Category Archives: Documentary photography

2,000 Rainbows

June 10, 2020 by admin | Comments Off

I wanted to share one of my lockdown projects with you. This took me about 3 weeks to make, features over 1,700 photographs and involved walking about 60km around the streets of Chorlton. Hopefully it highlights how important community and creativity are in times of trouble and what we can achieve when we come together to support one another.

If you enjoyed this video, and if you are able, please consider donating to one of these organisations (or another of your choosing), supporting some of the people most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic:

Mama Health & Poverty Partnership www.mhapp.org.uk (supporting BME women in Manchester)
Refugee Action www.refugee-action.org.uk (support for refugees and asylum seekers in Greater Manchester)
Refuge www.refuge.org.uk (supporting those affected by domestic violence)
The Trussell Trust www.trusselltrust.org (food banks)
Mind www.mind.org.uk (mental health support)

Big love to the people of Chorlton and to all the wonderful individuals, organisations and local businesses that have kept us going through the past few months

Many thanks to @electromotive for allowing me to use their music for this project.

Keep safe and stay kind xx

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Also posted in Places Tagged Chorlton, covid-19, film, hope, lock down, Manchester, pandemic, rainbow, windows |

House of Suarez Ball of Atlantis 2019

October 30, 2019 by admin | Comments Off

Feast your eyes on some of my favourite photos from this year’s incredible House of Suarez Ball of Atlantis at Liverpool’s Invisible Wind Factory!

Also posted in Arts Photography, Events Tagged atlantis, Ball, Ball of Atlantis, Dance, House of Lipa, House of Suarez, Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool, The Vivienne, Vogue, Vogue Ball |

Bluedot 2019

July 21, 2019 by admin | Comments Off

I spent Friday at the fabulous Bluedot Festival at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. A mix of Science, Music and Art its unlike another festival I’ve ever been too. Alongside seeing amazing acts such as Kate Tempest and Hot Chip you could also join talks and workshops about cutting edge science, and enjoy incredible interactive artworks and installations. Unfortunately the British weather was not at it’s finest. It rained. It was muddy. But it couldn’t dampen the festival spirit and it was so still much fun! I wish I could have stayed for the whole three days. In between hiding from the downpours and wading through the mud, managed to get a few shots in. Here are some of my favourites…

Also posted in Bands, Events, Gig Photography, Music Photography

My Favourite images of 2018

January 6, 2019 by admin | Comments Off

So long 2018! The passing of a year is always a good time to reflect on the past 12 months, and for me that means looking back through a LOT of photos. Taking a step back and looking at my work over the course of a whole year, I’m struck by varied it has been – I’ve documented community projects, music events, travel destinations; taken portraits of new-born babies, business leaders, artists and musicians; and I’ve photographed weddings, gigs, poetry readings, conferences and festivals. It’s been a blast!

To save you having to look through a year’s worth of (rather splendid) blog posts, I’ve collected together a selection of my favourite images from 2018 to create a super-duper-blow-your-mind-with-it’s-awesomeness gallery, which you can view below. There’s a mixture of portraits, documentary shots, gig pictures, landscapes and wedding photographs. I hope you enjoy them (please let me know your favourites in the comments section).

Heading into 2019 I’m incredibly excited to see what the next 12 months will bring. Thank you so much to all of the wonderful people and organisations that I’ve worked with in 2018, and to all of my fabulous family and friends for their continuing support. Happy new year everyone, lets make 2019 a belter!

Rachel x

Also posted in Arts Photography, Bands, Events, Gig Photography, landscape photography, Music Photography, Photography, Places, Portraits, travel photography, Wedding Photography Tagged 2018, best photos, both sides now, Brighter Sound, collection, Concert, dazzley badger, Event Photography, favourite images, Manchester, Music Photography, retrospective, Scotland, Travel, Wedding, year in review |

North Of the Wall

November 3, 2018 by admin | Comments Off

We saw out the end of October with a trip up to Northumberland, just past Hadrian’s Wall, and then onwards up to Loch Awe in Scotland, accompanied by friends and the worlds cutest little black pug.

The idea behind the trip to Northumberland was to take advantage of the incredible dark sky park they have around the Kielder area for some stargazing and astrophotography. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and we only had a single briefly clear night during our 3 day stay. On the plus side, the stormy clouds made for some incredible landscapes during the daylight hours.

We continued northwards up towards Oban and Fort William, where we took a trip on The Jacobite – a fully working steam train that many will recognise as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films. Scotland was rainy, windy and unbelievably beautiful. It was a long 6 hour journey home but it was worth every second.

You can see a selection of my favourite images from the trip in the gallery below.

(If you are interested in purchasing prints of any of these images, please contact me for details)

Also posted in astrophotography, landscape photography, Places, travel photography Tagged fort william, harry potter, Jacobite, kielder, landscapes, mallaig, Northumberland, oban, rainbow, Scotland, steam train, Travel, weather |

Dazzley Badger 2018

September 6, 2018 by admin | Comments Off

In July, 2018 two local micro-festivals – Velvet Badger and Dazzley – blended together to form Dazzley Badger, and a legendary weekend was born.

Here are some of my favourite images from this perfect little festival of friends….

Also posted in Bands, Events, Gig Photography, Music Photography, Places

Both Sides Now, Fatima Al Qadiri Residency

August 31, 2018 by admin | Comments Off

Last month I headed down to the People’s History Museum to shoot the latest residency in Brighter Sound‘s ambitious ‘Both Sides Now’ programme, which aims to support and sustain gender equality on the music industry.

This residency was headed by artist, musician and composer Fatima Al Qadiri, alongside curator and researcher Amal Khalaf. Working with 8 female musicians, artists and performers, over the course of 5 days in the People’s History Museum, they created a unique and powerful piece of work – a combinations of performance, music, video, spoken word and protest art, all inspired by the ‘Represent! Voices 1200 Years On’ exhibition that was running at the museum.

The final piece was performed in a special one off event at the PHM. I joined the group on the final day of the residency to document their final rehearsals and the evening’s performance, all in the beautiful pump room at the PHM. A selection of my favourite images from the event can be seen below.

Also posted in Arts Photography, Events, Gig Photography, Music Photography, Places, Portraits Tagged Amal Khalaf, Arts, both sides now, Brighter Sound, equality, Event, Fatima Al Qadiri, feminism, Gig, Manchester, Music, Peoples History Museum, Performance, Protest, Pump Room, Represent! 100 Years On |

Shiva Feshareki residency, Brighter Sound

May 18, 2018 by admin | Comments Off

One of the most interesting and also the most challenging events I’ve shot so far this year has to be ‘Sounds Like This’ at Leeds School of Music in March. It was another of Brighter Sounds’ residencies, this time lead by composer and turntablist, Shiva Feshareki. 15 female artists – musicians, vocalists, digital artists and turntablists – worked together for 5 days to produce a one-off performance at the end of the week. I joined them in Leeds for the very last day of the residency and documented some of their rehearsals as well as the final performance. There was minimal stage lighting and many of the performers were only illuminated by the lights on their electronic equipment – so I think it probably wins the prize for the darkest gig I’ve ever shot! But it was an incredible performance. I’ve included a selection of my favourite images from the residency in the gallery below. Enjoy x

Also posted in baby photography, Bands, Events, Gig Photography Tagged Brighter Sound, Composer, Gig, Leeds, Leeds School Of Music, Manchester, Performance, Shiva Fehareki, Sounds Like This |

Manchester Hill Remembered, Part 2

May 17, 2018 by admin | Comments Off

Manchester Hill Remembered was a one-off event, held at Manchester Cathedral on 13th April, 2018. Organised by Brighter Sound, Manchester City Council and Manchester Histories, ‘Manchester Hill Remembered’ saw performances of brand new pieces of work from local musicians and spoken word artists Young Identity, all inspired by the battle of Manchester Hill 100 years ago. They were accompanied by Cinematic Orchestra members, Luke Flowers, Stuart McCallum and John Ellis, composer Katie Chatburn, singer-song writers Liam Frost and Seaming-To, The King’s Division Band, Northern Voices, the Ignition Orchestra, and award winning poet Michael Symmons Roberts alongside spectacular visuals by Digital multimedia artist Rebecca Smith of Urban Projections .

It was an incredible performance. The gallery below contains some of my favourite images from the night.

Also posted in Bands, Events, Gig Photography, Music Photography Tagged Brighter Sound, cinematic orchestra, Event Photography, Gig, gig photography, inna voice, John Ellis, Katie Chatburn, liam frost, luke flowers, Manchester, manchester cathedral, manchester city council, Manchester Hill, Manchester hill remembered, manchester histories, Michael Symmons Roberts, stuart mccallum, Young Identity |

Manchester Hill Remembered, Part 1

May 17, 2018 by admin | Comments Off

A collaboration between Brighter Sound, Manchester City Council and Manchester Histories, ‘Manchester Hill Remembered’ was a special, one-off cultural event to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of a near-forgotten WWI battle, where 79 men from Manchester lost their lives holding a hill against advancing German forces.

A group of emerging musicians and spoken word artists (Young Identity) from Manchester were given just one week to create a selection of new works to commemorate the battle at a very special event held at Manchester’s Cathedral. They were mentored by Cinematic Orchestra members, Luke Flowers, Stuart McCallum and John Ellis, composer Katie Chatburn, and singer-song writers Liam Frost and Seaming-To. The King’s Division Band, Northern Voices, the Ignition Orchestra and award winning poet Michael Symmons Roberts also joined the group towards the end of the week to rehearse specially prepared pieces for the event.

The gallery below contains some of my favourite images from the first week of the project, when the musicians and spoken word artists were holed-up in Chethams School of Music, creating and rehearsing their new works.