Nicholas Dishington Photography

November Mini Comic #3

2011-11-29T21:30:00.001Z

And now for a little bit of silliness.

November Mini Comic #2

2011-11-26T12:06:00.001Z

Another weird little comic... hope you like it!

November Mini Comic #1

2011-11-02T20:00:00.002Z

I'm currently taking a break from music photography so decided to do a couple of weird little mini comics...

Backyards

2011-10-18T20:33:00.003+01:00

Recently conducted this promo photoshoot with Leeds-based band Backyards. Was a bit of a struggle with the lack of light but we did alright still!

Shooting in the Rain

2011-10-11T20:37:00.000+01:00

Well! You wouldn't think it from the above shot but it was raining when we shot the above picture... might have edited it a little! Needless to say we quickly retired indoors and got the two below. They were for a quick shoot for Katie Duxbury and you can see more on her website here.

Tyrant

2011-10-01T18:07:00.001+01:00

A few pics from the Tiny Planets gig at The Well, Leeds on Tuesday 27th September 2011.

RETROGRADE

SLEEPYSHOES

TYRANT

Nightvision

2011-09-19T22:28:00.002+01:00

That time again, Nightvision album launch number 2! Taken at the Red Room in Lincoln on the 17th of September 2011.

BLACK WATER

EXIT STATE

NIGHTVISION

Macro/Wide Angle Playing

2011-09-16T21:39:00.001+01:00

In an effort to save money in the run up to Christmas I bought some fairly cheap alternatives to wide-angle and macro lenses just to see what they're like. At first I tried out the macro on my fish. In no way are these polished, just wanted to try stuff out with them.

Lowering the aperture to f1.8 proved quite interesting, I can only guess that the depth of field was less than a millimetre! The blurriness is quite eerie, also very difficult to focus like this on moving subjects. Results below, excuse the watermarks on my tank glass on the second of these!

Aside from my fish/frog I also tried out the wide angle on my girlfriend. These are definitely too 'polished' but I kinda like them that way. I think I just need to get that heavily-vignetted style of editing wide angle shots out of my system.

Boonstra

2011-09-15T21:45:00.004+01:00

After years of wondering who the photographer was to an amazing photo I'd seen years ago and never seen since my friend enlightened me that I was thinking of Rommert Boonstra. The picture that had plagued my memory for all this time was this:

Feels good to finally know about that really. I've wanted to do something like this for quite some time so maybe will someday soon. I really like the nature of his work, if you check out his site there's a lot of strange stuff like this (and stranger) as well as some more straightforward photography.

Dir En Grey

2011-08-23T20:11:00.001+01:00

A few pics from Dir En Grey's show at Koko in Camden, London on Friday 12th August 2011. The full review with extra photos can be seen here.

Nightvision Promo Shoot

2011-07-31T13:55:00.000+01:00

Always a pleasure shooting Lincoln-based band Nightvision, this time for their upcoming second album...

Shooting Stars

2011-07-22T13:48:00.001+01:00

I've been meaning to take these pics for a while now, basically trying to capture as many stars as possible whilst being out in the countryside using a sorta long exposure. Rather frustratingly this is my first attempt:

Yes - in my first attempt I accidentally caught a shooting star. Irritating because the picture has so much camera shake but still, glad I caught it. Ah well.

Many attempts later and this is the best I came up with:

Some motion blur, this time I think from the fact the Earth was rotating... all the longest exposure ones came out like this. Will experiment further with that at some point.

Next night I attempted the same thing with a partially cloudy sky, this is the result:

Was definitely fun, I'm sure I'll experiment further later on down the line but for now happy with it as a first attempt.

Esper Scout Promo Shoot

2011-06-27T18:38:00.000+01:00

Some promo pics of Esper Scout taken last month...

Long Division Festival

2011-06-15T20:59:00.000+01:00

Here are a few pics from the Saturday of Wakefield's Long Division Festival (11th June 2011). For more photos, and a review, be sure to pick up the August edition of Vibrations Magazine when it's out.

NAPOLEON IIIrd

STANLEY BRINKS

EMMY THE GREAT

Celldweller 'Gift For You' Artwork

2011-06-07T21:28:00.000+01:00

Here's something I've been meaning to do for a while for the Celldweller Chapter 4 art submissions. The song it's inspired by is Gift For You.

Shields

2011-06-05T21:54:00.001+01:00

This time some pics from the Help for Heroes charity gig at The Well on 3rd June 2011.

NEEDS FIRE

HARRY JOHNS (of Dinosaur Pile-Up)

CHATEAU BERBER

SHIELDS

Eureka Machines

2011-05-28T21:38:00.000+01:00

A few shots from the Eureka Machines gig at the Brudenell on the 27th May 2011.

CIRCLES

THE LITTLE BLACK HEARTS

THE SCARAMANGA SIX

EUREKA MACHINES

Esper Scout

2011-05-26T20:08:00.000+01:00

A few pics from the Esper Scout gig on Friday 20th at the Fox & Newt.

MUCH VODKA MANY VOLCANOES

STRAY LIGHT

ESPER SCOUT

A Genuine Freakshow

2011-05-17T20:58:00.000+01:00

A few photos from the A Genuine Freakshow gig at the The Well, Leeds, 14th May 2011.

THE REACHAROUNDS

BACKYARDS

A GENUINE FREAKSHOW

Vessels

2011-05-08T17:36:00.000+01:00

A few photos from the Vessels gig at the 360 Club (The Library) Leeds, 6th May 2011.

TOMORROW WE SAIL

ESPER SCOUT

VESSELS

Neo Magazine

2011-05-08T17:26:00.004+01:00

Completely forgot to mention but a couple of my pics from my Death Note shoot are featured in Issue 83 of Neo Magazine... not sure if it's still out though.

My Passion

2011-05-03T21:03:00.001+01:00

Here are a few pics from My Passion's gig at the Cockpit on, 24th April 2011.

Full review with more pics can be found here.

WITH ONE LAST BREATH

NEVER MEANS MAYBE

LOST ALONE

MY PASSION

Hawk Eyes

2011-04-25T20:00:00.002+01:00

Hawk Eyes at last Friday's Brew//DTTR Split 10" show at the Brudenell in Leeds.

Castrovalva

2011-04-25T19:53:00.003+01:00

Castrovalva at last Friday's Brew//DTTR Split 10" show at the Brudenell in Leeds.

Blacklisters

2011-04-25T19:45:00.003+01:00

Blacklisters at last Friday's Brew//DTTR Split 10" show at the Brudenell in Leeds.

Dolphins

2011-04-25T19:42:00.003+01:00

Dolphins at last Friday's Brew//DTTR Split 10" show at the Brudenell in Leeds.

Dan Audio

2011-04-22T12:55:00.002+01:00

Had a cool promo band shoot with Dan Audio last night, was nice to get out and about in the good weather!

Phono Arts Theatre

2011-04-17T16:11:00.002+01:00

And finally a few pics of Phono Arts Theatre. Once again you can read the review here.

Audio Republic

2011-04-17T16:01:00.002+01:00

This time it's Audio Republic's turn. Once again you can see the review here.

Deadwall

2011-04-17T15:42:00.002+01:00

This time here's pics of Deadwall from the 360 Club. You can the review here.

Andy Doonan & The Lightwalks

2011-04-17T15:32:00.002+01:00

Another set of pics from the 360 Club, this time of Andy Doonan and the Lightwalks. You can read a review of the gig here.

Diego Snail

2011-04-10T14:22:00.002+01:00

Last set of pics from Friday, this time starring the band Diego Snail. Be sure to have a listen to them over at http://www.diegosnail.co.uk/

Ajanta

2011-04-10T13:33:00.001+01:00

Another set of pics from Friday, this time in the form of the band Ajanta. You should have a listen to them at http://www.ajantaonline.co.uk/

Backyards

2011-04-09T22:41:00.001+01:00

Pics of Backyards also from last night. You should check them out at http://www.facebook.com/backyardsmusic

Little Parades

2011-04-09T18:48:00.002+01:00

A few pics from Little Parades' set last night. Be sure to check them out at http://www.facebook.com/littleparades

Europe

2011-04-01T03:02:00.001+01:00

In one of the most energetic performances I've ever seen, Europe really did put the majority of the new blood to shame. They oozed both style and substance, and as a photographer I absolutely lapped it up! To see my review with more pictures click here.

Voodoo Johnson

2011-04-01T02:51:00.002+01:00

As I've been so busy updating the website I forgot to post stuff up from this gig! This is Voodoo Johnson supporting Europe in Leeds. The full review with more pictures can be found here.

Karenza/Alivya Make-up Shoot

2011-02-15T20:29:00.001Z

Regular model Alivya has been doing make-up for some time now and asked me to do a few shots of her trying out a few of her techniques. It was odd working with her in such a different capacity but definitely not in a bad way! I really enjoyed it; the model Karenza was as helpful as ever and the pics turned out better than I expected.

This and That

2011-02-11T23:51:00.000Z

It's been a while since I rambled for you, so here goes...

My efforts in trying to get a full-time job were finally recognised. My new job is nice; I'm learning a lot of interesting skills (mainly in CAD) and the people are lovely. I've even learnt how to make tea (urk) and coffee (urk!!) so I can make them some.

You'd think that I'd slow down with the photography considering that but in fact things are speeding up. I know it doesn't look like it, due to my appallingly infrequent blog posts, but I do have a portrait shoot to upload shortly... my other efforts have been directed towards various comic-based ventures:

The first is my photo-comic blog Fumetti Yeti which you really should check out! I've worked hard in getting some very special posts up, in particular this article on Lars Henkel's Waldminiatur and this interview with A Softer World's Emily Horne which has already gained 456 page views in its first week!
Secondly I've been working on my new comic. It won't be done for a very long time yet and even when it is done I won't be releasing it online this time, instead I'll be pitching it to publishers. I'm currently deep in the conceptual stage but I can tell you this much, this is going to be a weird one!
Thirdly and last (but definitely not least) I'm in the process of booking a table at the Thought Bubble convention in Leeds. I went last year and it was great! There are a lot of ideas floating around the Dishington household for this one, it's a shame the festival is so long away.

As a result of all this comic stuff I've decided to take a break from portraiture for a while. It's fun, but really I want to spend my time on the comics and music.

Speaking of music, I've got a photopass for Sonata Arctica! I've been a big fan for years so this will be a great gig to photograph.

There may be more but that can wait for another time.

Until then...

InMe

2011-01-25T04:53:00.001Z

To read the full review of this gig with extra pics go to http://www.metal-discovery.com/Live/Live4/inme_wakefield_jan2011.htm

Athens

2011-01-25T04:51:00.001Z

To read the full review of this gig with extra pics go to http://www.metal-discovery.com/Live/Live4/inme_wakefield_jan2011.htm

Lockin

2011-01-25T04:49:00.001Z

To read the full review of this gig with extra pics go to http://www.metal-discovery.com/Live/Live4/inme_wakefield_jan2011.htm

Fear Factory

2011-01-05T20:54:00.001Z

And here are the pics of Fear Factory I shot last December. You can see the full review with more pics up at http://www.metal-discovery.com/Live/Live4/fearfactory_london_dec2010.htm

High On Fire

2011-01-05T20:50:00.001Z

Here are some of the pics from the High On Fire setlist at a Fear Factory gig last December. You can view the full review with more pics up at http://www.metal-discovery.com/Live/Live4/fearfactory_london_dec2010.htm

Daath

2011-01-05T20:47:00.001Z

Here are the pics from when I shot Daath in December. You can see the full review with more pics up at http://www.metal-discovery.com/Live/Live4/fearfactory_london_dec2010.htm

Blackstar - Celldweller Art Submissions

2010-12-31T09:18:00.001Z

The above pic is my first submission for Celldweller's chapter 4 artwork thing. I had the idea over a year ago when I saw that a future release would have a song called Blackstar. Klayton and I share the same type of piercing so I thought it would be fitting to use it in something relating to his band.

I wasn't happy with my submission for chapter 2 to the point I totally revamped it for a comic but this time I'm definitely happy with them which is a relief!

The next pic is my second submission, basically a bunch of backlit Super Mario sweets with one painted black. It was fun to do and I'm not ashamed to say I ate all 9 packets of sweets after the shoot haha!

While those are the two I'm submitting of course I made more so below are the two that aren't making the cut. The first one is pretty much the same thing whereas the second one was a longer exposure during which I zoomed in.

2010

2010-12-30T09:24:00.000Z

It's been another odd year. It started in the oddest way possible with Shadowraith being published and me ending up on local news and radio promoting it. It was exciting being published but ultimately I wanted to carry on so created Integration with the help of my girlfriend and Heather Pandora.

In the meantime I shot Trivium and Madina Lake which was fun but little did I know they'd be my last gigs in many a month as I moved to Leeds. The move was stressful and wasn't exactly as I hoped but towards the end of the year it started to get back into the swing of things again and I shot Uberbyte which was awesome.

That said it's been an unnaturally quiet year on the photography front. I have been working on comic 3 but that's gonna take a while at least. I've got a lot of plans for 2011 with a few things that're somewhat different to anything I've done before...

Various Goings On

2010-11-28T00:04:00.001Z

Well I had a bit of a break, sorted a few things and I'm getting ready to get back into everything.

If you've been following my Twitter account you'll know that I'm working on comic 3 again. I'm going back to basics this time and actually studying the art of creating comics. I'm writing it again, which may be a mistake since I still cringe at some of the dialogue I wrote in my first comic Shadowraith but the subject is something personal so I'd rather deal with it myself.
Speaking of Shadowraith I'm going to start promoting it again. Getting on the local news/radio was exciting and all but I don't feel I reached the right people.

Something else in the works is that I'm going to start doing gigs again soon. I'm REALLY looking forward to that and now that I'm in Leeds that should be a lot easier.

Things probably won't start happening until next year, I don't want to start promoting myself or booking anything until January. 2011 will be a clean start, I'm excited!

Old Live Music Pics

2010-11-15T02:27:00.001Z

Thanks to the digital equivalent of going through the attic looking for something else I happened across loads of old band photos. Most of them are from about 3 years ago. They're not that great since I had only been doing it around a year but I found them interesting anyway. Excuse the tags, they were on the versions I found.

General Rubbish

2010-11-13T12:21:00.000Z

Well I'm still on a break. In spite of that I still do find myself occasionally working on comic 3. I've decided I'm not going to release it online next, instead I'm going to pitch it to many a publisher first. I've started research on it but got so much more to do.

Aside from that I haven't been massively creative. My dad was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago and he's been on his last legs these past few days so a lot of my time has been spent on that. To make matters (a little) worse my laptop died too. I bought a replacement and that one didn't even work so I've been faffing around with that and got ANOTHER new one. It's all sorted and my new laptop is working and fine now.

With the new laptop came the choice to finally upgrade to Photoshop CS5... since I won't be shooting in the run up to Christmas I'm going to use the time to take some tutorials.

Having a bit of a break

2010-10-16T21:22:00.000+01:00

Not massive news since I haven't been producing much recently but I'm going to have a break from photography for a while. I've come to realise I've got a lot of other, more important stuff to deal with first so I'll be focusing my energies towards that for the coming few months.

The only thing I'll still do is a few shoots for Metal Discovery since it's been too long since I've done anything for them. I'll be having a break from comic 3 too which is a shame, I was looking forward to that!

Uberbyte

2010-10-10T17:54:00.001+01:00

When I select pictures for this blog I usually find it hard to narrow it down to just 3 or 4 photos... but I'm afraid here it was too hard so here's 7. Uberbyte are a great Sheffield based Industrial band who were looking for new promo stuff. They wanted white background shots that'll be useful for flyers and wanted to show off their cool outfits. Unfortunately their banner was glossy which posed problems with the lights so I decided to lay it over the pic above.

We mostly did singular photos, some of which featuring some nice weapons they'd brought along. It was nice to have something a little different to play with!

We did quite a few group shots but this one was the most interesting I think. I was inspired by a photo I saw years ago, I think it was Strapping Young Lad or for one of Townsend's solo projects.

I remember when I shot in this studio previously there was this awesomely creepy lift shaft leading up to it but it wasn't really suitable for the baby pictures I was doing at the time. Luckily this time the band loved it and we got some pics there, this being the best.

Finally, possibly my favourite from the shoot was this. The vignette was actually done on the day opposed to my usual approach doing it in post production, really pleased with how it came out.

Comic 3

2010-09-20T02:32:00.000+01:00

Now that I'm sort of settled in Leeds I couldn't resist but start a new comic.

I've been mulling this idea around my head since 2005. I saw an image in a book of a heavenly landscape constructed by pieces of paper and other simple items (frustratingly I don't know the name of the photographer) and attempted to recreate it. I failed badly, I still have the pics but they're cringeworthy.

I've been maturing that idea for years; it's got darker, more personal and surreal. I didn't want to write it since I hated writing Shadowraith (my first comic) but I got carried away one night and thought of a concept I had to write.

Whilst researching photo comics I found a lot of people use toys... I can see the convenience of it but I didn't like the results. This will pretty much be my version of that idea. As a reaction against the very digital Integration (my second comic) this one will be mostly organic.

At the moment the whole thing is still in it's infancy. I've started on one of the characters and got a rough story lined up but no storyboards yet. The main thing I have is loads of visual ideas. With no deadline and complete control over the project I'm feeling really positive about this one. I've got quite a few normal shoots coming up so I'll be dipping in and out of this one... Not a clue when it'll be finished.

Victorian Shoot

2010-09-03T18:36:00.001+01:00

It's been too long since I've shared any new work due to my move to Leeds but I'm back on my feet and shooting again and it's never felt as good! I've always wanted to do a Victorian/Steampunk type shoot for a while now and when I saw Alisa on Model Mayhem I couldn't help but set this up. Hope you like them!

They were all shot in the midday sun, always a challenge but I think we carried it off well. We spent a lot of the time waiting for the sun to go in which was annoying sometimes but well worth it. I've managed to tone down the contrast quite a bit in the edit.

Alisa was a lovely model to work with, very relaxed and her knowledge of photography proved useful when shooting.

Leeds Music Photographers

2010-08-10T23:18:00.003+01:00

I've been looking into some Leeds photographers to get a better picture of what the local talent is like... thought I'd blog about some of the best guys and girls I've found. I've decided to cover music photography first but I'll be moving onto portraiture at some point. I must admit, I've got my work cut out in standing up against these!

Don't forget you can also see my music and portrait photography at http://nicholasdishington.co.uk/gallery-music.html

Adam Malcolm

Mostly uses black and white which ordinarily I'd find a turn off but he handles the tones, and in particular the contrast, beautifully. When he does use colour it's completely justified.

Ami Barwell

Also uses a great deal of black and white, and contrasty to boot! She's got some great compositions going on and really knows how to capture the right moments. With bands such as Radiohead, Motorhead, Andrew WK and REM under her belt I can't help but be somewhat envious!

Danny North

Jealousy doesn't come close to my feelings towards Danny, not just in the people he's shot [Muse, Oasis, Slipknot and comic legend Alan Moore to name a few!] but in his creative ability. He's really got it all!

Ed Fielding

I struggled to pick just one pic of Ed's to put up here so I had to go for something vibrant with a beautiful rim light... two of my favourite things in a photo! Once again he's shot some big names and deservedly so, one of the most prolific photographers I've come across.

Tom Martin

Whilst shooting mainstream stuff Tom also has quite a lot of Metal in his portfolio so I instantly identified with his pics... especially when I saw the above picture! Once again some lovely colours going on in his work and a keen eye for composition.

Leeds

2010-07-30T00:28:00.002+01:00

As of tomorrow I shall be living in Leeds! The flat hunt had a few setbacks to say the least but we got there in the end.

I can't wait to get to grips with Leeds' creative culture, it seems like an exciting step in the right direction.

In other words, once I've found my feet I'll be producing stuff again.

It's been nice taking a bit of time off the photography even if has been replaced with something stressful. I've realised I need to study a lot more, but I'm already at a level where I can put myself out there too.

So yes, things will resume soon... mark my words!

Quiet on the Blog Front

2010-07-02T17:07:00.001+01:00

I haven't updated for a while because I haven't produced anything as I'm too busy planning to move to Leeds and looking for a job. I love Lincoln and I'm gonna miss it but I think there will be some more interesting opportunities in a bigger city.

So there won't be much work going up for a good couple of months. I'm going to try and fit in one shoot with my regular model Liv before I go. It'll be a nice push to work with other models, I've already had a look and there's some really interesting ones there and some great photographers. There are also some fantastic photographers I really want to meet. On the gig side of things I'll be near some big venues so can take on more gigs, plus the local music scene is impressive too.

All in all it's really exciting, but first job hunting and moving take priority... Which is a shame because I've got an idea for comic 3 I'm bursting to do!

-- Post From My iPhone

NME competition

2010-06-16T22:21:00.000+01:00

I've been taking a bit of a break regarding the photography to concentrate on looking for a new job in Leeds... but that doesn't stop me entering competitions right?

Click here to find my entry. It only takes a minute to sign up, you don't get junk mail [they don't even confirm your e-mail address] and if you vote each week you have the chance of winning a £50 Topshop voucher! Best thing is you can cast a fresh vote for that same person every new day so... *ahem* you could always vote for me more than once...? If you wanted...

Enough plugging, I'm gonna go back to job hunting.

Integration Online

2010-06-09T11:38:00.000+01:00

It's online! My new photo comic can be read for free here!

Feels good to finally get it out there. Please share it with your friends and let me know what you think!

Integration + Exhibition

2010-06-05T18:07:00.000+01:00

Comic news first: IT'S DONE! There's a little bit of tweaking to be done but on the whole it's done. So I'm confident in saying it'll be getting online on Wednesday the 9th of June. Furthermore, it'll be titled Integration. I also filmed a little rubbishy webcam video today that I'll be putting up once it's up on the site.

In other [somewhat fitting] news I went to an exhibition today entirely focused on wordless graphic novels. There was some really inspiring stuff going on so I suggest to any comic lovers you get down there, it's on at The Collection in Lincoln. There's more info on it at www.silentgraphicnovels.com

Interview etc

2010-05-27T03:59:00.001+01:00

Firstly, I'm currently featured in the issue 12 of Murky Depths promoting Shadowraith. It's a quarterly magazine of all things dark - stories, comics interviews and reviews. My bit comes in the form of an interview. You should check it out, it's got some good stuff in there and it's beautifully laid out.

Secondly, I haven't had a chance to update with much fresh stuff for a couple of weeks because I simply haven't been creating any! Due to a mixture of depression and job hunting (whilst not completely related I fear they overlap somewhat) I just haven't had the time and effort. I did however do a shoot a couple of days ago even though it was just me and my flatmates messing around in a studio I still got some nice pics. I'll get those posted up soon.

Madina Lake

2010-05-19T22:30:00.001+01:00

Although I love the shot above I'm not too happy with how these turned out. All of the photographers got kicked out of the photopit very early on because some of them were messing around and getting in the way. I was not best pleased as I didn't get nearly enough time but at least I got some decent-ish pics.

To read a review of this gig with more photos click here.

We Are The Ocean

2010-05-19T22:21:00.001+01:00

As you can see, I rather liked the orange background light for these guys, there were a few interesting green ones but ultimately orange worked well. Quite pleased with how these turned out in the end.

For a review and more photos of this gig click here.

Mayday Parade

2010-05-19T22:15:00.002+01:00

Later than I expected but here are some pics from a gig I covered way back in March... as you can see from the amount of shots of the guitarist he was the most fun to watch here.

To read a full review of the show with more pics click here.

Random Interview

2010-05-13T07:04:00.000+01:00

My interview with Bane from Isolysis is up here. I didn't think I'd end up doing another interview but there it is!

Comic 2 Useless Screencaps

2010-05-09T23:28:00.001+01:00

Okay so these two screencaps don't really say a lot but better than to give you nothing, right? I've got all of my other stuff out of the way now so I'm back working on it again and it's looking good. The image on the left is a document I've made up to link me to, and act as a notepad for, each page/folder/storyboard. Finding it so much easier working this way.

So yes, it's on its way but it's also taking its time. The worst part is compiling the pages, but as you can see I've got the majority of it shot now.

I'm currently on page 8, almost finished. Had a real difficult time with pages 5 and 8 which took a few days of continually going back to the drawing board but they're both looking way better than I anticipated so all worth it in the end!

Alivya Again...

2010-04-28T23:26:00.002+01:00

Well I wasn't supposed to be doing any shooting for the time being but a quick shoot can't harm right? Alivya asked me if I'd like to do a little summery shoot and knowing that we always produce good pics together I didn't see why not.

As you can see, I'm really liking blurred out backgrounds these days. My 55-200mm lens has finally proven that when used correctly it can produce some nice results.

I was after a bit of variety with this shoot, even going so far as you use a really soft white vignette something I thought I would never use. Of course when the opportunity of a silhouette came into play I HAD to take it haha!

Death Note Cosplay

2010-04-21T15:23:00.002+01:00

Last year I posted this very rough Christmas message as I'd just done this shoot with Gypsy Rhodes. Yes, these pics took their time emerging! I wanted a shoot inspired by the Death Note manga/anime in which someone played L and then the other characters were drawn in. I advertised for an illustrator, one contacted me and promised to do the work but ultimately didn't deliver. With other commitments with promoting my comic and shooting gigs it slipped in my priorities but then recently I came across the perfect illustrator by chance and within a week these pics were done.

I couldn't be happier with James' contribution, his other stuff is much cleaner than the rough drawings I wanted but I had faith he could pull it off due to the quality of his other work.... his other stuff can be found at http://rogo-the-golden-boy.deviantart.com

There are only two in this set. There were originally four but I'm still deciding if I like the other ideas enough to have them drawn over... As I wrote this blog two days ago I was struggling with the pic below as it looked bland but then it hit me to add the names of all the people killed by the Death Notes in the background [which took some time to compile I tell you THAT!]. I love overlapping text and I was intending to add lined paper from the start so it was the perfect solution.

Comic 2... gah!

2010-04-12T21:30:00.001+01:00

I spent all of today editing page 2 of the new, untitled as of yet, comic [well I say all day, I woke up at noon] and then looked back and thought "Oh God, I can't seriously do that to ALL of the pages! It'll take ages!"

However, it does look good and any other possibility wouldn't be as impressive. I showed it to Miss H. who's writing it and she said I should definitely carry on with it. No easy way out for me then! So then I asked for advice on something else I was having problems with and she suggested how I could solve this problem in a way that looks amazing but once again will be very time consuming.

Basically I'm making excuses for how long this is going to take, but it's going to look great!

I've been saying it'll be ready in April but it's looking like that was a tad optimistic... so I'm going to keep my trap shut regarding that until I'm close to actually showing you it. I've deliberately not booked any new shoots so I can devote all of my time to this.

I guess I won't be waking up at noon again anytime soon!

Delain

2010-04-11T16:53:00.001+01:00

I'd got to grips with the scenario by the time Delain came on, it was still more difficult than a normal gig but the challenge was worth it. I'm pleased with the way these have come out, they're a bit different from my usual stuff but I like that they've thrown a bit of variety into the mix.

For more pics and a review of this gig click here.

Also read a interview with singer Charlotte here.

Achilla

2010-04-11T16:45:00.001+01:00

I'd managed to get my flashgun working for these and had become adjusted to the situation so these photos were far easier. Still not my best shots but all worth it for the pic above!

For more pics and a review of the gig click here.

Isolysis

2010-04-11T16:42:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately the lighting for this gig was terrible... combined with a tiny photopit I really struggled so these aren't exactly my best shots. I had the ability to use flash for a change but only my on camera flash was working so I was limited as it takes a while to recharge. Nonetheless here are some of the pics...

To see more pics plus a review of this gig click here.

Comic 2 Teasers...

2010-04-09T11:53:00.001+01:00

Here are a couple of taster images from the new comic I'm working on. Having a few teething problems regarding the editing but otherwise it's working out alright...

Trivium

2010-04-05T21:54:00.001+01:00

I couldn't pass up the chance to take pics of the mighty Trivium! I'm not as pleased with these I am with the Whitechapel ones but still a few nice shots in there. For more pics of this gig and a review click here.

Chimaira

2010-04-05T21:50:00.002+01:00

As you can see, still some backlighting but I'd started to hang the hang of it by now and managed to get that pic. More below and if you want to read the review with more pics click here.

Whitechapel

2010-04-05T21:47:00.002+01:00

I'm really pleased with the way these have turned out. There was still a lot of backlighting but with a little frontal light combined with a singer who loved to pose I managed to get some I'm really pleased with.

For more pics from this gig and a review click here.

Rise To Remain

2010-04-05T21:14:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately the lighting for this was pretty difficult, mostly backlit which meant a great deal of silhouettes. Not that I don't like silhouettes, more that it can get annoying when almost all of your shots are like that.

For more pics and a full review click here

The Backlog

2010-03-31T00:38:00.002+01:00

There's been no posts recently because I've been stupidly snowed under. As such I've got a quite a backlog of pics to upload... Once I get them all edited I'll be posting them up but that won't be for a few days yet but here's what I've got:

Live pics of Trivium, Chimaira, Whitechapel, Rise To Remain, Isolysis, Achilla, Delain, Madina Lake and We Are The Ocean (plus two more I can't remember the names of right now)
Promotional shoot of local new band Bad Ideas
Portraiture cosplay shoot
New comic previews

They've all gone quite well so I'm looking forward to sticking them all up here...

News

2010-03-11T12:12:00.000Z

I haven't posted many pics up recently because I've been busy planning the new comic. The first [and main] shoot for it will be tomorrow so teasers will be up in a week or so.

But in other news, I'll be shooting 3 gigs this month:

Trivium, Chimaira and Whitechapel - Really excited about this one!

Delain - Doing this one with my friend who'll be interviewing them which should be fun!

Madina Lake - One of my guilty pleasures, taken pics of them before.

I've also got a promo shoot I've been meaning to stick up for a few days now so I'll get round to that soon but like I say, busy planning the comic.

New Comic Planning

2010-03-05T00:38:00.001Z

As the title suggests, it's new comic time!

I wanted someone else to write it so Katherine Holt has done just that based on my photos done for the latest Celldweller album chapter. I'm really pleased with the story, it's going through some minor tweaking now as well as me storyboarding it.

Heather Pandora is the model I'm working with, I found her on Model Mayhem when she friend requested me a while back. We talked about doing a shoot but eventually it ended up being a new comic. I just can't seem to stop making them these days!

Also, Scott Murray who's hiring me the lights has offered to document the shoot and assist which is really cool.

The whole project is getting more and more interesting by the minute and it still doesn't have a title. I'd like to say it'll be finished by the end of March so that's the deadline... it's going to be in colour and it won't be film noir. After two years the Shadowraith thing became pretty old so this is a step in a completely different direction.

It won't be as long as Shadowraith, maybe 10 or so pages. Not sure quite yet.
It'll be available for free online once it's finished.

A Bit of Time Off

2010-02-23T12:08:00.000Z

Unfortunately I won't be shooting Europe anymore, I accidentally mixed up the timing with something else so had to give that one a miss. I'm still going to Manchester and I'm going to use it as a chance to get a bit of research done and visit a friend.

The research is more comic stuff, wanting to keep details to myself but another short comic is in the planning stages and this time I won't be writing it. I'm going to use the next few days for research only and to take a break as I'm not exactly feeling at the top of my game right now.

Things will be back on track in a week or so but for now I'm going to take a breather. All the Shadowraith promotion stuff tired me out somewhat. Which reminds me it's been covered by local student magazine Bullet here it should be in the print edition too but I haven't picked that up yet.

New Monica

2010-02-18T00:19:00.001Z

Last Saturday I ended up shooting new band New Monica at the Duke of Wellington for the Battle of the Bands. They seemed a bit nervous as it was their first gig but they still played really well and as you can see, I got a couple of nice pics.

As cool as it was being back in the Duke the lighting was quite hit-and-miss. The side lights were strong [often very red] enough but the main lights were much further away. It was a challenge that I couldn't help but enjoy as with my occasional bigger gig I maybe get a little too spoilt with both the lighting and the stage show.

Ice Ice...

2010-02-14T18:07:00.001Z

I ended up defrosting a freezer at work and had my camera handy... I rarely do abstract pictures but this ice really excited me. They're all best viewed bigger so I've uploaded them larger than I usually do.

I finally experimented with split toning with these pics and may have to do it a bit more from now on. The quality of the colours came out better than I expected, I didn't want anything too saturated but at the same time I wanted them quite rich.

However in teh pic below I obviously went for something very saturated...

I lit the whole thing using a desk lamp and as you can see in the pic above, it started to get pretty melted...

This final picture was a bit different and is of the freezer compartment, I wanted it to look like a frozen over cave and for once actually edited a picture not in 6x4 proportions as it seemed to fit the pic better.

Templar - Free Shadowraith Prequel!

2010-02-10T00:16:00.000Z

My secret project has finally come to an end!

Click here to read my prequel to Shadowraith. It's a short comic I put together because I wanted something free out there, it felt wrong just setting up a site and asking people to just buy it.

I was far more prepared with this comic, I wanted to keep the text as minimal as possible and try out a couple of ideas I didn't really explore in Shadowraith. Biggest example is the similar pictures in page 2 although the use of filters in a few pics throughout was something I never thought I'd do. Happy I did though.

That's the last I'm doing of the Shadowraith storyline, I'm finding other styles more interesting now.

That's my name, don't wear it out

2010-02-09T08:32:00.001Z

Whilst I haven't got round to changing my actual site I'm no longer "kaleidoscope alchemist" I'm using a different email now (info@nicholasdishington.co.uk) and gradually linking everything to www.nicholasdishington.co.uk

I'd been regretting the whole kaleidomist name for a while. People complained how to spell it frequently and I knew it was somewhat silly but the final straw came when I signed up to the yellow pages.

Once with then I was inundated with telemarketing calls... And every one of them would start something like this "is this the owner of err... Haha... Kaleidoscope Alchemist Photography?" I shrugged off the first few sniggers but eventually it got to me. Needless to say, I'm no longer with the yellow pages.

Besides, I like my name. Sometimes people compliment it, even in school my nickname was "Dishy" which wasn't bad for a teenage boy.

Sorry for the lack of photos recently. Trust me, I'll be making up for that over the next 7 days.

-- Post From My iPhone

An "All Bark, No Bite" Day

2010-01-29T17:19:00.000Z

I'll start with yesterday.

I worked on a secret project all day.

That's pretty much all I can tell you hahah!

Today I went to get some advice from heavily respected local photographer John Gibson and we chatted away about all manner of things for about 2 and a half hours. I learnt so much and got an insight into the workings of professional photography. It was somewhat daunting, realising I'm committing myself to this massive career.

I then bumped into my old university technicians who congratulated me on Shadowraith's publishing. Apparently Keith [my old tutor who was interviewed on TV about Shadowraith] was 'hysterical' about being on the telly. It dawned on me that yes, things can look daunting but also hopeful as I'm not giving up

Not long after I ventured into Lincoln's Comic Worlds to drop off a copy as a thank you to the guy in there who's offered advice throughout the comic's creation and been interviewed twice about it [on the TV piece and the newspaper one] As well as dropping off some Shadowraith promotional stuff there I also gave some to the woman in Comic Culture who said she'll probably buy some copies to sell in her shop, she'd actually seen my piece on the telly! Ruddocks however weren't interested. Ouch.

Whilst hunting for props for a Dragonball Z inspired shoot coming up with the awesome Shane Holliday I bumped into Scott Murray and had yet another chinwag about photography which was nice. Couldn't find the props in the end.

It's been a day entirely of talking and no actual work. I don't begrudge this because I've learnt a lot, had a confidence boost and done some promoting but I'm going to go get on with some more of my secret project.

Well I will, after replying to a few e-mails...

Photographic Novels

2010-01-26T05:23:00.000Z

I've been looking around at photographic novels and I'm definitely getting inspired.

I think a lot of the photo comics out there suffer mostly as they lack any interesting images either through lighting, composition, angle or style. I don't want to point fingers at certain comics because I've come to realise that we're all amateurs at this new genre and there's a lot to be learnt.
A lot of them use toys... initially I thought of this but ultimately I want to do something quite serious and I love shooting people so why not?

One comic I've enjoyed whilst researching is http://www.asofterworld.com

I'm eager to begin a new photo comic... in what form or style I don't know but I want it to be a solid production and I want it available for free online.

Lincolnshire Echo

2010-01-24T21:46:00.000Z

Once again, more media about Shadowraith... this time the local newspaper the Lincolnshire Echo featured a story in Saturday's issue. Click below to read the article...

Also there's a shorter version online here

Miss H.

2010-01-20T21:09:00.002Z

Did a shoot with Miss H. the other day as she needed some promo shots quickly for an article. She asked for a couple to be re-edited in black and white and they turned out much better. Loving shallow depth of field at the moment too so had to do a bit of that.

BBC TV Spot

2010-01-19T08:15:00.000Z

As I said, I was on BBC Look North [the Lincolnshire one, I didn't know there were many of them] last night. You can view it here.

Oddly, the Lincolnshire Look North doesn't actually show in Lincoln so I didn't see it when it was on so I'm glad they posted it online.

More BBC...

2010-01-15T15:41:00.003Z

I went for my interview at BBC Radio Lincolnshire today regarding Shadowraith and I was a bit nervous but it all went okay. You can listen to it here... the bit with me in is 36 minutes in.

As if that wasn't enough, when I checked my voicemail I had one from someone from local TV news show Look North asking for an interview too. We started recording that a mere hour and a half after my radio interview, mental!

He said it *should* be on tonight's show, which goes out on BBC1 at 6:30 but it there's a chance it might be the next show which is on Monday at the same time.
EDIT: It wasn't shown on Friday [the original day of this blog] because they wanted to get more footage. Hopefully it's be on Monday [the 18th] then...

So if you're in Lincolnshire and you get Look North you should give it a watch! [even though I'm going to totally cringe out seeing myself on the telly...]

The BBC

2010-01-14T02:47:00.000Z

Weirdly I'm going to be interviewed at 10am on Friday morning about Shadowraith...
It'll be on BBC Radio Lincolnshire so you can listen here by clicking "listen live" or it's on 94.9-104.7FM if you're in Lincolnshire. You can also listen to it on iPlayer by clicking that link.
Somewhat nervous. I mean, I've been interviewed on a radio station before but still nervous!

Just as weirdly here on the BBC site is an article the lovely Miss H. wrote about the comic.

Even weirder. I just found out Shadowraith is also available on the Waterstones website and is mentioned on this blog

This is starting to get very interesting...

Shadowraith Release Details

2010-01-08T17:49:00.000Z

Shadowraith, my debut graphic novel, has been sent off to print and will available on January 31st. It's currently up for pre-order on Amazon here and will be also be at the website of the publisher Murky Depths

It costs £3.10 and for that you'll get the revamped version with additional artwork which comes to a total of 36 pages not including the front and back covers.

I've made a mini-site with previews at www.shadowraith.co.uk

Please buy a copy and share with any of your comic reading friends!

2010

2010-01-05T16:17:00.001Z

I want this to be the year my photography stood on it's own feet. I've been thinking a lot about my work patterns over the past few weeks and I get so much done when I'm not distracted but I spend so much of my time wasting it. As a result I've begun the year clearing lots of stuff up so I can start afresh, without distraction.

The biggest example is that I've dealt a massive blow to my credit card bill already. It's made a dent but that's all, the rest of that journey will be a long and arduous one tapping away at it bit-by-bit until it's gone.

I spent most of Christmas playing video games and realised I wasted years of creative and emotional development... so I'm really going to have to make up for that this year too!

Shadowraith has been put in motion and should be sent to print shortly. I'm about to make a website that links to the shop where it can be bought from.

In other news, the lovely Miss H has started a new online novel which you should check out. It will be updated weekly here: http://misshwrites-guin.blogspot.com/

2009

2009-12-31T14:34:00.000Z

What a mad year, one of the most exciting I've had so far!

With the band photography I took pics of my heroes Dream Theater as well as many other bands I like such as BigElf, Papa Roach, Madina Lake and Shinedown. Not to mention a few other signed bands: Soil, Dragonland, Falconer, Opeth and Unexpect. Also took pics of Nightvision a good couple of times which was brill, so happy for them that they're signed now! The music photography has really come on this year, I'm really happy with it.

In a similar vain music-wise I interviewed my hero Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon fame... which scared me witless and I haven't done an interview since. Not sure what 2010 will bring on that front...

I slowed down on the portraiture front this year, did a couple of shoots with Alivya and particularly Gypsy Rhodes who ended up filling the role as L from Death Note in a recent shoot, a cosplay one which I've been wanting to do for over a year. I also ended up getting a portrait into Celldweller's second EP which is amazing!

Shadowraith was interesting too... I revamped it and offered it online for free only to get a small publishing deal for 2010 which I'm obviously excited about.

My personal life has been a bit up and down. Unfortunately still in the same old crappy job, but I got more hours which is helping to pay off the stupidly large credit card bill I ran up in the early part of the year. Katherine and I's year has been a good one though, a somewhat rocky start but it's blossomed into something beautiful [I'll stop with that now, I can hear you being sick from here] I also quit smoking, then started, then quit for quite a while and now I'm smoking a much healthier and odorless "e-cigarette" which seems to be working.

The whole year has been a bit of a roller-coaster, I'm looking forward to 2010 if only so that I can stick it to my rivals. I've done better this year than any before but I'm still not as far ahead as I want.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T16:08:00.001Z

Here's a couple of little Christmassy previews to a set that should be finished in the new year. I'm keeping the details to myself but it'll be something very different from my usual work...

So anyway, Merry Christmas to all of you!

Celldweller Art Booklet

2009-12-08T11:39:00.000Z

A nice little surprise before the year's end! I entered a competition to get featured in the new digital Celldweller EP, I love the band to bits so was hoping I'd get in but then the work I produced was rubbish. I ended up with two versions, a photograph and a more abstract piece along the same theme.

I'm amazed that not only did both images make the cut out of twelve final pieces but my abstract one got used for the credits page.

I would upload them here because I need to re-read the terms and conditions first to see if I can post any of it. Instead I would recommend getting your ass down to http://www.fixtstore.com/ and buying Celldweller's Chapter 2. Considering that the EP is over 100 minutes long [which includes instrumental versions, demos, commentaries and a remix] and has an artwork booklet, the deluxe version is just over £3 which isn't exactly bank breaking.

Goodbye November

2009-11-30T23:58:00.001Z

A little wintery sunset I shot earlier tonight on the way to work...

Arjen Interview Online

2009-11-26T04:05:00.000Z

I conducted an interview with my hero, Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen a few weeks ago and it's online now at
http://www.metal-discovery.com/Interviews/guiltmachine_interview_2009_pt1.htm

Truth be told, that interview scared the crap out of me so much that I doubt I'll be doing another one for some time at least... even though I suppose it's alright as interviews go.

I'm not sure if I've blogged this either but I did a review of Brainstorm's latest CD which is here:
http://www.metal-discovery.com/CD/cd_review_brainstorm_memorialroots.htm

Eve and Luka

2009-11-24T17:19:00.002Z

I've never really given baby photography a go... so I didn't enter into this shoot with much confidence. The children spent a good portion of the start of the shoot crying but in the end they calmed down and I managed to get some shots. I was using some different equipment this time which gave me a glow around the kids, I was learning to control that throughout the shoot and eventually it worked... but the glow might be a bit too strong in some of the images below.

I was so pleased with this set that I'm going to do a few more baby shoots to find my feet, I reckon I'd be able to do it.