During the last week of March I was the “house” photographer for the first edition of the London Soundtrack Festival.
The festival consisted of many different types of events, from master classes & panel discussions through to gala concerts. Such a wide range of events required a wide range of approaches, meaning a wide range of equipment.
I traveled to London with my Pelicase fully loaded with kit.
Due to the smaller size of some of the prime lenses I have been able to “double stack” areas of the case with larger lenses sitting over smaller ones.
As ever, the camera bodies were the X-H2, X-H2s and X100VI
(In fact, the way the case is loaded, I might just use it for most jobs now, instead of decanting the kit to smaller bags, at least I will never have the thought “oh bugger, if I had only brought xyzzy lens” ).
Me working: Setting up the flash on the X-H2Me working: Typical Media Wall Shoot“It just does that” when someone photographs me working
During the 7 days I shot with lenses all the way from the Lawoa 9mm up to the Fuji 100-400 at full range.
Neil Tennant and Anne Dudley photographed performing on stage during the Great Movie Songs concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. X-H2S LAOWA 9 mm ISO 1600 1/125 sec
Howard Shore receives the first London Soundtrack Festival Gunning Inspiration Award from David Cronenberg during the LSF Gala Concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Saturday 22 March 2025 at Royal Festival Hall, London. X-H2S XF100-400mm at 323.2 mm ISO 5000 1/250 sec at f5.4
Due to the higher ISO’s required by the slower longer lens and in the lower light, all of the images were processed from the RAW, through DxO PureRAW and into Lightroom.
Harry Gregson-Williams photographed on stage during the LSF Gala Concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Saturday 22 March 2025 at Royal Festival Hall, London. . X-H2S XF100-400mmF at 189.7 mm ISO 5000 1/250 sec at f5.0
Howard Shore, David Cronenberg and Jon Burlingame photographed at the David Cronenberg & Howard Shore: In Conversation as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Saturday 22 March 2025 at Royal Festival Hall, London. . X-H2 XF16mm ISO 1250 1/200 sec at f 2.8
The 3 images above were taken at the Royal Festival Hall on the Saturday night of the festival.
Matthew Sweet and Cate Blanchett photographed at the Cate Blanchett introduces a screening of the Todd Field’s film “Tár” as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Friday 21 March 2025 at Barbican Cinema, London.
The night before I had been photographing Cate Blanchett introducing a screening of TAR before I headed over to a panel talk.
Atmosphere photographed at the Drinks reception and panel as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Friday 21 March 2025 at Central St Giles, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.Festival Artistic Director Tommy Pearson with Harry Gregson-Williams, Stephen Barton, Paul Farrer and Natalie Holt photographed at the Drinks reception and panel as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Friday 21 March 2025 at Central St Giles, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.
On the Sunday and Monday I had other commitments (Sabotage Gallery, of which I am a co-owner for one) so the events were covered by two other photographers who I regularly use for bigger events. As always, I handled all the management and the supply of the images back to the client. (Being a photographer is not just about making images, there is quite a bit of management of people and data involved).
The Tuesday had me at the Roundhouse (a favourite venue) for a night of Great Movie Songs.
Conductor Anne Dudley photographed performing on stage duringthe Great Movie Songs concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. X-H2S_XF16mm 16 mm ISO 1600 1/250 sec at f2.8Lance Ellington photographed performing on stage duringthe Great Movie Songs concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. . X-H2S XF16mm ISO 1600 1/160 sec at f2.8 ( & Star Filter)
My favourite times of these sorts of jobs though are the rehearsals (which is where the magic really happens as the musicians gel) and backstage.
Louise Dearman photographed at the Great Movie Songs – Rehearsals as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. X100VI ISO 1600 1/640 sec at f2.0 (& Star Filter)
For the final night, I was back at the Southbank for Hildur Guðnadóttir In Concert.
Hildur Guðnadóttir photographed on stage during the Hildur Guðnadóttir In Concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Wednesday 26 March 2025 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. X-H2_XF16mm ISO 3200 1/125 sec at f2.8
I’ll finish this post with a mixed gallery of backstage images from over the festival, mostly shot on the X100VI (apologies for the mix of colour & monochrome).
Harry Gregson-Williams photographed at the Drinks reception and panel as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Friday 21 March 2025 at Central St Giles, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.David Cronenberg photographed backstage before the David Cronenberg & Howard Shore: In Conversation as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Saturday 22 March 2025 at Royal Festival Hall, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.Howard Shore, David Cronenberg and Jon Burlingame leave the stage following the David Cronenberg & Howard Shore: In Conversation as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Saturday 22 March 2025 at Royal Festival Hall, London. . Picture Credit: Julie Edwards/Avalon.David Cronenberg photographed at the London Soundtrack Festival: Ivors Academy Reception as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Saturday 22 March 2025 at Royal Festival Hall, London. . Picture Credit: Julie Edwards/Avalon.Conductor Ben Palmer photographed backstage before the LSF Gala Concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Saturday 22 March 2025 at Royal Festival Hall, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.Festival Artistic Director Tommy Pearson photographed backstage during the Great Movie Songs concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.Conductor Anne Dudley and Omar photographed backstage during the Great Movie Songs concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.Omar photographed backstage during the Great Movie Songs concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.Artists backstage photographed during the Great Movie Songs concert as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Tuesday 25 March 2025 at The Roundhouse, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.
Its amazing the amount of mirrorless kit you can fit in a single case and the varied images that can be created with it.
More tech talk next week. Until then, please let me know what you think.
I am a Sussex based photographer providing imagery for the entertainment industry.
My working time is split fairly evenly between London and Sussex although I have worked all around the world; from Europe covering the BAFTA's, Glastonbury, Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals, to the USA covering The Oscars.
Passing knowledge & experience on is very important to me and so I am proud to say I have served on the Board of the British Press Photographers Association, helping to improve the image and practices of working press photographers. I educate by writing a widely read “technical” blog detailing my use of Fuji cameras and other equipment as well as giving talks about Press (and other aspects of) Photography to camera clubs and groups.
View all posts by Julie Edwards
Julie Edwards-X 
One thought on “London Soundtrack Festival”