Amidst promotion duties for their second album The Script, led by front man Danny O’Donoghue, arrived in Leeds with their own brand of Irish pop-rock.

The Script might not be everyone’s ideal night out but for those who packed out the Academy in Leeds Danny O’Donoghue provided ample entertainment. Moving around the stage, rather than just standing behind his oversized keyboard and stand, O’Donoghue engaged with the fans to the point of jumping down into the pit, microphone in hand, and treating us to some awful renditions of his lyrics from those crammed against the barrier.

Having a lead singer of any band jump into the pit, whilst a rare and amazing opportunity, has it’s own problems. The flight case used as the step to allow O’Donoghue off and back onto the stage made navigating around the pit perilous and if there had been more than just two photographers in there getting a clear shot of O’Donoghue would have been much more difficult. As it happened myself and one other photographer each took a side of the pit and snapped away without much trouble.

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To check out the full gallery of images from this gig click on any of the thumbnail images below.

Shooting on assignment for a local magazine I headed to the Brudenell Social Club in Hyde Park, Leeds, to catch the Canadian quartet Women on their UK tour.

Despite a slightly disappointing crowd Women, supported by US based Idiot Glee and Leeds boys Wonderswan, still managed to put on a pretty good show and I wouldn’t hesitate in catching them again next time they’re in the area.

Notes on the venue
The Brudenell Social Club, found right in the centre of the student area of Leeds, is a great venue for catching smaller or emerging indie bands. When it comes to shooting at the Brudenell though it’s not so great. The poor (and dull) lighting makes flash a necessity but with a fairly low ceiling and dark walls around the stage it often leaves images washed out and overpowers what coloured light there is.

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Click on any one of the thumbnails below to open up a gallery of my images from this gig.

Scottish singer song writer Paolo Nutini hit the O2 Academy, Leeds, as part of his European Summer tour.

The most annoying thing about shooting Paolo Nutini was not the lighting, a mixture of different coloured front and back lighting, but the fact that he spent nearly the entirety of the first three songs with his eyes closed. His eyes were closed to often that I’m surprised he didn’t end up walking straight into the pit by accident.

Despite this, and the dodgy lighting, it was still fun and a good way of getting back into the swing of things before the gig season really kicks off towards the end of September.

Gallery
Click on any one of the thumbnails below to open up a gallery of my shots from this gig.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of assisting Ed Fielding, a photographer I met through his live music work, with a wedding in Bedale, North Yorkshire.

I had a great time shooting this wedding and really enjoyed working with Ed. So much so in fact that I’m assisting him with another wedding in the next couple of weeks.

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If you’d like to see more images from this wedding check out the gallery below, click on any thumbnail to expand the images. If you’d like to see more of my photography work check out my Flickr page.

For those of you who don’t know, Party In The Park is the largest free concert in the UK. Hosted annually in the grounds of Temple Newsham, Leeds. this growing event boasted a bill packed with current and future pop stars including Pixie Lott, Basshunter, Dizzee Rascal and many others.

Even though each artist performed less than 5 tracks the day was non-stop trying to balance time spent in front of the stage capturing live images with time spent behind the scenes and, in particular, in the cramped press area taking portrait shots of any artist that happened to wander past. Combine that with no down time on stage and you have a frantic day with little time to review or edit any images.

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Click on one of the thumbnail’s below to expand the image and browse this short gallery. For a full gallery of images from Party In The Park, including an extended set of off stage portraits, check out my Flickr page.

I’ll start by saying that Opera isn’t really my thing. I’ve never seen any Opera and never really been that way inclined but, whilst arranging my pass for Party In The Park I figured I may as well cover both events and, if nothing else, it would add a different type of image to my portfolio.

My worry with Opera, like most people, was that I wouldn’t understand it (as most of them are in French, Italian etc) but actually, when I took the time to just stand and watch, the singers were so beautifully expressive that the words became irrelevant. The facial experssions and wonderful movements really sold the story, and whilst the details may not have been clear, the general narrative was there for all to see.

From a technical point of view this was not an easy shoot, the stage was a good 6 or 7 feet high at one end and was built on a slope so that at the far end (right hand side) it was closer to 10-12 feet. That meant either alot of shots from the side with a long lens or shots looking directly up at the performers. Fortunately the singers tended to be on the left of the stage giving an easier angle to deal with so I opted for a bit of both.

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Below is a small selection of the images from Opera In The Park 2010. Click on a thumbnail to expand the image and browse through at your own speed. If you’d like to see a full set of images from this event then check out my Flickr Page where you can find a wider selection of shots plus images from all of the other gigs I’ve covered.

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Below is a selection of shots from the event, click on an image to open it up to full size. If you’d like to see more images from the Championship then check out my Flickr Page where you’ll be able to view the full set.

Sorrento at night, taken from out hotel built into the cliffs overlooking the beautiful town.

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Having seen Rodrigo Y Gabriela before, supporting Muse at Wembley Stadium a few years ago, I had an idea of what to expect but it still amazes me just how much of a show they can put on without backing band, vocals or any instruments other than a pair of acoustic guitars.

Needless to say this show was great fun to shoot despite it’s fair share of challenges. With only two people on stage the pit can get crowded in front of Rodrigo or Gabriela and it’s difficult to come away with a variety of shots of two people playing guitars, couple that with some low key lighting and the need for seriously high shutter speeds to avoid excessive motion blur and you have a tricky gig to shoot.

All that aside though it was immensely fun and I would really advise you checking these two out when they come back to a town near you.

Full Gallery
Below is a full gallery of images from this concert. The gallery links directly to Flickr where you can find the full set along with other images from recent gigs and festivals.

Slam Dunk Festival 2010 held at Leeds University union including the Stylus and Refectory venues. Festival shot for, but sadly not featured in, the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Rolo Tomassi

Futures

New Found Glory

Capdown

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