Bandstand, Brighton. (The Guardian)
Sometimes you just stumble upon a great photograph. Which is sort of annoying when you spend so much time actively searching for one.
While living in Brighton upon returning from Bilbao I had been keeping an eye on the gradual renovation of this bandstand on the seafront next to the West Pier as I thought it might make a decent shot at some point.
One night I decided to go for a wander down to the sea to test out the low light ability of my brand new Canon 5D MK2.
On reaching the beach I heard music and laughter coming from the bandstand and immediately thought that it had been taken over for an impromptu party.
Wandering along I found much to my surprise that it was being used for an open air Salsa dancing session by a local dance group. This was the first time I had ever encountered open air dancing in the UK. Bilbao? Yes. UK? No. Just doesn’t happen.
So after talking to the dancers I went to work inside the bandstand and got some decent stuff.
It was only after an hour or so that I walked outside and away and then turned back to see this shot.
I went home and submitted them to the agency I was working with at the time, Picture It Now (PIN) but didn’t really see it would get past my ever critical photo editor Rod.
Much to my surprise it did and the next day it ran in The Guardian as a photo story which I was more than pleased with.
