Glasgow In The Night...

Hey everyone, the next few blog posts are going to be a series of photos from the weekend of 13th October. I stayed in Glasgow in a holiday apartment for a few days as part of an early celebration for my 21st birthday (the actual date is away in December but I decided to go in Autumn as I love that time of the year...and it also coincided with the Young Guns gig that I was photographing on the 14th). So I managed to fit in lots of must-see things that I had planned out for the few days I was staying there...who knew there was so much to do in Glasgow! Aside from the obvious shopping, going out at night and gigs, I am a total architecture fanatic and I wanted to check out some of my favourite spots for photos, some of which you are probably already looking at right now.

The first place on my list was a little lane in the West end of Glasgow called Ashton Lane, if anyone remembers last year in September I went there to photograph Kai Fish at his gig at the Brel Bar. I decided to go back and take some photos of the lane itself as it looks so amazing, especially at night which is when we went, plus they have lots of good bars, restaurants and an adorable little 1920's-esque cinema.

The picture below is actually where the gigs at Brel Bar take place, it's at the back of the bar in a conservatory area and the space is apparently an 80 capacity, I'm not sure about that though as it looks very tiny once inside and especially with the chairs in rows instead of the table area for meals. Anyway, the left side is actually where the stage is set up and it's so beautiful, the whole look of the gig area has a French vibe, even though I believe the place is actually a Belgian bar/restaurant.

So we left Ashton Lane, and on our way 'home' to the holiday apartment after getting totally lost in the west end, I photographed some awesome spots in the centre of Glasgow which were literally on our doorstep. First up is the GoMA which is the Gallery of Modern Art, I never actually had time to check this out inside but got some lovely photos of its exterior at night, next time I visit Glasgow I will go there for sure.

Then I noticed how gorgeous the City Chambers looked at night which is across the road from the GoMA, so obviously it was my next place to photograph, I believe it was built in the 1880's! Look at how beautiful it is...the black and white photo below shows exactly how much detail went into the building, the sculptures are actually protected with a metal wire which is why the picture looks a little grainy, and slightly newspaper-esque.

Anyway, that's all for now, stay tuned for the next post which will include daytime photos.
Nicola. x

Young Guns, 02 ABC Glasgow, Live Photos.

Hey everyone,
A couple of weekends ago I went along to photograph Young Guns at their Vans 'Off The Wall' tour show at the 02 ABC in Glasgow. This time the review is going to be compiled as a photoreview for Is This Music, which is basically centered around the photos with a quick few words about the bands set, so it will look a little different to my normal live reviews. If you want to check it out, it will be online soon at, http://www.isthismusic.com
Otherwise if you want a quick lowdown about the gig read on now...I arrived at the venue later on so I was roughly there about the time We Are The In Crowd were starting and I watched their full set and it was pretty good, which is surprising because I used to think they were way too similar to Paramore but I quite enjoyed their set. So when I went to photograph Young Guns, around their second song crowdsurfers were going crazy so the security told us to leave the pit and I missed the third song to photograph but luckily I managed to get enough shots in the first two. I then stayed afterwards and watched Young Guns entire set and I was really impressed, they are amazing live! If you get the chance to see them then I advise you to GO! I would definitely go back and see them again!
If anyone is interested in looking at the whole photo set, all shots are on my Flickr page at, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolasharkeyphotography

Nicola. x

Fearless Vampire Killers, King Tuts Glasgow, Live Photos.

Hey everyone,
Another super quick blog post with a few photos of Fearless Vampire Killers, at their headline King Tuts show in Glasgow for the Rock n' Roll Damnation Fest. Once again, as well as photographing the gig, I also reviewed the band's set for Is This Music Magazine, so if you want to check it out the link is, http://www.isthismusic.com/fearless-vampire-killers
Not sure if anyone has noticed yet, but I have new lens!! I tried it for the first time at the Billy Talent gig and also this one, and I really like it. It takes much sharper photos, and definitely looks a lot more wide-angle than all of my previous super close shots, which is always a plus as it's incredibly hard trying to focus on band members with a close lens...try it, then you'll know what I'm talking about. Sadly I never managed to get any photos of FVK's drummer this time around, but it was literally impossible with the amount of smoke that was constantly taking over the stage! King Tuts...get it sorted, and add some lighting on the front too :)
Anyway, hope you all enjoy the photos, and there's a few more on my Flickr account aswell, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolasharkeyphotography
Nicola. x

Billy Talent, The Liquid Room Edinburgh, Live Photos.

Hey everyone,
It's time for another one of those quick blog posts!
I had the amazing opportunity of photographing one of my favourite bands again a few weeks ago, and this time around it was Billy Talent! The show was at The Liquid Room in Edinburgh, which is such a lovely little intimate venue! Once again, as well as photographing the gig, I also reviewed the band's performance so if you want to check that out, go over to Is This Music's website for more info... http://www.isthismusic.com/billy-talent-2


...as you can probably tell, the lighting was absolutely amazing, a photographer's dream. It's ashame that
all gigs don't have such good lighting as it would definitely make editing photos a much easier task.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy looking at the photos and reading the review!
There will be another post soon for a gig I photographed a few days after the Billy Talent show, so as you could imagine, I have been fairly busy with the both and everything else in everyday life, but they will be online soon, so keep watching :) and if you want to have a look at the rest of the Billy Talent photos, go to my Flickr page at, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolasharkeyphotography

Nicola. x

Unreleased Landscape and Urban Photos...

Another update with some unreleased photos from last year!
I had a few gigs that I photographed all at the one time and I ended up forgetting about a few landscape photographs that I had taken at lots of excellent locations and whilst I was browsing through my files I stumbled across them and couldn't help but wonder why I had never posted them in the end!
This group of photos were taken roughly around April last year, and although I've only just got around to posting this now, it's actually been sitting in my drafts for a few months as I wanted to add way more photos and I've always had something more important to edit...hence why I'm just finally getting around to uploading this now!
My favourite shots along with the Addams Family-esque hotel that starts off this blog post also includes this one below...The Sweeney Tod Demon Barber...mainly because of the statue outside, it made me smile, although I'm not sure why anyone would actually want to get their hair done there...you've gotta be brave to do that!
Nicola. x

Surgyn, The Arches Glasgow, Live Photos.

Back with photos of Surgyn at The Arches in Glasgow, supporting Combichrist.
These guys are actually from Dundee, my hometown...but I hadn't actually heard of them before this show...I think I need to get out more haha or maybe stop travelling elsewhere for gigs!
However, if you haven't heard of Surgyn, go check out their music! It's good to see local acts on tour with bands like Combichrist.

If you want to view the full set you know what to do, my Flickr page has all of the photos from the show http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolasharkeyphotography Have a look, I'm actually starting to make use of my pro account now!
Hopefully I'll have even more photos soon :)
Nicola. x

Xavia, The Arches Glasgow, Live Photos.

Another quick blog post with some photos of local acts who were supporting Combichrist at The Arches in Glasgow. Firstly to fill you in, I never managed to actually get photos of Combichrist in the end as I had to leave early and missed their set...kinda gutted about that however I did get photos of two of their support bands.
So this group were the first support of the night and are called Xavia, I believe they are from Glasgow. If you haven't heard of them already you should check out their music on their website, they're pretty good.

Lighting was actually great for The Arches, never shot a gig at this venue before so I was quite surprised...although they need to tone down on the strobe lighting...it's impossible to take photos in, timing is key! Anyway, if you want to view the full set from this show, go to my Flickr page at, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolasharkeyphotography
I'll have another post soon with photos of Surgyn, stay tuned.
Nicola. x