In this series, I explore the grassroots music scene, examining the key players, their roles, and the insights they can offer to Joyzine and its readers.
Felix has been capturing live performances at some of the music industry’s most beloved grassroots venues. We caught up with him to discover what makes him click.
How did you get into photography?
I saw Antonioni’s movie Blow Up in the late ‘60s and was fascinated not only by the David Baileyesque lifestyle lived out by David Hemmings’s character but also by the darkroom techniques which were an integral part of the plot. I was lucky to go to a school which had a darkroom, and, inspired by the film, learned how to develop and print my own black-and-white photos taken on my first Pentax Spotmatic. It wasn’t long before I had set up my own darkroom in my bedroom at home and was projecting insanely blown-up enlargements across the room onto the wall, as in the movie. I did not spot any dead bodies hidden in the undergrowth but was hooked on the whole process of taking pictures and processing them myself.
I gave up photography when I started a family but took it up again in 2004, when my kids had grown up. I restarted by picking up digital techniques and then got back into analogue again when I discovered Darkroom London in Kentish Town just after COVID. I relearned black-and-white developing and printing under the eagle eye of Phil Grey, who runs the darkroom and is an excellent teacher, with a background in analogue live-music photography.
I started shooting live music at festivals: End of the Road near Shaftesbury in Dorset and Green Man in Wales. Neither has any restrictions on camera equipment, and they have great international line-ups featuring established and breakthrough artists, and a range of tented and picturesque stage venues on site to make life interesting. Both festivals are in areas of outstanding natural beauty so are a live-music photographer’s dream.
Which photographers do you admire?
Photographers from the music world include Bob Freeman, who shot all the Beatles album covers up to and including Rubber Soul, and Linda McCartney, both of whom I worked with when I was publisher at the Octopus Publishing Group in the early ‘90s. Their books, The Beatles: A Private View and Sixties: Portrait of an Era respectively, showcase their mastery of black and white and the way they were able to capture their iconic subjects at decisive moments.
I still have a signed framed print on my wall of the With the Beatles album cover shot, taken and specially processed by Bob to look the way he wanted it to be seen: much softer and less contrasty than the version EMI went with.Linda was so easy to work with, always open to the publisher’s editorial, design and marketing ideas, and we did consider for a moment tweaking the title when Paul chipped in at a meeting with Six Ties.
Other photographers I admire are Don McCullin for his uncompromising vision, bravery, skill at interacting with his subjects, and peerless black-and-white shooting and darkroom processing skills. Vivian Maier, the untrained American street photographer and nanny who was totally unknown in her lifetime but whose archive was discovered and promoted posthumously, bringing her huge cast of anonymous mid-century characters back to life. An outsider with exceptional observational skills, who slipped under everyone’s radar while alive. And finally – how could you omit this guy from a list of all-time greats? – the best landscape photographer of all time, Ansel Adams, whose epic pictures of the majestic scenery in California’s Yosemite National Park still take my breath away.
What do you look for when photographing a band?
I try, but don’t always succeed, to capture a key emotional point in a musician’s or singer’s performance. My preferred framing is therefore close up on the head and shoulders or top half of the body so that facial expression sets the tone for each photo.
For me, interesting faces, flamboyant outfits, cool instruments, innovative back projections, dramatic lighting and on-stage energy, rather than brilliant music, are the key ingredients for interesting live-music photographs.
The main challenge with this type of photography in independent venues is adapting to whatever lighting is used for the gig. Occasionally you can persuade the sound engineer to alter the direction of the spots, which often only light artists from the waist down, or to boost the lighting strength when it is funereal. But whatever the conditions you have to find angles and moments when the light is helping your compositions. I very rarely use flash because a) it can distract and annoy performers and b) I don’t like to take the audience’s attention away from what they’re watching. But if you want a rave look with psychedelic light trails there’s no other way!
I try to capture each member of a band and to have long shots showing the whole band and the crowd so the artists can pick images that suit the purposes of their individual and collective socials and marketing. I give performers a free edited set of photos after each gig, and post the occasional shot I’m happy with on my Instagram page.
Which venue is your favourite and why?
To shoot London gigs, probably the Dublin Castle. I carry quite a bit of gear, so being less than 10 minutes walk from my front door is a definite plus. I’ve shot there so many times that I’m totally at home with the lighting and know the best angles to shoot from. The crowd is usually enthusiastic and engaged, but however full the venue there always seems to be enough room for me to move around without annoying people or getting in their way (being over six feet tall I am good at obstructing views). I drum for SUSAN the Band and one of our best gigs was at the Dub, so I have warm feelings for the place.
What are your up and coming projects?
I shall continue to pick and choose interesting indie gigs to cover in London because I love the changing challenges and making personal connection with fellow creatives. But I want to expand my skill set by learning more about studio photography. I recently bought a medium-format film camera (Mamiya RB67) because I was amazed by the detail in Peter Lindbergh’s medium-format fashion photography at an exhibition I saw recently in Stockholm. I have done a few studio-portrait shoots in my home studio with friends, lit by LED panels, but have recently joined the Camera Club in Kennington which teaches studio flash-lighting and portraiture, and has a couple of fully equipped studios for members to rent, as well as first-class darkroom facilities. It would be fun to shoot some of my live-music subjects this way. I particularly like the collaborative nature of photo-portraiture and the creative dialogue with my subjects.
Last photographic exhibition you went to?
I saw fellow live-music photographer Marija Buljeta’s exhibition at the Camera Club. Her work was shot from the pit at large venues (I’ve only done this three or four times) and featured cool shots of household-name musicians and singers that were sharp, well lit and dynamic. She kindly took time out afterwards to share information about her experience and gave helpful pointers to working higher up the food chain in the music business. One can only dream.
Felix Lensman on Instagram
Cover photo Dicepeople at Dublin Castle
Article by Mr Laurence
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