Don’t Ask, Don’t Get - One Afternoon at the Royal Albert Hall

I didn’t have a commission.
I didn’t have a pass.
I didn’t even have a real reason.

But I did have a connection - and a feeling that if I didn’t ask, I might never get this opportunity again. Which, as it turns out, was right. A few weeks later, the band announced that this was their farewell show after 25 glorious, noisy years.

It started, like these things often do, with a friend of a friend and the occasional meet-up over the years.

A long-ago night in Camden involving the tour bus and some Jägermeister shots. Enough shared memory to justify a message. Enough respect for their work to not let this one pass by.

So I asked.

Shamelessly. (Very unlike me)
Politely. (Very me)
Directly. (Is there any other way?)

And to the tour manager’s slight bemusement, I was on the list.

No official slot.
No shot list.
Just a camera and a promise to stay out of the way. So, just like being on set, but without having to wear black and be quiet when told.

There’s something about sound checks. No matter the size of the venue or the number of downloads. That gap in space and time before the crowd arrives and the lights go down. I attended my first one at the age of 15 (which is a probably another blog post), and the privilege of being in that space before the crowd arrives is something I truly love.

It’s the same reason I love being on set - the sheer amount of skilled people working towards a single event that entertains people. The ritual of plugging things in, the tweaking of strings and tapping of drums. And of course the 1-2 1-2 in the mic.

No posturing. No crowd to perform for. 

Just calibration. Nerves. Adjustments.

Which, for a photographer, means access to the day-to-day reality of being a band and a part of the crew.

No pass. No shot list. Just me, wandering the Hall and watching the pieces come together.

There’s a lot of quiet, industrious work going on.

Before it turns into something louder.

Hundred Reasons soundcheck at the Royal Albert Hall

This wasn’t about backstage access.

It was about what happens when you follow your instinct - and summon up the courage - to ask. When you trust that what you see is worth capturing, even if no one’s asked you to yet. Because I don’t just take photos for the now. I take them for the version of us, twenty-five years from today, who’ll be glad I asked - and glad I got the photos to prove it.