Nick Miners Photography

A leap into the void

Nick Miners — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:14:42 +0000

As I’ve mentioned before, 2012 marks the year when I start up as a full-time professional photographer, and so as much a cliche as it sounds, the end of 2011 really is the end of an era for me (unless it all goes horribly wrong and I have to find paid employment again). It was also the year of the gig shot, with around 40 concerts and a couple of festivals. I have to say thanks to Oli, Tim and James at The 405 for the opportunities they’ve given me, and also Gary at Drowned in Sound and Jenny at Counterfeit, who have also both played their part. In addition, there have been numerous PR people and promoters who have helped me get to see some of the most exciting new acts around, and special mention should go to Kamilla at Iceland Airwaves and her gang for being really helpful in getting us all to Reykjavík.

I have also visited Switzerland, the Shetland Islands, and the Lake District, and special mention should also go to my hosts Simon in Zürich (who is now in Brussels) and Frances in Shetland.

Finally, thanks to my many friends who have supported and encouraged me throughout the year. You know who you are, so I won’t name you as I’ll only forget someone.

Anyway here is an end-of-year round-up of my favourite images from this pivotal year. Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

God Will Be Relieved

Nick Miners — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:29:54 +0000

God Don’t Like It, run by Anthony Chalmers, is putting on a series of farewell shows this week as Anthony looks to pursue other interests and draws a close to the GDLI name. The first of the three shows at the Lexington in London featured Drum Eyes, an immensely noisy band who feature no fewer than three drummers, supported by the similarly noisy weirdness of Christmas Gimp.

Iceland Airwaves 2011: Nights of Reykjavik

Nick Miners — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:11:54 +0000

Here’s what you get if you take the essence of Iceland Airwaves 2011 and distil it into a 3 and a half minute video. Thanks to Icelandic Glacial Water for bringing this to my attention.

Two kinds of mayhem

Nick Miners — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:30:35 +0000

Here’s a double-whammy for you. New York punks Cerebral Ballzy played at the Macbeth in Hoxton a week ago and I caught the action for Drowned in Sound. Flash was a no-brainer here, really, as it was rather dark and there was quite a lot of running around going on, as you can imagine. Sheffield’s own Grazes warmed the crowd up with a bonkers performance.

Then, last night, almost exactly one year after I took my first set of gig photographs, I shot Emir Kusturica and the No Smoking Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, supported by Gabby Young and Other Animals, as part of London Jazz Festival — two bands who brought the house down. For an all seater venue, there was an awful lot of dancing going on, and at one point the audience were even invited onto the stage, much to the dismay of the house staff who were trying desperately to retain a sense of order…

Long Pair Bond

Nick Miners — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:32:47 +0000

Icelandic jazz pianist, and a friend of mine, Sunna Gunnlaugs, played a set at the Barbican this past weekend as part of London Jazz Festival to promote her new album, Long Pair Bond. Here are a few pics from the occasion.

Going solo

Nick Miners — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:42:16 +0000

I think it’s about time I told you all what is happening with Nick Miners Photography in the coming months. I’ve known about it, and have hinted at it, for several months now, but the time is right to give you an update.

I have been presented with an opportunity which I can’t let pass; so in the new year I will be starting out as a full time professional photographer.

Exactly what I will be doing I have yet to establish; I need to write my business plan and decide exactly what form my photography will take. There are various ways a photographer can make money, so I need to find the best fit between my own skills and the relevant market(s). I have, in the past, made money from more than one type of photography, and need to decide whether I should specialise, or if I can afford to be more of an all-rounder to begin with.

If you follow me on Twitter you may well notice my style become more actively promotional; hopefully this will not put you off and will not prevent you from engaging with me in the conversations which make Twitter such a great tool. Additionally, if you believe you have the experience, skills and/or knowledge to help me out on this journey, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

I’d like to thank you all for your support, and hope that one day some of you will be happy customers.

Yet another Iceland gallery

Nick Miners — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:37:45 +0000

A few shots from Iceland, away from the Airwaves festival.

Iceland Airwaves ’11

Nick Miners — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:08:02 +0000

Well I just had the most insane time in Iceland at the 2011 Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavík. The photographs are all for the 405 so please go there for day-by-day reviews of the festival itself; however here are some photos of the many acts we saw during the craziest 5 days in Iceland I have ever witnessed.

Northern Line to Northern Lights

Nick Miners — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:21:32 +0000

Tomorrow I shall be stepping on a plane with Tim Boddy and James Canham from The 405 with the aim of covering as much as possible of the 2011 Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavík. This festival began as a one-night event in an aeroplane hanger in 1999 and has expanded to become one of the most popular festivals on the calendar.

This year the festival runs from 12th-16th October, with around 250 artists playing at 10 venues and numerous off-venue events, often until around 4:00 in the morning. Needless to say we are all exploding with excitement at the prospect, and will do our best to bring you reviews and photographs of some of the best new bands from Iceland and beyond, as well as special coverage of one of Björk’s Biophilia performances in the city’s brand new opera house, Harpa.

Stay tuned for sneaky peeks at some of the photographs, and keep an eye on the 405 for previews, artist interviews and live reviews throughout the festival.

Plaid at Village Underground

Nick Miners — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 10:41:15 +0000

The launch of Plaid’s latest album, ‘Scintilli’ at Shoreditch’s Village Underground was probably one of my more challenging shoots this year. Plaid make all their music from three Apple laptops perched on a console in front of them, and their performance was (apart from the music) all about the visuals projected onto the massive brick wall behind them. So I decided that, rather than getting as close to the stage as possible, I’d stand at the back of the room, back to the wall, and get long shots of the combinations of the projected graphics and the play of the spotlights in the centre of the ceiling. It was a mesmerising experience.