Voices: photographing music

The Photo Essay Experience: Thinking about music through image is the subject of this edition of Voices.

This is a quiet photograph, showing two people connecting with the music, each other, and their audience, even though, of course, you do not see the audience. It allows the viewer to see a bit about my approach too, and, if I've done it right, begin to hear the music.

This was taken in the course of performance at The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Massachusetts. It's a rather small venue, and though I was free to move around, I didn't much. I always use available light, no flash, and that's what's here. These two artists, Hanneke Cassel on the left, and Cathie Ryan on the right, are well acquainted with my work, and I with theirs, so all of us were relaxed about me shooting during the gig, and as we all were, we quickly made the venue staff comfortable with that as well, and the audience.

There to serve the music -- that's how I view photographing musicians at work. Though each situation is different, that means among other things that I am thinking about music, present there in what's going on, rather than thinking technique or angle or lighting or anything else, really. I stay aware enough not to be in the way or distracting, which varies of course with circumstance, and I've done it long enough to have a range of ideas about how to handle light and angle, but music is always first. I also really like images that push the edges of light, so I use only what sort of lighting is available in any given situation. These aren't approches which work for everyone; they're the best for what I do.

Actually, I think about music quite a bit when photographing other subjects. It gives context to the process. But that's for another story.

The artists shown here include Hanneke Cassell, Joe Craven, Liz Carroll , John Doyle, Tristan Rosenstock, Greg Anderson, Tish Hinojosa, and Cathie Ryan, in Fall River, Asheville, Glasgow, Austin, Worcester, and Burlington.

more music photography:

• winter light, and music
• photographing music: cathie ryan

More photography and writing about music at Music Road

You'll find music content from many genres and plenty of other music fans at Gather Essentials: Music.

For more of Kerry Dexter's Voices columns, look here. It's published on Thursdays.

Kerry Dexter, Music Correspondent Kerry's credits include VH1, CMT, the folk music magazine Dirty Linen, Strings, The Encyclopedia of Ireland and the Americas, and The MusicHound Guides. She also writes about the arts and creative practice at Music Road and contributes to Fred Bals' Series of Tubes