 odd layers at this stage.  A cool tip is to drop some DOF (Depth of Field) in the photo, mask out the layers that are far away and use a nice LENS BLUR to work in a nice look.

Bring in the final element, (top layer elements, that are not affected by your background light sources ) In this case is only Dan with his new wings. Place him where you feel fits in the photo. Remember the golden rules. Work in thirds and you can not go far wrong. If you need to edit the top layer ( Dan ) now is  the time, clear up skin, tones, curves colours and anything else you want to fiddle with. I decided that Dan wanted to be Hell Boys little son, So painted him red. ( new layer>Sat blend>mask layer>paint out> Done.)

So your done!  you should have your New Born Angel with a pair of stunning wings !!   Now is a good time to go to town and edit your photo as if you have just taken a snap of the world burning.  Not 100% sure why the Angel is posing for a photo while there is a Flaming Demon behind him, but that’s art  

Final Photo

Thanks to Jak Flash, George Eko and Danny Bennett

Stock photos from Div Art

thewolf1607

tankphoto

Fire Wings- (Emma Kate Dawson) | Digital Art

Mini Guide to how I made this.

Photoshop CS3 ,

Stock Photo taken by myself,

I just wanted to show how quick and simple a couple of photos can be used to create some dramatic photo-manipulations. This one has yet to be named, It took less than an hour. I guess if you have used photoshop before at some level, you should be able to follow this.   If not. sorry !!

There are roughly 8 or 9 steps, I have tried to keep it nice and simple. Using a process of layers and masks it should be pretty easy to follow. Remember, using masks, is great for going back to re-edit steps at later levels. Photoshop is designed to edit in a non-distuctive way.

To start with, open up your main photo element, make sure you have a clear focus on where you want to go and ensure you have enough room to work with. Any simple photo edits should be done now. The photo I used was a pretty good starting point, I used the stamp tool (key short-cut (s)) and did some quick free hand work to clean up the back drop. There is not a lot of point in doing any make up changes or skin changes at this point as I know we are going to use lots of colour in the final photo.

I wanted to keep some light background clouds and tree line, using the mask layers remove the bits you dont want.

Using another layer and another stock photo, I added some more baseline details, the layer was flipped into screen mode (blending layer). This dropped out the darker sections of the photo and gave me just the details i needed. Create a mask and remove the bits you dont want.

Create a couple of new layers, I used 3 or 4. Using the brush tool, add some funky details. I grabbed some custom brushes, created some layer styles and combined them down into a group, then flipped them in to Colour Burn mode.  I kept most of my small details away from my Treeline on the bottom layer and away from the main subject. If you just Google for Photoshop brushes you can find loads of great freebies out there. Next step is to add some colour.

Open up another layer ( try and keep them named and group them !)  I used a golden gradient set at a 45 degree across the photo to give stronger colours at the edges. I think the layer was in screen mode, or overlay. Have a play around, see what fits for you. If you want, mask the layer, highlight areas or darken others. Remember, using masks is the only way you should be doing this. Next step is to add the main element, the wings. Don’t worry to much about your main photo getting hidden. Everything is masked, or maskable. we can go back and sort this later.

Using the stock photo of the flames (try i-stock or something), I cut out one section, created another layer, flipped it over, grouped them and duplicated them a couple of times. Once I had a couple of wings, I used some motion blur, made some bigger and layered them up to give me a fuller wing shape. Once I was happy with the shape. Once again the mask tool was used to leave some flick of flame across the photo. So we should have almost our photo coming to shape at this point. For my photo, a really strong facial look was important so i could not leave my model under the flames. I went back the very first layer (the stock photo of Emma), duplicated it and brought her onto  the top of the stack and masked out the the background.

Once I have my photo its time to make the fire burn. I find its much better than having to worry about colour as I go. Using some photo filters, curves and levels ( all using masks to place where I want the certain changes to fit on the photo), I brought in the sides and started to enhance the flames. I use the rule, of masking every single layer. Its very rare a change I make will look good on the whole photo.

This paper look texture, flipped into overlay, or colour burn, or what ever funky layer style will give you a great look and save you a whole bunch of time . Using textures combined with a mask is fun and effective. From here, I edited up the skin, the border with another set of levels and curves. Added my logo, added some smoke to the flames and gave Emma some evil skin. Simple ! Oh some cool motion blur around the feet with some flames around the feet.  There is no limit to the things you can add !  Just remember to use lots of layers, masks and you wont go far wrong.

Send some sample of what you can come up with !  All the elements used are below !!

Farse | Music Photography

Slam Dunk Festival | Vans “off the wall”  tour, ft. Funeral For A Friend ,  Fightstar, Blakfish and Farse.

All 3 stages in the new O2 Academy in Birmingham.

The Mighty FARSE

Farse are a Ska-Core band from Birmingham. They attended St. Thomas Aquinas school in Birmingham, where the band formed in 1996. Through a few lineup changes until they ended up with Ade, Chris, Dan, Ollie and Tomas as the final line up. They played loads of shows around the UK, supporting many UK ska bands like Capdown, Bowling for soup and King Prawn. They released 2 Studio albums, Boxing clever was recorded at DEP studios (the same studio UB40 recorded at).

The record created a buzz throughout the underground punk and ska scene in the UK and attracted the attention of the Moon Ska Europe label. Farse then entered UB40’s DEP International Studios, to record their second album Boxing Clever in late 2002. Following the album’s release the band’s popularity grew, with the video for the song Hopscotch receiving heavy rotation on the now-defunct digital music channel P-Rock. The band then embarked on several headlining tours throughout the UK before unexpectedly announcing their split in early 2004. During their career they performed with similar acts such as King Prawn, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Mad Caddies, Bowling For Soup, Reel Big Fish and Capdown^.

The final performance was held on Thursday March 18 2004 at the Carling Academy 2 in Birmingham. The show involved former band members joining the line up to play old material. The set finished with the song ‘Youth On Paper’, a song said to have been previously unheard at live shows.

Bassist Chris Badham now tours with The Mad Caddies . Ade is also the bassist of Beat Union formerly known as Shortcut to Newark.

Farse played three reunion gigs, one at Subside Bar in Birmingham on Monday, 4th May 2009, and one at O2 Academy 2 Birmingham on Saturday, 9 May 2009. Farse also performed at the Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds on Sunday, 24th May 2009 and the 30th In Birmingham.  These Photos are from the Birmingham gig.

The Lemonheads | the Irish Centre | Music Photography

The Lemonheads’ popularity grew in 1992 with the album It’s a Shame about Ray which was produced, engineered, and mixed by The Robb Brothers (Bruce Robb, Dee, and Joe), followed by a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson”, which eventually became one of the band’s most successful singles. Cited as one of the most important alternative rock groups, The Lemonheads were active until 1997 and went on hiatus, but reformed with a new lineup in 2005 and released The Lemonheads in the following year. The band released its latest album, Varshons, in June 2009.

NOFX Birmingham (live shoot)

Phew,  this gig was a rollercoaster of fun. i got my pass sorted ages ago via my PR contacts and all was sweet. Untill the night of the gig when i had to prove who i was, then prove i had got a pass, print out the e-mails from the PR rep and still argue to get in. Though all this i missed all the bands but NOFX. But to be honest i did not really care, aslong as i got to shoot Fat Mike and Company all would be groovy.

The set list was a great mix of new and old, with my all time fave song, ” bottles to the ground”  getting a play. Very very good set, very very good band.

NOFX (pronounced “no ef-ex”) are  punk rock band from San Francisco, formed in 1983. The original lineup included singer/bassist Fat Mike, drummer Erik Sandin, and guitarist Eric Melvin. Since 1991, the lineup has remained the same, with El Hefe playing guitar and trumpet. They have released 10 full-length studio albums, 15 EPs, and many 7” singles. The group has sold over 6 million records worldwide, making them one of the most successful independent acts of all time.
NoFx have some became one of the most loved and inspiring bands not only in punk rock but as a band inside the ugly music buisness.

Studio albums

• 1984: Maximum Rocknroll (Released 1992)
• 1988: Liberal Animation
• 1989: S&M Airlines
• 1991: Ribbed
• 1992: White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean
• 1994: Punk in Drublic
• 1996: Heavy Petting Zoo
• 1997: So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes
• 2000: Pump Up the Valuum
• 2003: The War on Errorism
• 2006: Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing
• 2009: Coaster

The Presets | Live @ The Rainbow, Birmingham |

A while ago my phone rang, It was Carlo Solazzo from the 444 club in Birmingham, The Presets are coming. I packed my bag, headed for the Rainbow and got some cracking photos. Oh, and the date of the call was the 2nd of July 2008 and one of Birmingham’s best unsigned bands, Deluka, were supporting.
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“The Presets revel in the darker, more cosmic realm of dance music while still having fun and involuntarily getting people in the mood to move. There’s also punk and new wave elements, but just dont call them “indietronica”. – Rolling Stone

“Their set wonderfully straddles the line between a traditional rock show and DJ set… the entire venue dashed and jumped around like, well, ravers in a friendly mosh pit.” URB “This is the dance record of the Summer” 4/5 THE SUN

Kimberley Isaac Moyes was but a young man, small of stature but big of heart, down on his luck, doing the odd performance in a downtown gay bar and eating anchovies from tin cans discarded in the alley behind a local Italian restaurant, putting all his dollar bills in a pillow, with the dream to one day have enough money to buy a Moog synthesiser.

Julian Hamilton was the new bus boy in said food joint, robust and ambitious, taking out the trash and sweating like a malaria ravaged wrestler when he one day chanced upon poor Kim out the back, sucking on those oily little fish like hed never tasted such a delicacy.

These encounters out the back of Luigis Linguini And Pasta Allsorts became regular, and led to the occasional lunch date, when Julian would not only smuggle Kim a fresh can of anchovies, but would even share his own chef-cooked meal. The boys found friendship over faggotini, had leisurely lunches scheming up ways for Kim to stay one step ahead of the Child Protection Services who longed to send the delinquent off to an orphanage in Mongolia, they dreamed of the myriad ways Julian could swindle his evil boss Luigi, and held heated debates about their shared passion, music.

It was in these early days that Kim and Julian realized their meeting had been fateful, and that one day they would make good on their shared desire to make moody, crisp electronic future pop.

If youve ever wondered what they might play when youre standing there staring at the fork in the road between heaven and hell, this could be it.

[View with PicLens]

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Def Leppard, Whitesnake | Live Music

Pete Willis, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Steve Clark and Joe Elliot set out to become Rock Legends, In 84` the transformation was complete when the renamed Def Leppard had been voted bigger than the Rolling Stones by a US poll. The ride for Def Leppard has been far from incident free, in 84` Rick Allen lost his arm in tragic car accident, only to play to a emotional crowd at Donnington just 2 years later, with a 20 minute standing ovation before playing a single note. In 91` Steve Clark passed away, Vivian Campbell was to take place and put the band back on course to be one of the biggest bands in the world. After Campbell joined the albums came thick and fast. Seeing them tonight is such an honour.

Def Leppard found Whitesnake a hard act to follow, Joe had to work hard to get a reaction from a crowd seemingly exhausted by the Whitesnake set but eventually, after an hour, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” there was not a single person not singing along in a sold out NEC arena. Def Leppard had proved why they are the rock royalty they are. The whole show was slick with fast change over between bands, impressive lighting set-ups, great venue staff and the best sound I have heard in a long time, with so many outdoor festivals this year, it was quite nice to be inside while it rained down outside. I had never seen either of these bands before, but after seeing them live, you can tell why they are still around and why My Chemical Romance wont be doing sell out tours for there 30^th anniversary. Both of these Bands are made from unique and very special stuff. Tonight’s gig was a text book example of Rock and Roll at is finest. “ Here we go again” was the highlight of a flawless Whitesnake set, and of a flawless night.

Whitesnake 8/10

Def leppard 8/10

Birmingham NEC 18^th june 08-    Words and Photos by Dave Piper. “Seeing them tonight is such an honour.”