A big Inspiration

A big inspiration for me is Jill Furmanovsky. I’d been at ILFORD for maybe 3 months when I went to a music photography exhibition at Manchester central library. It featured some of her work. Seeing her contact sheet of Joy Division shot on ILFORD HP5 PLUS was what made me start shooting gigs. It was a band I loved on a product I was now helping to make.

Capturing emotion and atmosphere

I started taking the odd picture on a little point and shoot at gigs I was going to. Then I finally got the confidence to go up to the front with my SLR. It opened up another way to enjoy the music I loved, capturing the emotion and atmosphere in the room. Working with film makes me slow down, often the contrary to the pace of the gig. I know I have a limit so can’t get too snap happy.

One of my favourite aspects of shooting gigs on film is experimenting with the lighting and contrast. I recently shot TTSSFU at New Century supporting Kim Deal. The strobes were pretty crazy but I really like how this shot came out. Another shot where I played with the lighting is of Opus Kink. I was aiming for a halo sort of effect around him but ended up with this silhouette which came out just as punchy as their music is.

The process of shooting film and the anticipation of how your photos came out is always exciting. My go to film is ILFORD HP5 Plus when it comes to gigs, it’s versatile when it comes to pushing and pulling which comes in handy shooting subjects in lighting as variable as a gig. I’ve also used XP2, Delta 400 and Delta 3200. I love Delta 400 but HP5 is a bit cheaper so usually comes out on top for me!

Swim School

The first band I shot on multiple occasions was Swim School, a band from Edinburgh. I first shot them in 2022, in the Castle Hotel. Most recently, I shot them on their tour supporting Pale Waves so it’s great to see how far they’ve come. They’re such a lovely bunch and shooting them really grew my confidence. They were the subjects of some of the first portraits I took. One of my photos got used for a Pixies tour support announcement which was really cool.

Image of Alice from Swim School shot by Beck Carr on ILFORD black and white film

Alice - Swim School shot on ILFORD DELTA 3200

Something I’d like to shoot more of is portraits. Recently, I bought my first medium format camera, which has been a long time coming! I’d love to shoot some artist portraits using it. Also, I want to shoot some slower film stocks like Delta 100 or Kentmere 200.

Capturing history

The art of capturing and archival aspect of photography is something else that the exhibition sparked my interest in. There’s something so fascinating about pictures from the 70’s/80’s/90’s. It’s an insight into an era and a time you’ll never experience, at least it is for me personally. Seeing how artists, styles, movements, venues and crowds have changed is so interesting. Additionally, knowing that this will have changed in the future too is another reason for me to keep capturing.

Manchester Music Scene

I’ve met so many great people through photography and the Manchester music scene, there’s a real community. It’s as important as ever to support grass roots venues in these challenging times if you can, get to a gig and discover some new music. There are gig nights in Manchester, like Hot Take, for a fiver… less than the price of a pint nowadays!

The Last Dinner Party shot by Becky Carr on ILFORD black and white film

The Last Dinner Party

Unless otherwise stated, all images shot on ILFORD HP5 PLUS pushed to 800.