Today marks the start of Glastonbury 2019, the largest green field festival in the world. Over a hundred thousand festival goes will descend on the 900-acre site for a weekend full of fantastic musical acts.
The pandemonium at Glastonbury got us at Loxley Colour thinking about how chaotic event and music photography can be. It is a real endeavour for professional photographers to leave such crazy environment with such fantastic images. We chatted with award-winning music photographer Stuart Westwood about this hectic atmosphere and why photographers like him do it.
Combining your love of music and photography
Stuart has been photographing live music events for 10 years, but he has always been passionate about both photography and music. His friend asked him to take pictures at a local music festival and his opportunities grew from there:
“Editing the results, I quickly became aware that I had a real aptitude for music photography. I started uploading my photos to Flickr where they were soon picked up by a music blog who invited me to contribute photos and reviews.”
He believes this was what kickstarted his career in music photography and has since gone on to new and more exciting projects:
“That was a door opened for me and soon I gained access to bigger gigs and bigger acts. A few years past I was invited to freelance with an agency who syndicated my pictures all over the world. My work has appeared in lots of publications including The NME, Billboard and Rolling Stone to name a few.”
Gaining experience in the industry
Covering huge events like Rockness and internationally recognised bands such as U2, Stuart has mastered capturing images in the most chaotic of environments:
“The louder and more chaotic, the better! It’s easier to be creative when all hell is being let loose in front of you and sometimes behind you when the singers enter the audience. One time springs to mind when the singer from a band called The Flaming Lips rode around the Barrowlands’ audience on a giant unicorn and later in a huge inflatable ball! Quiet gigs are supremely hard to photograph.”
He hasn’t had the opportunity to photograph Glastonbury yet, but he’s hopeful his career will one day take him there. Throughout the year, Stuart photographs at dozens of gigs, predominantly around Glasgow, capturing stunning shots of artists in front of thousands of people. He uses Loxley Colour to present his work in stunning style, with his favourite product currently being the Acrylic Gallery:
“I have one pride of place on my living room wall of Imagine Dragons from the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. The photo won me the Societies of Photographers Event Photographer of the Year 2018. The quality and clarity of the print is superbly clear, ideal for the photo subject.”
Save 10% on your own Acrylic Gallery!
If you’re looking for the perfect way to display your music photography, why not check out Stuart’s favourite, the Acrylic Gallery and see your work in crystal clear resolution. We’re offering 10% off this gorgeous wall product for the next two weeks, just use the code GLASTONBURY10 to claim your discount!
Key Features:
- Custom sizing available
- NEW circular sizes
- 2mm, 4mm and 6mm acrylic facemounts
- Photographic Gloss or Metallic prints
- Choice of Satin or Gloss acrylic facemount
- Five-working-day turnaround
We hope everyone attending Glastonbury has a fantastic time, and best of luck to all the photographers covering this weekend!