A small "f*ck up" story + one of my favorite images
I'll kick off discussion in this topic with a little story about how I lost pretty much all of my RAW files between the years 2013-2016 (which also turned out to be my busiest and most interesting period as a photographer)
In my first job outside of working in a photography studio, I worked very closely with Capture One and Phase One cameras. We had a user who was experiencing major issues with their catalog; so I decided to replicate their setup as closely as possible.
Good news: I was able to reproduce the issue.
Bad news: the software I had installed decided to automatically format any connected drives, seemingly without warning. One of the drives connected was my image library – everything was deleted and I to put it simply, I was devastated.
I was so upset that I almost wanted to pretend it didn't happen and ended up telling myself it was almost poetic/art in itself that I had come away from pursuing a career as a photographer and in my first "office job" all of my images had been consigned to the past.
I still had JPEG copies, however. One of which is below:
The gentleman in the picture is one of my favorite ever people. Music is my passion first and foremost and Frank Turner is one of the artists I hold closest to my heart – his words and music have helped me through some tough and confusing times, especially when I was a disillusioned teenager growing up in London, increasingly frustrated by my surroundings.
As I built up a portfolio, it became evident that I could meet and access a lot of people simply by asking and showing my work. I sent Frank an email asking if he had time in his busy tour schedule for a small photoshoot, just 10 minutes or so, and then I would auction the print (signed by him) with the proceeds going to Mind.
I got a reply over the next couple of days, with a simple "Sure. But not sure I'll be able to get to you – would you be able to come to the venue?"
"Errr, are you having a laugh? I already have a ticket for the gig, and now you're saying I could get in for free?!" – I jest, I was absolutely over the moon and couldn't quite believe I was going to be able to not only photograph one of my idols, but be able to do so in one of the most historic music venues in London.
In terms of gear I was using a Nikon D850, Elinchrom Ranger flash, and a simple softbox. I wanted to keep it as natural and as easy-to-carry as possible, so that I didn't get stressed and also completely takeover Frank's green room whilst he signed copies of his new book (that I had already purchased, and had tickets to the book launch later that day!) – I was grateful that I went down that path, as the green room was incredibly limited for space.
I took a few different frames in different areas of the green room and this was by far the most pleasing result. I like how there is definition on the left side of the face and a slight pattern from the window, as well as the light being balanced will on the right side of the face, with not too harsh shadows and contrast.
I also like Frank's wry smile. I think he was in conversation with his manager at the time – it definitely wasn't my nervous self, I could barely string a sentence together!
After a successful shoot, I shook hands with Frank and his team (trying desperately to cover the Frank Turner tattoo I had on my wrist) and was on my way back to the other side of London, only to return back a few hours later and queue up with the rest of the punters – just as I liked it.
I hope you've enjoyed hearing an embarrassing story from myself and also the image itself.
What would you do differently? Have any of you had any experiences of photographing people you were really nervous about? I'd love to know!
I'm also really looking forward to hearing your own stories and seeing your images.
Thanks :)
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Well that was a pretty drastic way to rest your portfolio ... I guess the culprit software was NOT CaptureOne?
I have to confess I'd never heard of Frank Turner. I'm rectifying that right now thanks to Apple Music. Definitely in the fine tradition of Billy Bragg. Puts me in mind of Ben Watt a little as well. Sigh - I'm actually old enough to have been to Red Wedge gigs :-)
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David Mantripp I don't think I could ever look at or use Capture One again, let alone work for them, if I'd had that experience! Haha. It was some random backup software that was causing issues with a user's hard drive and I was an unfortunate casualty during troubleshooting.
Funny you say that, because they're good pals! I saw them together at Wembley Arena back in 2013 (I think) and it was truly spectacular. I'll give Ben Watt a listen and return the favor. ;)
Thanks for reading! Looking forward to hearing some of your own stories and seeing some of your work, if you're up for it.
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There's a saying "no backup - no pity". 3 years without backup? The hard way learning you are, young Padawan?
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