Sights for Sound

December 7, 2016 Justin Proctor

My friends, George and Joe, went to follow their passion and start up a company that matches bands with venues, called Sights for Sound. Months of preparation go into their first event, finding the perfect venue, sound and light technicians, designer for flyers and banners, somebody to build the stage, and finally a photographer, me. The band is Cathryn Joseph, a indie, Scottish singer, and the opening act is Kristin McClement, an acoustic solo singer. George and Joe had found the perfect venue for the gig, St. John's Church in Bethnal Green.

Cathryn Joseph performing at St. John's Church in London.

The day finally arrives as I pack my gear and head for the bus to take me to Bethnal Green. I walk up to the church and colored lights illuminate the front windows and everybody is doing last minute preparations before people arrive. I head to the back room to unpack and get ready to start shooting. I love seeing events in the prep phase because you can see how much work goes into it. The sound techs are running wires, the sound guy is setting up lights, the stage is being set up, and it's all done before anybody steps foot into the venue.

The door opens and people flood through the door, grabbing drinks, and filling up the seats. Everybody begins to get quiet as Kristin McClement enters the stage and picks up her guitar. She has an incredible voice, it was such a pleasure to listen to as I photographed. Using the 24-105mm I had enough flexibility to get up close and to go up on the balcony to get some general view shots, I do wish I had the new f/ 2.8 though. Working with the f/ 4 was a little hard due to I'm still on the 5D mark ii.

Kristin McClement performing at St. John's Church in London.

Kristin McClement finishes her set and Cathryn Joseph and her drummer enter the stage. Candles are lit in front of the stage to add to the mood. Those candles offered some nice photos though, using them in the foreground and blurring them out. The lights his Cathryn Joseph very nicely as she sat on her piano playing, I do wish there was more light on the drummer, it was very difficult to photograph him. To any lighting techs out there, please put a light in the front and not just back lights, for the photographers. It was an amazing night with wonderful music, however. I was honored to be apart of it.

Bonfire Night

November 6, 2016 Justin Proctor

The closest thing to the Fourth of July, here in London, is Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night. The whole night came from a failed assassination attempt of King James I, in which they found Guy Fawkes guarding barrels of gun powder. To celebrate the day people make effigies of Guy Fawkes and through him in the bon fire.

Woman standing outside Farmopolis watching the fireworks.

Izzy's friend, George, invited us to this floating farm on the Thames in central London, called Farmopolis, for a gig that night. I honestly didn't even know such things existed. Fascinated to see what this floating farm was like, we got ready and hopped on the tube. As always, it's packed on a holiday, so we cram in where we can and get to North Greenwich.

It was surprising how such a posh area of London was so barren. We only saw one person on the way to the farm. We reach Farmopolis and it looked amazing. It consisted of three floating greenhouses and inside was even better! It had a hipster, nature feel with plants everywhere, a dining section, centrally located bar, and an open area with seats and bean bags for gigs.

There were two groups playing that night, one female duo and a 3 member band. As the night went on I felt it was time to take out my camera. I went around shooting the amazing venue and fantastic performers. Suddenly, the manager came up to me and asked me if he could have the photos for his website. Of course I agreed and he began to offer free drinks. Just a perk of being a photographer, always shoot and things will come your way!

Two people watching the performance inside Farmopolis.

Zombies in London!

October 9, 2016 Justin Proctor

Costumes, special effects make-up, pumpkins, and beer must mean that it's nearly Halloween. One of my favorite times of the year. I love seeing everybody's costume and just having a good night out. When I was living in Las Vegas there was an annual zombie walk. Just imagine 1,000 people dressed up as zombies walking down Las Vegas Boulevard, it's a sight to see!

In London they have a similar event, but they call it World Zombie Day. Of course, I was excited for it, just imagine hundreds of zombies walking around Piccadilly Circus. As the day finally arrives, we get the fake blood out and cheap make-up kit from Sainsbury's. It actually turned out pretty well after we all tore up our clothes and applied the blood. Once everybody had got zombie-fied and bags loaded up with drinks we head off.

The scariest zombie I saw all day, casually walking amongst the crowd.

Just like any party we go to, we're running late. Didn't think anything of it until we didn't see a single zombie on the street and in the subway. Starting to second guess ourselves, we arrive at Piccadilly Circus. Finally, we see our first zombie and are relieved we didn't make a fool of ourselves and dress up on the wrong day, yes, we are completely capable of doing that.

Oh... my... god, these zombies are something out of The Walking Dead. People must have spent months on these costumes! There were WWII zombies, zombie clowns, zombie marvel characters, and some stuff nightmares are made from. Despite being magnificently undressed, we have a wonderful time. I had brought my Bluetooth speaker with me and started playing Thriller and other songs of the sort. It was great, people would start dancing and singing around us. It was a peaceful event, the zombies didn't get carried away and ruin property and the observers were engaging with the zombies. I'll see you guys there next year, I'm off to start planning my zombie costume.