Katie Melua

So, Katie Melua finally did a concert in Ljubljana, which was great and i enjoyed it big time... However, few weeks ago i promissed to show up some more photos of her while she was in Ljubljana for the 3 day promotion trip. I read somewhere that she gave out 29 interviews and she still had the energy and will when i asked her about a mini shoot at Ljubljana Old Castle above the city. The weather wasn't really cooperative at all, so at the end we did a few shots outside and a few just below the top of the tower with her looking outside. Nobody would want her to catch a cold before the tour start....

Katie at Radio Hit

... still Radio Hit, playing Nine Million Bycycles

Sound check during Hri-bar show on national television

Interview for Antena magazine...

... a quick snapshot before goin on top of the castle tower...

... looking at Ljubljana city below ...

... the city of Ljubljana behind Katie dressed up warm before photographing - see the wind in her hair?

On stage with Chris Jagger

After few local bands, my sound check project is finally getting some international names. This time i was able to get on stage with Chris Jagger, a brother of more famous Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones. Chris was in Ljubljana on Cvetličarna stage with his band Atcha and did another show in Portorož a day later (unfortunately i was not able to be there, but i heard it was amazing, just as was the one i saw).

I was quite limited, although Chris allowed me to shoot during sound check i quickly noticed it would not be good to stay too close to him on stage, as he moved and turned away everytime i pointed my lens to him, so i quietly worked from side and in front of stage and it turned to be ok. He also had some personal issues with his son, as i learned later, and i didn't want to get him too upset with my photographing. The evening turned out great as Chris and his band came to Roxly (a new rock club in Ljubljana, where you can see some of my photograps) and enjoyed some time relaxing after the gig.

A short concert photography presentation today

I don't know why i didn't post this before, but if anyone is interested in hearing me giving a short one hour concert photography presentation feel free to show up in Knjižnica Otona Župančiča in Ljubljana, today (21.4.) at 18.00. There is no admission. I'll have some slideshows, and a bit of talk about how to sucessfully take photos at concerts...See you there :)

Can we disturb the concert?

Gogol Bordello did a great show in Cvetlicarna last friday. I came in quite late as other work had to be done. The hall was already packed full and i could quickly notice a lots, and i mean, lots of photographers in the first rows. As this is a club show, there is no space between the stage and crowd and this means, especially in a show where everyone in the crods jumps all over, pretty hard work to get a picture. I was able to get in front of the fence, there was a space just next to the stage for one or two photographers, and observe the happening a bit from the side. The action on stage was amazing, the band really did a great performance and pictures are very energetic. But the point of this post is to ask a question. What is the limit of our work, how long can we take pictures in front of stage and push the cameras into musicians and flash them. I completely understand this gives good pictures and all, and i do it all the time in club gigs, sometimes this is the only way to catch the energy there. But there is a limit, there are people who paid for the ticket and would like to see the show, see the musicians faces, and on the other hand there are musicians who can get distracted by this, some will tell you that, some will not but they might complain to the local organizers and sometimes this is not so good. Below are some images of what has been happening on friday, captured intentionally to show the photo action in first rows. I know musicians, organizers and photographers might read this and it would be nice to hear from you and see what is your opinion.

Majke - Sound Check

It has been extremely busy lately and this is the reason for less posts as usual. Concerts are in full swing all over the small clubs (still no big ones, but there are some nice names booked as i hear) and also some nice opportunities for new additions to my sound check project. Recently, legendary croatian band Majke came to Cvetličarna club and i managed to get there during the sound check time and shoot some new additions to my sound check project. At the time of my shooting, lead singer Bare was not present on stage, as he was not in a good mood. He came there later, but i was asked not to shoot while he is there. Those of you knowing this band will understand, for others - sometimes rock stars can be sort of a special charachters :)
Also, i played a bit with the tool i have been using a lot lately, the Adobe Lightroom. I like it a lot, finally got used to its easy workflow and quick selection ability. The only light present at the time was more or less working light on stage and some fog to obstruct that little light i got. Here are some shots..enjoy!