Gary Marlowe: 2023 retrospective
Talking through my favourite portraits taken during the past twelve months
Another year passes and it’s time to look back on the images I created and narrow down which ones really stood out, those that had something about them that merited a second look. And this time, I wanted to just focus on portraits.
With a background in live music photography, creating eye-catching images of people has always been my favourite subject matter. That’s why I wanted to feature portraits for this retrospective. When it comes to shooting people the one thing I hate is portraits where the subject is clearly posing for the camera.
If at all possible, I prefer taking candid portraits, ideally where the individual is either unaware that I’m shooting them or they forget about me and continue with whatever they’re doing. To me, that results in a much more natural portrait, one that conveys the real character of the subject.
A good portrait should reveals their personality, attitude, unique mannerisms or any of the other features or traits that form the individual nature of the person. Most important, it should also tell the viewer something about the subject, without the need for words.
The truth is capturing that is easier said than done. Lighting, facial expressions and people’s poses can change within a split second. Blink and you can miss the moment. Numerous people wielding a camera can all have the exact same opportunity, but not all will come away with a great portrait.
And even then it’s down to the individual as to what they do with the image: do they crop it, do they choose colour or black and white and do they employ any post production to create a certain visual look? Deciding what to do — or what not to do — can make all the difference.
When one has lots of portraits to choose from, how do you choose between two images that are both equally striking? What elevates one ahead of another?
Intangible factors aside, for me that comes down to those that hold the most personal appeal and choosing the ones which when shown together best represent the ‘flavour’ of the past twelve months and help define what I’m about as an image maker.
Having narrowed down my favourites, the next issue was to decide the best way to present them. Without any other rationale, I settled on showing them in the order they were taken? So here goes.
And if you’re new to my images, just so you know, all of them contain text. They always have and always will.
Belle Jorden | Brighton Tattoo Convention | February 2023
Brighton hosts Britain’s biggest annual tattoo convention. Usually when shooting at the event I’m looking for interesting faces or interesting tattoos, sometimes even a combination of both. This candid portrait of Belle Jorden isn’t what you’d expect, either from a tattoo show or of a tattoo artist. Here she is working, focused on what she’s doing and oblivious of the camera. And without a tattoo in sight!
Self Esteem | Brighton Dome | March 2023
Self Esteem is the stage name of Rotherham-born singer/songwriter Rebecca Lucy Taylor, one of the breakout artists of 2022. I really like this shot because — with her head tilted back — it’s quite a bit different from the live music portraits one usually sees. It also captures the theatricality of an artist who has recently gone on to star in a West End musical.
Darren Hayes | Brighton Dome | March 2023
The former lead singer from Australia’s Savage Garden was playing Brighton on his Do You Remember? Tour. Like Self Esteem, a few weeks earlier at the same venue, I caught both Darren and one of his backing singers in a similar theatrical pose and like it for the same reason. I also like the dark red and mauve colour palette. Usually I would aim to get everything in the frame, but on this occasion I think it makes the image more interesting that it has been so tightly cropped, with Darren’s head in the centre of the frame.
Lady Eliza Spencer | Chelsea Flower Show | May 2023
The twin daughter of Earl Spencer and niece of Diana, Princess of Wales, was appearing with her sister Lady Amelia, on the Boodles Best of British Garden, showcasing diamond earrings from British jeweller, Boodles. The pair posed for a gaggle of photographers for a couple of minutes, which is when I got this shot. I think it’s a beautiful portrait. I especially like it because she’s not looking directly at the camera, or putting on a fake smile and it doesn’t look like it was taken on a garden.
Sarah Price | Chelsea Flower Show | May 2023
My favourite show garden at this year’s Chelsea was the gold-medal-winning Nurture Landscapes Garden designed by Sarah Price. Indeed, it was one of the very best show gardens I’ve ever seen. I was lucky enough to have a brief chat with Sarah and took a few portraits of her on the garden. I was struck by how her outfit beautifully matched the colour palette of the garden. This candid portrait however was taken from outside of the garden and captures the designer in a moment of quiet reflection.
Tom Massey | Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival | July 2023
I’ve photographed award-winning garden designer Tom Massey several times before on his show gardens at Chelsea and Hampton Court. This year I managed to get a very quick portrait of him, which turned out better than I expected as it perfectly captured his personality without it being the usual smiley portrait. Apart from his expression, what makes the shot is the dark uncluttered background and the colours of his shirt.
Roger Daltrey | Hove | July 2023
Formed in 1964, the Who are one of the world’s most influential rock bands and were playing Hove’s cricket ground as part of their The Who Hits Back tour. Defying their famous lyric ‘Hope I die before I get old’, almost sixty years later, along with guitarist Pete Townshend, 79-year-old Daltrey is still performing. I particularly like this portrait because it captures him on stage, in reflective mood, rather than singing. Two shiny things make the image interesting, his glasses and his watch.
Rebecca Louise Dixon | Goodwood Qatar Festival | Glorious Goodwood | August 2023
The Goodwood Qatar Festival — better known as Glorious Goodwood — is one of the most stylish days in the sporting calendar, where the majority of female racegoers wear fancy fascinators and huge hats. This delicate portrait of fashion blogger Rebeccca Louise Dixon aka Furlong Fashion was taken in the parade ring while she was chatting with a group of friends.
Ryan Moore | Goodwood Qatar Festival | Glorious Goodwood | August 2023
This informal portrait of Brighton-born jockey was taken as the 39-year-old was relaxing before his next race. I like it particularly for the soft pastel colours of the reigning Longines World’s Best Jockey’s silks and his expression.
Asta Manchester | Goodwood Qatar Festival | Glorious Goodwood | August 2023
Another candid portrait from the parade ring at Glorious Goodwood perfectly captures the glamour of the event. At the time of taking it, I didn’t know who they were, but just thought they looked really stylish, especially as both were wearing Panamas, the traditional headwear of horseracing at Goodwood. After posting it on Instagram, I learnt that the couple were Lithuanian model Asta and her husband Glen Manchester. I love this image. Of all the portraits I’ve taken at Goodwood, it’s one of my favourites. I think it would make a wonderful movie poster.
Melanie C | Pride | Preston Park, Brighton | August 2023
The challenge of shooting acts on the main stage at Pride is that the stage and catwalk are very high and the pit is very narrow, meaning you are always shooting up at the artists. Additionally, only the headliners — in this case, Steps — get to appear in darkness, everyone else goes on during daylight. Mel C — Sporty Spice from the Spice Girls — was great to shoot and I got lots of really good portraits of the soon to turn 50-year-old during her first three songs. I’ve chosen this one because I think it shows her at her most expressive. You can almost see her thinking.
Louise | Pride | Preston Park, Brighton | August 2023
Sometimes when you take a bunch of images, you might miss one that turns out to be your favourite. That was the case with my portraits of Louise at Pride. I shared a few of the 49-year-old former Eternal member, immediately after the show, but this one eluded me until a few weeks later.
Roberto De Zerbi | Lancing | September 2023
This portrait of Brighton’s head coach was taken at his press briefing ahead of the UEFA Conference League game against AEK Athens. One of the problems of photographing these events is the manager is sitting in front of a logo-filled backdrop. By shooting from the side, I avoided the logos and got an interesting portrait of the 44-year-old Italian deep in thought.
Neil Griffiths | Brighton Dome | October 2023
The Christians were supporting Level 42 and I was immediately drawn to their guitarist Neil Griffiths because of his shock of white hair. This shot was taken from the side almost in line with the stage. Aside from his hair, I like it because it captures the emotion of the performer and the smoke creates an interesting background.
Lola Sam | Portsmouth Guildhall | October 2023
Another support act, this time Hastings trio Hot Wax supporting Royal Blood in Portsmouth. With her bright orange hair, 19-year-old bassist Lola Sam really stood out. This contemplative portrait works well because of her hair contrasting against the blue background. I also like how the machine heads have created colourful light circles.
Mike Kerr | Portsmouth Guildhall | October 2023
I’ve shot Brighton’s Royal Blood numerous times, but I think this is my favourite portrait of 33-year-old bassist and vocalist Mike Kerr. Again, it’s all about capturing the performers’ emotion and the slight tilt of his head and having his eyes closed gives it a more interesting aesthetic.
So that’s it, a curated collection of images that represent the best portraits I took during the year. Each has a story to tell, not just in terms of their subject matter, but in their visual style. All were taken with my trusty Olympus OM-D E-M1 using only the M-Zuiko 75mm 1.8 lens and the camera’s digital zoom.
Of course I’d like to have shot more things that were new to me, but 2023 ended up being another less than prolific year. Fortunately, I managed to get a selection of portraits that I’m proud of, which is testament to the best piece of advice anyone can give about photography: if you want to take more interesting images, go stand in front of something more interesting!
Marilyn Monroe | Hollywood | 1953
Just like one musician puts their own spin on another musician’s work, I’m a firm believer the same should happen in photography. For years now, I’ve created my own ‘art remixes’ of other photographer’s work, giving them credit of course for producing the original.
Like many, I’ve always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe, her life and especially her image. I thought I’d seen pretty much every photo of her until I saw one that left me gobsmacked.
It was a candid shot of her surrounded by reporters and fans at what looked like a movie premiere. What struck me was just how sharp the photo was — particularly when compared with other similar photos of her — and quite how stunning she looked. I discovered it was taken 70 years ago in 1953 outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The photographer was Murray Garrett.
I set to work remixing Garrett’s original black and white image. First I cropped in tightly to Marilyn’s head, omitting everything else in the picture, then I colourised the image before adding an overlay to give it an even more contemporary look.
Whether or not you like my treatment, my own view is Garrett took the best and most iconic portrait ever taken of Marilyn Monroe. It also demonstrates how great images can often be ‘lost’ within a more expansive frame.
About the author: Based in Sussex-by-the-Sea, on England’s south coast, Gary is a creative writer and image-maker. He specialises in creating out of the ordinary portraits of musicians and people with interesting faces, as well as photographing some of the world’s finest flowers and gardens, not forgetting an array of automotive exotica.
On the writing side, he has used his research skills to author deep dives into some noteworthy songs beginning with Bryan Ferry’s ‘These Foolish Things’ ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople and ‘Real Wild Child’ by Ivan.
He has also written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s blatant Led Zep rip-off, ‘Still Of The Night’ and Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’.
Most recently, Gary has penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ and written an article about Fake News.
All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians including the likes of Brighton rockers Royal Blood, Californian sister act, HAIM, guitar virtuoso, Joe Satriani, Fee Waybill of The Tubes and Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell.
