For the second year running, I spent 4 days in London shooting photographing the London Soundtrack Festival (last years post here).
This year my pelicase seemed even more packed, but that is probably down to the bulk of the XF200mm F2 LM OIS WR plus I added the GFX100RF to the kit.
Day 1: The Barbican
The festival started off for me at The Barbican for the “Homegrown Heroes – From Bond to Thunderbirds ” concert. One of the best aspects of this job is having full access to everything that is going on, rehearsals and backstage as well as the concerts. This of course means a much longer day but the additional opportunity to hear amazing musicians working and the sound coming together is well worth it (you will have to wait until Thursday for my BTS gallery!).
Before the show there was a reception with branding board; for which I employed my standard X-H2/16-90 setup.
Whilst strict photography rules at the barbican meant that I could only stay in the hall for the first 10 minutes of the concert, I was able to shoot the full 2 hours as we managed to secure one of the AV booths at the back, allowing me to shoot and edit during the show, meaning that all the important images were delivered within a few minutes (for example the award).
Day 2: LSO St Lukes
The last time I visited St Lukes it felt like it was mainly a rehearsal space. To say this venue has changed is an understatement. It now has a charming feel and as a photographer, a great space to shoot in.
We was here for a special live recording of “Soundtracking with Edith Bowman “.
Before the show there was time for a quick portrait of the host, Edit with Oliver, the guest. This was shot on the GFX with a strobe hand held off to my left. LSO St Lukes is a restored church and it was difficult to resist a moody “churchyard” feel for the portrait.
The show was lovely to listen to and shoot, where I tried to make the best use of the pools of light.
Day 3: Westminster Central Hall
Another ecclesiastical building but this one is the total opposite of St Lukes.We were here for “An Evening at Downton Abbey ”
This venue is fairly straightforward to shoot at. For the first half I positioned myself by the sound desk, shooting on the 200 & the 90. I then moved the balcony for a short period of the second half so I could get some images of the pianist (actually John Lunn, the composer of the Downton Abbey music).
Final Day: Cadogan Hall
Whilst my husband is very much a bond and British music fan (and so was very well served by the first night concert at the Barbican), Rachel’s “Ask the River” is very much a go-to album for me to relax to, therefore I was really looking forward to “Rachel Portman & Friends – Beyond the Screen ”.
Cadogan Hall is probably the venue that I most recently shot at so I felt very comfortable knowing the angles and the spots to shoot from.
So.
Out of all I packed, did I use everything?
The obvious lens I did not use is the 50-140. I also did not use the wide lenses much, finding the GFX with it’s 28mm view adequate for most of the venues with its greater dynamic range allowing me to create far more dramatic images.
I’ll show some BTS images on Thursday.
J x
Julie Edwards-X 