Backstage

A Decade with Jill Jackson

In August 2010 I had my first photoshoot with Jill Jackson. I was working as a graphic designer at The Print Box at the time, and Jill was one of our clients. I worked on various posters and an EP for her and struck an e-mail friendship with Jill’s assistant at the time. I noticed that they kept using the same images for promo so I thought “what the hell” and suggested taking new photos of Jill. If they like them - great; if not, it would still be a great experience for me. I’ve been taking pictures since I was a kid, it’s always been a hobby of mine, so I sent a few examples of my past work and awaited a response. Luckily, Jill liked what she saw and agreed to do a session with me.

The first time Jill and I met in person was at King Tut’s where she was playing a gig. I didn’t really know what to expect from Jill or her music, but as I stood there watching her perform I could feel myself getting increasingly excited at the prospect of photographing her - you can’t fake that kind of stage presence and charisma. And I loved the songs too. We had a brief chat after the show and a week later we were doing the shoot.

A good friend of mine had a beautiful old house with a garden in Mount Vernon and that’s where that first session took place. My partner was helping with the lights and the three of us quickly bonded over our love for music and Kath & Kim (“Look at moiye, look at mooooiye!”). It marked the beginning of a years-long friendship and numerous other collaborations followed. We shot everywhere and all sorts; from abandoned jails to being knee-deep in freezing Loch Lomond; from album and magazine covers to concerts and music videos. Unwittingly, that first session with Jill would also be the start of my photography career as my work with her lead to commissions from other artists. In four years I would leave The Print Box to become a full-time photographer.

Whether there’s still a photography career for me to come back to after this pandemic remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, I thought it would be nice to celebrate this 10-year landmark by posting an image from every session/collaboration I’ve done with Jill so far - there are live shots (hers was the very first concert I ever photographed), some behind the scenes photos as well as outtakes and images that haven’t been published anywhere till now.

I need to come clean here though - a few of the earlier photos have been re-edited. There was some bad retouching and heavy-handed colour treatments that I couldn’t look at now. You live, you learn!

Which image is your favourite? Perhaps you attended some of the gigs? Let me know and enjoy:

“My Baby” music video, May 2018.

“Goodbye” music video, January 2019.

The Same Sky 30 Live

I’ve now worked with Horse for almost a decade and have written about our various collaborations a few times (here, here and here for example). Over the years we became friends and being in her company, whether informally or professionally, is always a joy so when I’m asked to join her on yet another project I say yes without asking too many questions. This time it was to photograph a very special gig at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall last November celebrating 30 years of “The Same Sky”, Horse’s debut album. It was a brilliant, emotional show - from a haunting version of “Careful” backed by a 3-peace string section to a full on disco blast of “Could It Be Magic”, it was a night to remember. Lucky for those who missed it, the evening was filmed for a future DVD release (which I’m about to start editing - not a daunting task, at all…). In the meantime, some images from the night:

Behind the Scenes / Soundcheck:

The Same Sky 30 Live:

GEAR
Nikon D4
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 50mm f1.4
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8

Jill Jackson's Xmas Show

Jill Jackson put on a very special festive show at Cottiers Theatre in Glasgow’s West End this past December. The night was called “A Very Country Christmas” and featured Jill’s solo material (old and brand new) as well some holiday season classics. There were also a few special guests, namely Kathleen MacInnes, Rab Noakes and Soul Nation Choir. It was a brilliant night, truly, and it was a pleasure to capture this event for Jill.

Behind the Scenes/Soundcheck:

A VERY COUNTRY CHRISTMAS:

GEAR
Nikon D4
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8

Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet?” is the title of Jill Jackson’s most recent album. It was released in May last year and I was responsible for shooting publicity images for it, documenting the recording process as well as filming music videos for the first two singles, “My Baby” and “Goodbye”. The photoshoot took place on a cold winter day in December 2017 in Glasgow’s Charing X area, Kelvingrove Park and my flat. It was freezing but Jill is a trooper and this shoot was, quite literally at points, a walk in the park in comparison to some of our previous endeavours (for “The Ones That Got Away” album cover for example, I had her standing knee-deep in ice cold Loch Lomond waters in November).

“My Baby” music video was filmed backstage at the Barrowlands as well as during album’s launch night at Saint Luke’s while “Goodbye” was filmed in WEST On The Green and Glasgow Green. By the way, the album itself is brilliant so go get yourself a copy.

 

“Are We There Yet?” Promo shoot:

Recording process (at Kyoti Recording Studio):

Barrowlands dressing room during the filming of "My Baby" music video:

Album Launch at Saint Lukes:

GEAR:
Nikon D4
Nikon D700
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 50mm f1.4
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8
Nikon SB-5000 Speedlight
Neewer 120cm Octabox
Reflector


PocketWizard FlexTT5 Transceiver
PocketWizard MiniTT1 Transmitter 

Videos filmed with Sony A7III + Sony 35mm f1.8
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Metabones Nikon G to Sony NEX E-mount Converter
Zhiyun Crane 2 Gimbal
Edited in FCPX

Soul Nation Choir

Soul Nation Choir, run by the incredibly talented Chris Judge, is a Scottish rock choir that blends pop, soul and gospel in their performances. The best of the best vocal talents have gone through its ranks: X-Factor contestants, Bafta winners, West End stars - you name it. I've been photographing them since the choir's inception some 5 years ago: from candid, behind-the-scenes moments to images taken on music video shoots and during numerous live appearances. It's always a joy to work with them, I've made some friends along the way and I thought it was about time I compiled and shared some of my favourite images taken during these past 5 years. Enjoy and catch them live if you get a chance - they'll leave you smiling for days.