I had heard the name Kate Miller-Heidke somewhere, and when the option to shoot at the Annandale came up I didn’t say no. A quick check of her myspace page (thank god people have ditched it in general and now pretty much only the muso’s are using it as a cheep way to gain a web presence) I recognised a couple of tracks from the TripleJ set list. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but after talking to the editor of The Dwarf down in Melbourne I was assured a fun shoot would ensue.
So I headed out on Friday night, via Stu and Sarah’s place for a BBQ dinner, for an evening at The Annandale - a place that I had not shot at for about six months and did miss quite a bit. Arriving at the start of the first band’s set, I wasn’t that taken with the sound. Richard In Your Mind was their name, and I’d have to say that while their music was ok, it wasn’t terribly groundbreaking.
After hanging around the front of the stage while the next band set themselves up I saw someone I swore I recognised, but couldn’t quite put my finger on. Ends up the lead singer of Black Market Rhythm Co., the second band up, is none other than Christopher Ernst who I had shot when he toured solo in support of The Beautiful Girls along with CW Stoneking (blog post from last year). We had a bit of an “I know you” moment as we worked out where I shot him previously. I must say that the music coming out of this band is awesome and I left the gig with a copy of their latest album Low-Fi Records, Hi-Fi Radio which has since hit high rotation since (as evidenced on my last.fm profile). If you have the opportunity to check them out, please make sure you do. You will not be disappointed!
The main act arrived nearly smack on time, and what a voice came with one of the most photogenic singers I’ve ever been lucky to shoot. I will say that I definitely came away from the night with a mega crush on this classically trained singer. She knows how to put on a great show and the packed crowd were not disappointed. I found myself struggling to define the sort of sound that Kate Miller-Heidke has, so do yourself a favour and grab a copy of Little Eve and give it a whirl (or alternatively there’s a fair few tracks on her myspace page). What made her so great to shoot was that, having performed on stage, she is one of the few singers to keep her eyes open almost all the time, and knows how to act large on a stage. Her eyes are what are so captivating as a photographer. Wide open, reflecting the white spots that set her apart on stage from her backing band, with a gorgeous smile to go with it. If you don’t believe me - check out the shots below! I would say one thing though, her current profile shots being used on her website do not do her justice. I hope that her label and management grab Sydney photographer extraordinaire Cybele Malinowski to do the shots for her forthcoming album (for which I’ve already nabbed a photographers pass when she passes through Sydney from hometown Brisbane).
Kate’s manager Leanne ended up tracking me down to request a couple of shots for Kate’s myspace page - apparently she liked them, so I’m taking that as good work 
Anyhow - enough blabbering, I’ll let the photos do the speaking instead. Check out the shots after the break or check out the flickr set.
Continue reading ‘Photography: Kate Miller-Heidke @ The Annandale Hotel, Annandale - 9th May, 2008′
