Interview with Wood Visuals

If you are familiar with the hardcore scene, you probably have seen WoodVisuals' work scattered around Instagram. The grainy, colourful and nostalgic style he adopts is different to most photographers around at the moment which is the main reason why a lot of bands are taking him under their wing.

How did you first get into gig photography? What was it that drew you to it ?

I first got into concert photography back in 2016 when I met a lad called Bunney, he is in a band called Parkhurst and they were playing their first show so I offered to give photographing it a go, the photos were terrible as I had no idea about composition and my camera settings, I gradually became more confident with my camera and got shooting as many shows as possible and it became something I adore doing and will keep doing til the day I die. The passion and the energy of the gigs made shooting them 10x more enjoyable, capturing raw and powerful moments in a performance, theres no better feeling.

The style you have adopted is very different to most; it is very colourful, with a grainy nostalgic feel to it. What is your inspiration behind this style?

That's a tough one! I definitely get my inspiration for my colour from @theworkofjar. I love the raw and grainy vibe to a photo, so I have just adapted them both together and I love the outcome!

What are you favourite kinds of shows to shoot and why? Do you have a particular favourite band that you like to shoot?

Hardcore shows are hands down my favourite shows to shoot. Hardcore has been a massive part of my late teenage / early adult life. The love and energy that lives within hardcore is a beautiful thing, yeh sure, to the public eye, it looks like a strange and aggressive genre of music, but if you get it, then you will understand how much love and compassion lives within this style of music. I love shooting my Parkhurst & Lawman boys, I love shooting local shows put on by local bands, I'd much rather shoot a show in a venue with a maximum of 50 people than an arena, small shows are 100x more personal than any other show in my opinion.

What is your typical set up when you go to shoot gigs?

My set up in a Canon 80D with an 18-35 1.8 Sigma lens, I also carry a 14mm wide angle lens which I need to start using more.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into shooting gigs? 

Just turn up and shoot man, if you see a band you like playing at a venue near you, just hit them up, ask if you can tag along and shoot it, 9/10 they'll let you come down and shoot. Experience is way more important than Money, don't go straight into it expecting bands to pay you.

Are there any photographers you're admiring at the moment?

Theres too many to chose from, my boy sinnnervisuals is killing it at the moment, defo give that guy a follow, others on the tip of the tongue would be ambatambb, easterxdaily, matouxn, olli_appleyard, o_deezy and theres so many more.

Whats next for Woodvisuals? What is your ultimate goal for the future? 

Im just looking for as much experience shooting bands as possible, I'd love to start going on tours, that's been the dream since day one, I'm just gonna keep working my butt off until that happens.

You can find 'WoodVisuals' on Instagram here

By Amy Demidow