I’d almost forgotten about this photo.
The first time taking pictures in a venue you haven’t been to in ages can be an umitigated disaster. You have no idea on the lighting setup, you don’t know how well the flash will bounce if it’s dark in there and you just don’t feel settled until you have a feel for a place – for me it can take a couple of shows in the same place to get that confidence. I’ve only just started to work out the complexities of shooting in The Social after my fourth time there (for the record, it’s fun to bounce flash backwards off the window and onto the stage).
The last time I was at the Scala was about nine years ago – shortly after they reopened I think, following the closure for Clockwork Orange-showing shenanigans. I seem to recall smoking three packs of cigarettes in one evening, drinking five times my body weight in Smirnoff Ices and nearly going home with someone of ambigious gender. Such is life.
Anyway, I scoped the venue as soon as I entered, looked for good points to shoot, took my place and waited. Very quickly I realised I’d chosen entirely the wrong position – there was no pit on the ocassion – and just didn’t get the shots I wanted. Coupled with the lighting, which just didn’t fall in the right place. It was one of the few ocassions when the abscence of a press pit means you can’t use flash.
This shot did, however, turn out pretty okay and I’m real happy with it. When those silhouette shots work, they’re a real winner but as this was pretty much the only shot from this entire gig I liked, I’d filed that night under ‘photographic disaster’.
Anyway, my rule of thumb now for new places is to turn up very early and use the support as practise. Takes the guesswork out of the equation.
