update on the Cobden lighting

A while ago, I posted about how lighting can really make or break your images from a music event - here. Well. The month after those shots were taken, I went back and Paul had managed to work some magic and get me one white spotlight that shone onto the artist's faces instead of their bald patches, hurrah! Thanks Paul!

some musical recommendations ...

As it gets colder and darker and Christmas looms, I find myself spending more and more time on the computer, discovering new artists. So I thought I'd share some of them with you :)

Richard Walters - My personal favourites are Elephant in the Room and We Have Your Head. Richard's music really gets under my skin. It comes back to me hours after I listen to it.

Merz - Try Lucky Adam.

First Aid Kit - Two young Swedish teenage sisters. They do a fabulous cover of the Fleet Foxes' Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.

Luke Slott - Luke used to front a wonderful Irish band called Melaton, who sadly broke up before releasing their first album. Luke is a phenomenal pianist.

Florence and the Machine - Dog Days are Over is fantastic. Her voice is astonishing.

Dandelion Wine - New York band. Have a listen to A World Completely of our Own. What a voice he has. A touch of Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart.

Happy listening ... x

(sooo close to Christmas now ...!)

I love this ...

Wisdom

Wish I could figure out how to embed it.

Hello lovely people.

After much effort and cross-Atlantic wrangling, my new website is finally live.

As many of you know, I have been shooting musicians for some time now. However, I don't just shoot adults ... with guitars! I love shooting families and children, as well as couples.

I wish more couples would invest in images of themselves, actually. Blurry compact camera pictures taken in the local pub will not stand the test of time, people. Go on, do it, you won't regret it. They don't have to be cheesy ... unless you want them to be.

Anyway, have a gander at the site. When booking, mention this blog post and you will receive 15% off the total order price.

www.kirstenmavric.co.uk

And happy Christmas!!

luke jones

Luke Jones was one of my very first portrait clients and I was so pleased when he contacted me recently, and asked for some updated images for his forthcoming album release. He is a truly lovely man and a very talented artist! Check him out here - http://www.myspace.com/lukejones

little noise sessions

Every year, BBC Radio One dj Jo Whiley curates the wonderful Little Noise Sessions at the Union Chapel in London, on behalf of Mencap. Nine nights of amazing musicians (and surprise guests) such as Glasvegas, Razorlight, James Morrison, Keane, Fratellis, Kasabian, Kate Perry, Duke Special and Stereophonics. So far this year, the surprise guests were The Killers, on the opening night. More are rumoured to play as this week continues. Last year, Bono and The Edge turned up and played a few songs.

The Union Chapel is a 124 year-old, grade 2-listed chapel at Highbury Corner in north London; the ideal setting for any intimate, acoustic experience.

So you can imagine how pleased I was to be invited along last night to see Adele, Angus and Julia Stone and the amazing Damien Rice. Tickets were like gold dust and the atmosphere in the chapel was amazing. I only brought my tiny, not-good-for-low-light Canon G7, so please excuse the quality of the images.

Julia Stone



Adele



Jo Whiley and her two week old daughter Coco! Jo asked us not to clap too loudly when Damien came on, as she was really hoping Coco would stay asleep through his act and Jo could relax and listen to it ;)



Damien Rice



Damien played a perfect set. When I say perfect, it was perfect for me. He only played songs from his first ep and album. I first saw Damien and Lisa play in London, way back in 2001, at a tiny venue called The Kashmir Klub. He had just released the Blower's Daughter ep and hadn't yet released 'O' in Ireland. They were so mesmerising, I was blown away immediately. Poor Damien, he must have been sick of the sight of me, after a few months, as I never missed a London show. I prefer to call it 'supporting' rather than 'stalking' ;)

For the geeks among you, the setlist included:

Delicate
Amie
Blower's Daughter
The Professor (La Fille Danse)
Cannonball (Damien sang this without the PA, you could have heard a pin drop.)

He was on fine form with the banter, too. Several long, slightly naughty stories. Such a shame that he is not planning any more shows for a while. This one was a favour to Jo Whiley.

Oh ... and a little bird told me, after the show, that Lisa Hannigan's 'Ocean and a Rock' will be featured on Grey's Anatomy on the 24th of November! I'm sure she'll conquer the States in no time.

Fantastic night all round (many thanks, Paul).

Ah this makes me SMILE!

Taken at 3.23am this morning, you can see the weariness in me, eh. We got home at 5.30am and then had to stay up to watch Barack make that impressive and moving speech.

My oh-so-better-half took this picture. He was on shift for AFP (Agence France Presse) and four of his pictures were used on the BBC site today - numbers 2,4,9 and 11 - BBC. He has written a blog about it also - Leon's blog.

We, here in the UK, could not be happier for the USA. I think the world will sleep better tonight, for more than one reason...