Nothing Is Real

Another operation due to nerve damage, followed by another shoot with the Bootleg Beatles. This time, it’s at The Royal Albert Hall in London, and this is an opportunity that I just cannot pass on. The Bootleg Beatles play at this iconic venue at least once a year. The concert is also always a sell out. If I ever needed validation for this project – maybe this is it? A tribute band selling out one of the most iconic performance venues in the UK.

 

The operation on my arm went well, and because I am right handed, I didn’t struggle as much as I did with things back in January. However, my aim was to create portraits with off camera flash, along with some panoramic photographs inspired and informed by Andreas Gursky. I went to see Gursky’s work at The Hayward gallery in London recently, and felt like it was another missing piece to the jigsaw of my concept. There was a key phrase within one of Gursky’s statements. Detailed next to his composite photograph of a Formula 1 pit stop, Gursky stated that he was not trying to capture the pit stop, but instead his aim was to “capture the spectacle”. Reading this phrase – the penny dropped in my own mind concerning my project. I have been trying to communicate the hyper-reality generated at a tribute band concert. I am trying to capture the spectacle of this strange scenario.

 

It was a successful nights shooting on many levels. As planned in tutorials and following research, I planned to shoots portraits with off camera flash, capturing the different stages that The Bootleg Beatles perform in during a concert. Visualising The Beatles in their early days, Sgt. Peppers and The Summer of Love, visually there are many denotations and connotations on display. I feel that the most iconic has to be the Sgt. Pepper’s outfits, which is instantly recognisable and adds to “the spectacle”. Following feedback from my previous project, where I captured and displayed the band behind the scenes in their Sgt. Pepper’s uniforms, I felt that portraits would be strong visually, and a step out of my comfort zone a little. I have never really taken controlled portraits at a concert, and the aim was to create a studio effect with the off camera flash, under exposing the background.

 

With a very limited time with each band member after costume changes, I captured a quick shot as they walked towards the stage. Asking them to pose while looking away from camera, and then one shot to the camera, I feel that each band member was more relaxed and looked more natural for the shot facing the camera.

 

After the show, I also met Simon Weitzman, who is creating a documentary on The Beatles. Weitzman and I discussed our projects, and he was impressed with the images that I showed him of previous assignments featuring The Bootleg Beatles. He also stated that there would be a good market for my imagery within The Beatles’ fan world – which I felt was very positive feedback! We exchanged contact details, and I hope to catch up with him over the summer to discuss our projects further. I felt that it was a very positive meeting, and Weitzman clearly has experience in this area as his CV is very impressive, with experience working for BBC, ITV, Sky, HBO and Disney.