The blog of photographer Kim Ayres

Finding Albert at The Mill Sessions

Finding Albert are a rather talented, up and coming band who played at The Mill Sessions last week.

As in previous performances this year (see The Mill Sessions label), I set about photographing the band before the gig started.

Up until now, I’d been photographing people singly, or in pairs, so with Finding Albert being a 4-piece band, it took a bit of shuffling about to fit them all into the shot. There’s also the problem that the more people in a photo, the more chance one of them will be blinking, looking in the wrong direction or getting lost in a shadow cast by one of the others. It took a bit of time, but I got there in the end.


Finding Albert: left to right -
Chris (drums), Rob (vocals and keyboard), Neil (bass), Michael (guitar)


An additional difficulty, however, lay in the fact the summer has now long since passed and it was dark, so there wasn’t the option of photographing outside. And the empty space I’d used in the first 3 Mill Sessions earlier in the year wasn’t empty.

My solution was to bring along a light, a reflector and an extension lead and use the stairwell.



The gig itself was superb. With room only available for 50 to 60 people max, the venue allows a real sense of intimacy. It feels like barely a step up from having a band perform in your living room. Stripped back from their usual big amps, the drummer even used a cajón, as a full drum kit would have over-powered everything else in this smaller space.

As well as the obvious advantage for the audience, for the performers it also feels like playing to a group of friends, creating a mood that is both intimate and relaxed.

Sitting at the front with my camera on my knee, I put on the wide-angle lens so as to fit everyone in at such a close distance. There’s no fancy camera work, but the videos below should give you a flavour of the evening.


Back to Rome


My Friend Jack

For more about Finding Albert, visit their website here:
http://www.findingalbert.com/

or their Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/findingalbert





11 comments

Pat said...

What charming talented boys.

Attila the Mom said...

You're really amazing. I can't wait to say "I knew him when"!

Anonymous said...

excellent b&w photo, enjoyed the videos...love their banter and their music...the cajon is a new instrument for me...I like it

Kim Ayres said...

Pat - They were great fun :)

Attila - you're so good for the ego :)

Theanne & Baron - I'd seen the instrument before, but didn't know what it was called. Had to do some searching on the Internet, which was trickier than I thought. It's easy to lok for something when yo uknow what it's called, but not if you don't. It's a bit like trying to look up the spelling of psycho in the dictionary if you don't know it has a silent P...

Eryl said...

Great name, and I absolutely loved 'My Friend Jack'. Brilliant photo too, you're such a professional now, able to overcome all number of problems without so much as blinking.

Steve Bailey said...

I love finding new bands!!! Thanks for this...

Unknown said...

The photography is excellent as usual. I loved the music. Wow. It seems like here in the states we don't get a lot of unique sounds. That is unique and wonderful.

Unknown said...

Kim, you continue to impress me with your skill as a photographer.

Ruth Kelly said...

Very interesting. I've never seen anyone play a sit on drum. Nice group.

mapstew said...

I like their sound.

From your photie I notice that one has to have a dimpled chin to be in the band! :¬)

Kim Ayres said...

Eryl - thank you - I feel I've come a long way over since we did the shoot at the burned out hotel with you in the wedding dress. I know I'd photograph it quite differently now. If you're up for another photoshoot sometime, then don't hesitate to give me a shout :)

Steve - nae bother pal :)

Carole - glad you enjoyed it :)

C in DC - thank you :)

Ruth - it's a great instrument isn't it? Took me a while to figure out what it was called though :)

Mapstew - I hadn't noticed the chin dimples until you said. Now I can't see anything other than the dimples... :)

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