Blog | Matthew J. Shaw Photographers

If there "Ain't no pleasing you"...

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:40:24 +0100

IMPORTANT UPDATE

We are sorry to inform you that the show listed below will no longer be happening. WAMA will no longer be hosting the show, and as far as we are aware is no longer operating as a venue. We have been told some WAMA gigs will be hosted at the Nags Head in High Wycombe, but despite several attempts to clarify the situation, we have not been given any information.

PLEASE DO NOT BOOK TICKETS to see "Betty Woz 'Ere" at this show. If you have purchased tickets previously, please contact the ticket supplier or venue for further information.

Once again we apologise for any confusion this may cause, but we have only just been made aware of the situation.

We will keep you informed of all future "Betty Woz 'Ere" events and you can use the links below to contact Betty and the WAMA.

Then maybe you should get down to the Wycombe Academy this Saturday (12/05/2012) and have a "Rabbit" with the sensational "Betty Woz 'Ere"...

Our Betty will be there to open for....

Cue drumroll...

CHAS!!!!

Yes indeedy, he of Chas & Dave fame!

Both Betty and Chas will be playing to all the good people at WAMA and its sure to be an awesome show. Not only do you get the pleasure of seeing a truly great musician who has been there and done that, But the lovely Betty will be there, and I suspect will treat you to some songs from the new album to boot.

So...

Your going to get to see a man who has opened for the likes of "Led Zeppelin", played Glastonbury and has influenced many artists directly and indirectly, just hop on google and see who credits "Chas & Dave", the list is amazing and huge!

And thats not all...

Polaroids are cool!!!

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:29:43 +0100

Those of you that know me...

And have chatted to me about cameras (willingly or otherwise)...

Will know that to me this is no revelation...

But I feel I need to help spread the word, the gospel according to Edwin Land if you like...

I have been a fan, and user of Polaroid cameras for as long as I can remember, The designs where excellent, the cameras where capable of a look and feel that can not be mimicked, and even in this age of digital wonder, there is something magical about a picture appearing before your eyes.

Funnily enough even when I am on shots today, most people don't look twice at what camera I have, that is until I pull out a polaroid, then everyone is wowed and huddles round to watch the picture appear, its almost as though it is in our racial memory, that this event is something special, magical, something to be treasured.

And it is true, Polaroids are to be treasured, good working cameras are getting fewer and farer between now, I have a collection of 4 that I use regularly, but some of these are the third or fourth versions I have owned. Simply because, as with anything they wear out, and until recently this has meant a long and exhausting search for another Polaroid...

And much as I, and so many others I know love them, I feel flawed when asked "where can I get one?" because good working ones are few and far between... there are of course auction sites to trawl, but in my experience 8 out of 10 wont work!

So where do you go if you need a camera fixing, or you really want a nice Polaroid to call your own? There are many supposed specialist Polaroid sites on the web, and I have dealt with many of them... with little joy and much frustration it must be said...

A vintage Betty...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:24:16 +0000

So...

Where to begin...

At the beginning I suppose...

There I was on Wednesday, just watching the new sneaky peek video of "Idiot", one of the latest offerings of the sensational Betty Woz 'Ere, and a new favourite of mine :)

When low and behold my phone goes off...

To my pleasant surprise it is Betty herself :)

So, we exchange the customary and catch up on the projects each are working on, when Betty asks if I would be able to do some photo's for her. I had a look in the diary and, as it was an urgent job, made arrangements for this weekend...

So the weekend arrives, and so to does Betty, with some exciting and challenging ideas. She wants some photos of herself in a 1930's style, well, it was my lucky day... As a lot of you will already know, I have something of a liking for all things vintage, and this really got my creative juices flowing.

After much gossiping and researching of pictures, styles, and stars of the day, we bounced our ideas around over some fizzy pop and a curly wurly. And we kept coming back to the fantastic Clara Bow, a wonderful actress who not only did the classic Hollywood glamour pics, but also broke the mould by doing some racier "unkempt" looks.

One thing was for sure...

That was the look for Betty!

So we set to it, mixing period vintage lighting, and modern digital equipment (as Betty needed them ASAP) to create a vintage inspired set of images...

Here I am going to be a bit of a spoil sport...

I'm giving you a sneaky peek of some of the images, but I can't tell you what they are for :(

I shall leave that surprise to Betty, so keep an eye on her website and see whats happening, all I can tell you, is it will be great fun...

And "The Beat" Goes On...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:44:30 +0000

And so...

We find ourselves back at the wonderful showcase for all things musical that is W.A.M.A. and what a night it was...

The atmosphere was electric...

The club was buzzing...

We where in for a ska-tastic night...

And no one was disappointed!!!

The headliners where "The Beat" and they where truly amazing, Roger's vocals haven't aged a bit, and he still has an incredible power and smoothness to his voice that got the whole crowd skanking away...

He was joined on stage by his son, Murphy (AKA Ranking Jnr) and the family resemblance, both visually and vocally was stunning. The pair where singing dual vocals, with some occasional, and very awesome free stylin' from Murphy thrown in... You could see that talent runs in the family, and the duo played off each other with a fluidity that can only come with family...

As they danced and sang their way around the stage and through the set, they truly brought the old beat classics back to life for a new generation, but they kept the feel and the spirit of the originals for those of us who remember it first time around!

I know they have plenty more dates around the UK that they are playing, and I'd strongly recommend that you go see them, it will be an experience you will love, and one you won't forget in a hurry...

But this was not all the night had to offer...

No, no, no...

We also had the pleasure of two awesome support acts...

What can we say...

W.A.M.A. with these support acts your truly spoiling us...

And we where spoiled :)

First out the traps to get us going where "Bored Of Justice" a young 8 piece band fronted by a trio of incredibly talented ladies...

The Selecter "Made In Britain"

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:55:26 +0100

Well...

There we where again, out and about working at WAMA again...

And which fantastically awesome act where we there for this time you ask?

It was "The Selecter" and it was an AWESOME night.

We arrived at WAMA, and it was bustling with people...

Lovely people...

People you get chatting to about how they have been "Selecter" fans for 26 years...

About how Pauline Black was a hero to them...

About how fantastic the Ska scene was, is, and will always be...

And these people...

They are right :)

The scene is fantastic, and embraces all who come to have a skank, everyone was there for the same reason, to see "The Selecter" and have a blinding night, and they did not disappoint.

They rocked the stage from the minute they came on, as soon as the first few notes came out of the PA, people where dancing and singing and the band where on top form, it was an electric atmosphere, with stunning music and an amazing vocal blend delivered with great gusto by Pauline and Gaps...

You could hear the passion, feel the fire in their souls, and the love in their hearts.

They are an amazing group of musicians and lyricists, but above all else, they are passionate, they love what they do, they love what the write about, and above all else, they believe in their music, their lyrics, their sound...

They played some top old favourites, and everyone was skanking and singing to "On My Radio", "Three Minute Hero" (A personal favourite of mine) and of course the awesome bass line of "James Bond" for which we must thank The Emperor Mingus for delivering it to us which such power, I'm always a bit of a sucker for a good bass line, and that man sure knows how to play the bass...

One to watch...

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:50:49 +0100

So...

As some of you know...

I have been working alongside the fantastic "Betty Woz 'Ere" taking P.R. pictures for her upcoming website.

Well, I am now very pleased to announce to you all that her new website is now up and running!!!

So not only can you see all the pictures we have been working with Betty on, you can also listen to some of her music, read about her, read some of her poems, and just generally have a little nosey about inside the life and mind of this fantastically talented lady.

Amongst the pages you can hear the first snippets of "My Weekend Away" one of the tracks from her new album "Betty's Extravaganza & Her Romantic Ravings" which you can purchase via Amazon.

As you can see from the picture we took for "My Weekend Away", Betty is a very outgoing, lively soul, and at her heart is a belief that everything can be nice and lovely, but this is tempered with a sound knowledge that life is not always like that. As a result, you are left with beautiful songs that lift your spirits, whilst also giving you space to think an feel... And emotion is something sadly missing from music today.

You can check her out at www.bettywozere.com and keep an eye open for new photos appearing soon.

Noush Skaugen

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:08:23 +0100

Sorry that I haven't created a witty title to this blog as I usually do...

In all honesty, it was very hard to think of words I could get to rhyme...

Answers on a postcard please!

Anywho, back to business.

I thought I'd let you guys and gals know about a fabulous gig I was photographing at WAMA the other day.

The headlining act this night was Noush Skaugen.

Now as I know that your all avid music fans with impeccable taste (Just like myself!) I'm sure you will all of heard of her. If not, click the link above and check out her website.

I could write a very long blog waxing lyrical about her amazing talent that was so clearly on display at WAMA, but in short, she was FANTASTIC!!!

First off, she and her band really gelled on stage and despite using most of the stage as they all moved around and did their thing, it felt incredibly intimate. It was like they were playing just for you, and thats a lovely feeling.

Noush's voice conveys a rare blend of delicacy and power, the lyrics could be quite, laden with meaning and intent one second, then blasting out a chorus with breath taking power. But throughout it was delivered impeccably and with great aplomb.

The highlight of the night for me was when they played "Buried In Vegas" which was a collaboration between Noush and Nik Kershaw (a man of great talent), it totally blew me away, a great song, fantastic lyrics, catchy tune and that certain something...

You know the one I mean...

The thing that you cant put your finger on...

The thing that gets the song under your skin...

The thing that has had you humming and singing it all week (which I have been!).

I have heard many comparisons made about Noush, and I can see where the "Jaggeresque" word has come from, I can also see elements of Sheryl Crow, P J Harvey and a distinct tinge of 40's & 50's rock 'a' billy.

Fantastic day

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:24:46 +0100

What a fantastic day Saturday was!

The "Rumble Down South Festival" at WAMA was the home of an awesome array of talent, I know I usually keep my blogs pretty short and sweet, but I'm going to have to ramble on a little bit to make sure I can tell you all about the fabulous bands that were there.

So settle yourself into the comfy chair, put some music on in the background and fetch a nice cup of tea...

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I'll begin...

So first up (and this list is in no particular order of fabulousness) are "The Gentlemen Of Distorted Sound".

Its very rare these days to see a group who have such mastery of the stage craft, these guys were not only kicking out some amazing tunes, but they were creating a show on stage.

With a strong look, funky clothes & make up and a real fluid movement on the stage, they were truly one of the highlights of the festival.

Sound wise, they were pretty hard to pin down, I heard many comparisons to "The Cult", which I could understand, but I felt there was also a tinge of the sound and stage craft of "Crazy World Of Arthur Brown" and this was no bad thing.

They had a real impact on the show, and after been on stage for a few minutes, the venue was jumping and even all the wallfowers were out and about having a wee boogie. These guys are a must see, and I suspect, 1 to watch for the future.

Dropping it down to a different pace now, we come to the fabulous Charley Docker,

sitting out in the sun playing semi acoustic she was that little ray of sunshine that just made you feel all chilled out and relaxed.

With a great voice that had an amazing amount of power behind it, she kept the crowd entranced with both her music, and her friendly little asides to the audience.

Despite her professional and polished performance, it had the feel of sitting and listening to an old friend play for you, as I sat there and listened I could feel the weight of the day just drifting away from me.

Rumble Down South (Artists Info)

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:20:13 +0100

As the "WAMA" resident photographer, we will be working on site through out the weekend for the club, as we will be on site anyway, we have put together a superb "Rumble Down South" & "WAMA" promotion.

Here's what you get...

* Full coverage of your stage set.

* All post production and editing work.

* All finished images on disc.

* Copyright release enabling you to use the images as you need too.

As this is a pretty special event, and we need more things like this happening in High Wycombe and the area, we are offering this package for the incredibly low price of just £25!!!!

Yes..

You did read that right...

Full, Professional photo coverage of your set for just £25!!!

Due to the fact we cannot be everywhere at once,no matter how hard we try, we will not always be able to cover both stages depending on where our photographers are.

For this reason, we are asking that if you are interested you contact us ASAP to book a slot to ensure coverage will be available to you.

You can contact us via any of the details on this site, and we will make the arrangements with you. We will do our best to be there for everyone who wants it, but it is first come, first served...

So contact us now, and we will see you there.

Matt

Rumble Down South... And At WAMA!!!

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:06:36 +0100

So...

Here we are again...

A weekend fast approaching...

And your at a loose end..?

Well fear not as we have news of great interest to all you music fans out there.

As some of you may know, there was to be a music festival in Chesham this weekend, the fabulous "Rumble Down South". Unfortunately, due to many circumstances beyond everyones control, this isn't happening now :(

But did you know that Marco & the fabulous team at "WAMA" have stepped into the breach in the name of funk!!! They have taken on as much as they can possibly squeeze into the club for a mammoth (and we don't mean 80's soft rock here) 3 day spectacular of music. There will be something for every taste, and once the bands finish up for the night, theres DJ's and all sorts to be had. You can find more info here.

So get a wiggle on and get your bum down there for a fantastic show.

If your an artist appearing at the show, check out the artists blog for more info on what we will be covering there.

Hope to see you all for a cracking weekender :)

Matt