Profiles

Literally speaking, Kane Hibberd has a sound basis for breaking into the highly competitive field of rock music photography. 'Until four years ago I was a sound engineer, recording bands in the studio and mixing live concerts, but I decided to get out because it wasn't satisfying my creative urge,' says the Melbourne-based 31-year-old. 'I'd always had an interest in photography and thought that if I worked hard and was my own harshest critic, I might be able to make a go of it.


Horsell Common 2008

'I'd built up a lot of contacts over the years with musicians who went on to some degree of success, so I worked at my craft until it was of a standard I was happy with, then started getting in touch with people. Things have really been coming together in the last 12 months and life's quite exciting at the moment.'

In a field littered with clichés and mediocrity, the quality of Hibberd's photography stands out. One notable example is the double-page image that opened a feature about the band Augie March in November's issue of Australian Rolling Stone. Lead singer and songwriter Glenn Richards sits at a typewriter, supposedly tapping out his next bunch of evocatively poetic lyrics, while the rest of the band kicks back behind him, fiddling with their instruments on the sofas in a luxurious hotel room. To the trained eye, the image's cohesively muted tones and immaculately lit detail are ample evidence that Hibberd is as adept at digital manipulation as he is with a digital camera.

'Shooting in portrait style is very limiting and there are only so many ways you can arrange four or five people. Everything's been done before,' says Hibberd. 'For a job like this or when shooting magazine covers, I often use Photoshop to create a scenario that isn't physically possible to capture in a single frame or in the time constraints, to attract and maintain the attention of readers.'

The Augie March composition is a combination of two shots. He 'threw a lot of light in there' and used an aperture of f22 to get the band pin-sharp, then added the ambient background on the computer.

A series of similarly manipulated covers for Street Press Australia have helped establish Hibberd's reputation. In the first, he Photoshopped the bodies of the three members of band Horsell Common into TV sets. 'It was my concept but they were into it,' he says. In another, he had the five members of Little Red running towards him in an alley, with one jumping in the air, another splashing in a puddle and so on. He tried choreographing them as one take, but nailing all the actions and facial expressions proved too hard. After several hours in front of a screen, he had combined five individual shots to his own exacting requirements.

Even when photographing at live concerts, Hibberd looks for a single special image that will treat viewers to more than a passing glance. The changing light, smoke and other variables spoil many moments of memorably graphic activity, but he enjoys the challenge of building up a collection of rock images worthy of a book or exhibition in the future. 'You know that classic picture of Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar [at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967]?' he says. 'Well, that's the sort of thing I'm after.'

Foot in the door
The progression from film to digital imaging is a two-edged sword for the committed rock photographer. Hibberd says more people than ever have been showing up to gigs or offering their services to promoters for free in the hope of getting a foot in the industry door. Music companies and publications have also been using amateur photos plucked from Flickr and the like.

As well as working hard and maintaining an exceptional standard, being a recognised professional is all about access, which has its difficulties too. Some artists demand that accredited photographers sign contracts strictly limiting usage of concert photos to the editorial pages of a particular publication. They may even claim ownership of whatever is taken on the night. At the Beyonce concert at Melbourne's Rod Laver Stadium, amateurs' cameras were banned and Hibberd was allowed only one minute of shooting from a position at the back of the stadium. There was a time when bands took photographers on tour with them, but that's rare these days, even with major artists.


The Butterfly Effect 2008

'Stage access is almost impossible to get unless you know someone personally,' says Hibberd. 'That's where my contacts from the sound recording work come in handy. I have some history with people who have gone on to become better known and I tend to work with bands that are already at a certain level in the industry. They'll have an established image or way they want to be portrayed. Often before I do promotional work, they send me research material of the sort of thing they like and don't like, and we'll talk about the concept.'

Hibberd, who completed a Bachelor of Photography degree at RMIT last year, calls his business The Art of Capture and he has also become known around the traps as Kanye Lens. 'Someone started calling me that on tour once and it stuck. It's my online alter ego.'

He uses a Canon-EOS 1DS Mark III camera with L-series lenses - a 14mm wide angle, 15mm fisheye and 24-70mm and 70-200mm telephotos. For studio and location work, he nearly always uses flash - a couple of battery-powered Elincrom kits. 'I always shoot with four flash heads. With multiple people, it can get quite complicated with shadows, etc. If it's outside, I like to have a full dynamic range with detail in the shadows through to the highlights in the sky.'

To see more of Kane Hibberd's photography, visit www.theartofcapture.com


See Photo Review magazine Issue 39 for the print edition of this profile which includes additional images.

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