My entry route into photography was through live music way back in 2005 when I was still in a band myself. It was a pretty backwards way to do things looking back on it now. Most photographers will start off learning how their camera works by doing a course, taking pictures of family, landscapes and anything else that is it hand. I learned by taking pictures while I was still a drummer, and working out how to get better at doing solely that.

I have shot hundreds and hundreds of shows since then - but since having kids 12 years ago, the nights in outweighed the nights in a pit - and by the time everything shut down for the pandemic, I shot maybe two shows in a year. Shooting live comedy is now more my niche I suppose, but I have been looking for a way back in for a few months now, poring over the listings, seeing what I was available for and trying to marry up the day job, shooting comedy, parenting and sleeping.

The problem with being ancient of course, is that all of the names that I recognise touring now are not newsworthy and will never sell (and let’s not forget that while being fun, I am doing this for income) which makes things fifty times harder than it was when I was in my twenties! I am now going by my new golden rule of ‘if I have never heard of them and it’s a sold out show, it must be worth shooting’ - and so it goes! It led me to Alfie Templeman on Monday, who, by the way is excellent, and is only 19 years old….19. Literally old enough to be his dad. Not just a teenage dad either. I felt like I should have been accompanying a minor.

The same applies to the other photographers in the pit. I was easily the oldest by 20 years. When the hell did that happen?!

Maybe my generation of duffers were all wiped out by Covid - maybe I’m the last one standing. Either way, it was so much fun being back in a pit after so long away, and actually getting a half decent set from a venue whose lighting rig has always been notoriously bad for photography (according to…me).

24 October 2022: Singer songwriter Alfie Templeman plays The Junction, Cambridge . Picture by Stuart Hogben
Shot for RETNA / Avalon

Blog - Through the Lens

Posts tagged with press-photographer

Alfie Templeman - Cambridge -24/10/22