Tag Archives: portrait

when i was 14 i played a gig in scarborough that i’m still proud of today, a gig that resulted in our permanent ban from the pavillion vaults due to there being footprints in the ceiling after a rousing 6 song set. peggy mitchell was unhappy with the largely underage crowd abusing her ‘premier’ music venue. there are no pictures of this event, not many of any gigs we played at the time, it was a different era of technology and documentation where photographing five school kids thrashing it out in a dreary northern seaside town was low on the list of photographic subject matter. it was pre-digital, pre-social network and pre-scarborough’s renaissance. looking back at it now, that time would’ve made for some amazing music photography, punks were still weird and heavy music was still safe from limp bizkit’s mass-market appeal. if you’d photographed a 200 strong mosh pit writhing under an 8-foot ceiling or seen the enormous, derelict concrete warehouse we practiced in with minimal lighting, i think it would’ve made for some really nice imagery of a small town with an interesting music scene.

scarborough’s music heritage has always been strong and fortunately there is much more scope for documenting it today. david ruston has been photographing gigs and musicians for a few years and has become one of the most well-known and respected gig photographers in the area. whilst studying, he could be regularly found in the new tavern’s small gig space. with free reign to work with musicians, he produces amazing images of some of our most talented bands and individuals, both on stage and off it.

seeing david’s work is a pleasurable experience, his portraits are simply excellent and have a real sense of personality within them, the mark of a really talented individual. here david tells me about his work, career so far and his influences in photography.

where did it all start for you with photography? what brought you to specialising in music photography and portraits?

it started in college, when i was doing my national diploma in multimedia at yorkshire coast college. we were given a unit on photography to experiment with different techniques and try to be as creative as possible. this led me to the dark room. as soon as i walked in was hooked. i managed to grab my first dslr shortly after, and soon got referred odd jobs by my tutor, mike ambler.

music didn’t come into things straight away, it wasn’t until a few mates in scarborough got together and formed everyone an army. photographing their gigs got me listening to more and more local talent and going to a lot more gigs. the kick up the arse was when tom and karen took over the new tavern in scarborough last year. they happily let me in to snap their gigs, and i soon realised that music photography was the thing for me.

i’ve dabbled in portraits since i got my first camera, although i know now they were never true portraits. when i look back none of them had meaning and didn’t reflect the sitters personality. after photographing more and more musicians i began to read into things a whole lot deeper. now i can’t help listening to original music without being inspired by how i can portray them in such a way that reflects their music.

there are some really great music photographers out there, yourself included, are their any who are a particular influence on you?

without a doubt, mick rock has to be my biggest influence. he gets up close and personal with his subjects, he understands them, and I think it’s this that makes his portraits so great. i think the era had a lot to do with it; photographers could get close to stars either on their highs or lows. now there is so much censorship in place. record labels and management wouldn’t dream of letting a photographer release something that could potentially effect their company.

what do you consider your strongest work so far? how do you see yourself and your work evolving in the future?

my fine art project content has to be by most favorite work. the idea was to explore the identity and individuality of a variety of women by photographing the content of their handbags. i managed to get 16 overall, which ranges from students to scenes of crime officers.

i got a lot of frowns when i first started this but i hope they understand as to what i was trying to achieve. personally, i see the contents as revealing the inner self of their owner, and the bag as the skin. of course, everybody has a different take on things. i hope to explore this identity idea a little further and see where it takes me.

for music i just want to get out there and shoot. i’ve spent too much time sitting and thinking at uni and now is the time to get out there! i really want to get to some bigger venues and events, but access is so difficult now. if your not assigned to a publication then the chances are slim. i guess that’s where i am now, seeking publication whilst working on my portfolio.

are you working on anything at the moment that you’re particularly excited about?

just looking forward to the future and see what comes my way! i guess i’m really excited for the day i can focus 100% on photography without having the 9-5 job.

what do you think is the most important aspect when photographing people?

if you understand them then i would say your half way there. everyone is different and if you haven’t spent much time with them before hand then you have lots of work to do when you finally meet. so yeah, spend as much time with them as you can. if they’re musicians then don’t stop listening to their music!

what are you favourite conditions to shoot in? and also what are the worst?

for general out door a slight overcast is nice. maybe that’s the reason most of my stuff looks slightly depressing! patchy cloud is annoying when shooting on medium format or film. constantly having to check meter readings gets a little tedious but then it’s nice to be kept on your toes!

for gigs, dull or harsh red lighting is my hate. the new tavern was a prime example. i just ended up hanging wireless speedlights of the light fittings and amplifiers. no one minded so I didn’t see the problem!

got any words of wisdom?

ha! i’ve only just left uni so it’s probably best to ignore me! a few agencies I contacted a while ago both said ‘shoot what you want’, as then you will always have passion for what you do.

biography

david is a music, portrait & editorial photographer based in scarborough. he has recently finished a ba in commercial photography at grimsby institute of further & higher education.

links

you can follow david’s work on his website, his twitter or his facebook page.

all images by david ruston