As many of you are already aware, I really enjoy my job, to the point of feeling guilt at times.  How can I enjoy a job so much?  I think one of the primary reasons for this is the fact that no two days are the same.  This is such a challenging vocation at times, and sometimes so simple.  I enjoy photographing people, in the studio, on location, it’s just so much fun (although there are times when there is little fun to be had).

One of the things I particularly like is the opportunities there are to ‘try something new’.  Too many people see the skill of photography as a dying art, or simply a matter of a numbers game to capture the one required image.

Photography is a form of art, it can be creative but there is creation in every single image.  The camera operator has decisions to make every time the shutter release is pressed, composition, timing, exposure, aperture and shutter speed.  Then there is lighting, another discipline that is undervalued by viewers everywhere as the best lit shots out there generally look like they are naturally lit, so with very little skill.

The fact of the matter is that every time a photographer captures a moment, there are so many things to consider, that people just don’t see.

As a photographer and an aspiring photographer too, it is dangerous to get comfortable, you always look for the next image, the next project, so being asked to photograph a local hobby band for publicity shots was a challenge to look forward too.  At this point I feel I need to add that these musicians are brilliant and the term ‘Hobby’ is meant to show their motivations, they play for the love not the finance (although they are available for hire).

Due to the nature of most of their day jobs, the band line up does change constantly as members move on and new ones replace, but this adds to the difficulty of getting the photograph.

I shot the band the first time in 2011, not too long before I went to Afghanistan, a short time out of the bands religious rehearsals.  With a camera, a few flash guns against a brick wall, I managed to make a simple image, but after I felt it did not do the band justice as by their nature, their line up changes almost monthly.

Then back from Afghanistan, a new line up, with even more changes on the horizon, I wanted to do something that I felt suited their make up.

Individual portraits, all with the same identical lighting that have that connection, the images could then be brought together to make a band photo.

I did however make an image of the band all together too, call it the banker shot if you like…………..