A J Carlton

I had arranged with Ralph to arrive at the practice later than last time, aiming to arrive in the break at 9pm. As I approached I could slowly hear the swell of music increase with each footstep. I stopped outside the door not wanting to interrupt. I admired the surroundings of the village as the music spilled out, making my entrance at the most appropriate oppertunity. The band were a little bigger this time and so some faces weren’t familiar with me being there. I don’t think the people who knew who I was were particularly happy with me returning either.

Before arriving I had taken some notes on things I needed to try and do; shoot people face on, get more female shots, get more arranged photos, use the curtains for framing and colour, try group shots, take names and overexpose. The same problems occurred as last time however. The gaps available for me to stand in are very limited but I tried my best to stick to the rules I had written.

Once they had stopped playing I managed to get into conversation with Emma, one of the cornet players on the front row. She told me about the layout of the band, which players played where and some insight into their instruments. I felt as thought this broke some ground and I managed to get talking about the idea of making a photo book, mentioning some Hoxton Mini Press books. After this I asked if her and another cornet player Emma would pose for some stand alone photos holding their instruments. I don’t feel particularly confident on these images in hindsight, as there was little room to compose an interesting shot. However I’m glad I began to give direction, as now I feel I can create similar situations with the other players. I managed to get into a similar conversation with Andrew, who played baritone. I am more confident in the images I managed to get of him but I definitely needed more female shots.

In all, I think my grandiose ideas have shrunken somewhat, probably because of the small percentage of the band I have covered with almost two rolls of film. Although, in some ways this is a positive thing. It will not be a quick job that needs no time or attention. If I want a certain quality of photographs I will have to work for them and communicating with the band and asking question is the main way I can earn the trust and represent them as best I can.

The lack of images I have taken at the second sessions has also led me to take a second look at the first roll of film. I may put more effort into some of the images I wouldn’t have initially brought forward and see if I can edit them closer to the aesthetic I have established. I need to remember that the images can be raw and not always polished. I am capturing what happens in the room in every shot regardless and maybe sometimes that is not best represented by a perfectly framed or exposed image but by character and information.

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The first roll of film came back a few days ago. The scans are perfect and my doubts about the lack of lighting in the practice room of the Lyceum were fully put to rest. Of the twenty or so images there are seven that I am very pleased with. Composition wise, I knew I was limited due to the lack of space. However, of the seven that I will definitely take forward there is some variety. The colours are not like that of a cheap film but don’t fall between ektar and portra either. I think I will stick with ultra max until the end of the project as it is fairly cheap and versatile. The scans were too big to edit in darktable, so I am now editing them in an online suite called pixlr. It is fairly rudimentary, but other than getting rid of some green cast and a few exposure adjustments, I don’t want or need to change much more. I have arranged with Ralph to return this coming Thursday and hopefully get some more staged shots. I asked if I could arrive toward the end of the practice in hope that as people are leaving, I can move things around and not cause as much fuss. I am sure some of the members will be reluctant to have head on photographs, so I am anticipating a few return visits until I manage to get every person. I am starting to imagine different sets of images that could make up a full book. The first being candid of the band practicing. The second, composed full length or waist crop group shots in the same room. And the third, a professional setting performance in full uniform with the final image being a classic landscape of the entire band looking to camera. I’m not sure if I will ever even take it to that point, but at the moment I think it’s best to presume I am capable of that big a project and overtime it will evolve into it. 

As well as the Brass Band, several other people I reached out to at the start of the month have followed up on my messages. A man named Michael Smethurst had been passed on one of my emails, as he is the organizer for the Port Sunlight Village and Works Bowling club. He seems very keen on meeting me and has already told me some of his involvement in the history as well as his family’s connections to the club. He has asked that I meet the chairman, secretary and himself at the Lyceum building to discuss a potential project next Tuesday. However, I am slightly concerned that they simply wish for me to join the bowling club as a player, due to lack of interest. 

On the same day I received the message from Michael Smethurst, the Port Sunlight Wheelers responded with a quick message to say that the idea of me photographing them would be brought up at their next meeting.  Martin said he believed the cyclocross events may be of most interest to me to photograph. I shall look up what this particular race entails. 

I have a quiet anxiety about that number of possible projects I have undertaken, but to combat this I am convincing myself that the more opportunities I undertake, the more photographs I will have to create a worthwhile portfolio or book. The only way I can begin to make a body of work is by asking people to take their photograph and as that becomes more normal to me, I will have a wider reach of skills and contacts to use. I have to find the subjects; they won’t ever come to me by their own accord. 

I attended the first 2020 Lyceum Brass Band rehearsal today at 8:00 PM although I arrived half an hour early to chat to Ralph before the practice began. He seemed to enjoy recalling the history of the band and could relate it with fantastic detail. The room was beige and classroom like, very unassuming and I suppose just how I expected it. Ralphs red jumper stood out dramatically and it made me itch to photograph him. He told me they had 800 pieces of sheet music that they play as a 25-piece band, though 17 would attend this particular practice. As more members arrived, they each began to tune up. At first seemingly unrelated to one another. Yet as the numbers grew, a large wave of harmony and dissonance began to meld into one force. As the conductor took his place, he wished everyone a happy new year then passed over to Ralph. He explained my presence and no one seemed too resistant to the idea of me being there. A brief hush came from the conductor, which reminded me of how a teacher might treat a well behaved but talkative class. Then they began to play. Perfect Harmony. You couldn’t pick out a single wrong note. It was surprisingly overwhelming. It seemed funny that something so incredible and moving was happening in this tiny plain room, twice a week on the Wirral. After two songs back to back, I felt like applauding but didn’t want to disturb. It was far more somber and romantic than I had anticipated. Then once the air had settled. After the silence of the songs, the conductor announced “It’s so nice, not playing that Christmas shite”. I used up the rest of my roll of film, from three or four different spots. I noticed some problems. The room is likely to be always laid out in the exact same way. Therefore, the spaces I can physically get in will be the same every week. This puts me at risk of getting the same angles every time, unless I begin to stage the shots. Something I will definitely try. Another problem is the instruments themselves seem to block the musicians faces. I had noticed this on their current press photos, so cannot be too surprised. Perhaps the best photos may be the opposite of what I have already captured; staged photos with the musicians not playing but holding their instruments. I will await to see the developed images before returning. I definitely feel there is something exciting here. There are characters to draw from, a musical theme and even a professional aspect in that of publicity for the band. I think there is longevity and a creative identity, even from the early stages of the project. 

After contacting four Port Sunlight based organisations for a potential photography project, Ralph Peters, secretary of the Lyceum Brass Band contacted me by phone. He seemed enthusiastic about my potential project and invited me to attend the first practice of 2020. He advised me on numerous ways to access the practice room going into very specific detail, which I found both comical and endearing. Especially when at the end of the conversation, he wanted to confirm that I lived less than five minutes away. 

I am photographer based in the North West of England, on the Wirral Peninsular. I live in a small village called Port Sunlight. It is a Victorian workers village that has an idyllic English aesthetic and is mostly occupied by the elderly. In 2020 I am beginning to document the activities and characters that inhabit the surrounding area. I hope that my images capture the charm and vibrance of the people I encounter.