Simon Hirst (Hirsty)

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simon hirst

Been a while since i used this blog, been real busy moving my work to self-hosted blogs and designing wordpress sites for others.

But enough techy talk. Did a shoot for Simon Hirst (Hirsty) – great guy – he of Capital FM fame. Simon is the main breakfast DJ there so you will have most likely heard his voice. No idea what shot to pick for this post so here’s a little strip I made.

Oh, what the heck, here’s another shot.

Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher, originally uploaded by simonmurray66.

Dreamcatcher, who hail from Leeds played me their brand of metal while I shot them in the studio, great bunch of guys but I must admit to being glad to not bring the iPhone dock up to this attic, was that the reason I shot them here or do you think it suits them?

Will Dewsbury

web-0558, originally uploaded by simonmurray66.

Here’s another of Will looking mean and sharp in the studio!

Will D.

web-0200, originally uploaded by simonmurray66.

Will dewsbury, what an amazing guitarist he is, finger picking – un-amped in my studio over my eclectic music, good on him. This one’s with the lensbaby. Nearly overlooked this shot due to it being out of the focal plane but it turns out that only his right eye seems at all sharp, which is good for a lens when you are that distance away.

Studio to share in the centre of Leeds

The space is not used on a daily basis and one can often have the whole place to yourself.
Studio will be available from March. Contract is usually for a minimum of 6 months and more than happy for you to stay much longer.

Its a great bright space in the centre of Leeds right by the train station on Aire Street and run by LCVS.
It would suit an artist working on a small scale, student or someone with a small business but who didn’t want the outlay of an expensive office or didn’t have the space to work from home.

Broadband, electricity, gas heating, large street facing north light windows, 24/7 access, secure studio and entry, Size wise it’s about 25 x 15 feet.

Rent and bills are included and shared with 2 others and is only £140/month total each.

Call Simon on 07710 055318 if genuinely interested.

Aged, yet dignified

, originally uploaded by LJ..

What an amazing portrait this is that I found on Flickr. No it’s not one of mine. The woman here has her age exageratted but still appears dignified. Fantasticly lit.

Full moon in the streets of Perth

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church, moon, perth, st johns kirk

St Johns Kirk, Perth on a winters night

Just been taking night shots in the streets of perth in temperatures of -9 but great fun, no PC up here so shots to come will be posted in the new year.

Had fun trying to balance the tungsten lit church with the blue of the night sky. Exposure challenges too with the snow on the ground, clouds in the sky and a moon that moves if exposure is more than 4 seconds. Was glad to capture the full moon in the streets but not the one shown to me by some drunken chav.

Goldfrapp in Leeds

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goldfrapp, head first, Leeds

If I’m honest I would have thought that a band like Goldfrapp would have done a similar thing to other bands of this size and genre and just skipped Leeds, instead visiting Bristol, Birmingham, Milton Keynes,Sheffield and Manchester, so good on them. Leeds awaits the much needed arena so that the more succesful bands have no excuse but to visit this great city.

What was really surprising was that the O2 Academy was only half full when Goldfrapp, who I believe to be the most outstanding genre busting yet succesfull band in the land visted us.

Alison was really on form when she took to the stage with ‘Crystalline Green’ in a black metallic boa like outfit. her voice is truly outstanding, my wife who can be critical of voices (who isn’t these days with X-factor and all) was really impressed. Everyone in the band performed as if they were making a live CD, and it turns out this is what they did in Bristol and its available now in the Goldfrapp store.
Not all the favourites are there, the singles, ‘Happiness’ and ‘Rocket’ were fairly conspicuous by their absence but maybe this was something to do with the band not wanting too many singles on the live recording.

The crowd didn’t really get going till they played ‘Number 1′ – not really one of my faves, and of course ‘Ooh La La’ was there and about 6 tracks from ‘Head First’, their latest album which while a bit different from Seventh Tree (their best album), still see’s them stamp their mark and their songwriting has gone to a new level, especially with Alive and Head First. Only a pity they didn’t play ‘A&E’ and ‘Pilots’ but otherwise it was a blast of fresh air.

So thank you Goldfrapp for visiting Leeds for one night, even though you may have got a better audience in Bristol or Manchester, I for one had a fantastic night, as did everyone else, astute enough to come and see you.

Album number 5 - Head First

Mark Pierce

Got the pleasure of photographing Mark Pierce the other day, most of the time we seemed to be in a fit of giggles at the uncanny pieces of music blurting from my iPod playlist which seemed to either set the mood just right or highlight ironically some of the stuff we had been talking about earlier.

If you are a fan of James Blunt, James Morrison, or indeed any male solo artist with the name James then you are really missing something if you don’t have a listen to Mark’s latest tracks.
Pop on over here.

Mansion room wanted for photo shoot

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bare, mansion, photoshoot, room, windows

Large room wanted for photoshoot in Leeds area. Old victorian edwardian or georgian room with huge windows and bare floorboards. At least 25 foot square, bigger the better. Can be adorned or preferably a bare deserted shell. Wanted on august 24th in the evening. It doesnt have to be pretty, would even be happy with cobwebs, just need the light, space and atmosphere.