60 seconds with Ian Whent, Picture researcher Q magazine
With a rather wet, cool summer and the music festival season behind us, it’s the perfect time to take stock of rock photography. But has all that bad weather affected the quality of the images? Who better to ask than Ian Whent, picture researcher at one of the UK’s top music publications, Q magazine
Have you found bad weather has affected the images you receive from festivals?
Inevitably some frames have raindrops and therefore lots of refraction and steamed up lenses, but our photographers sacrificed themselves for the good of their equipment. Sadly, at least one memory card ended up in the mud, so it probably won’t be found for another 100 years.
What was the quality of images like from the Glastonbury festival after all the flooding?
We’re very lucky in that all of our photographers are experienced pros, so a little thing like flooding isn’t going to stop them. The atrocious conditions make for stunning reportage images. It reminded me of great Magnum photographers’ work from war zones like Don McCullin.
How quickly after an event can you receive images?
As we’re a monthly publication we don’t necessarily need the images by the next day, but we had an office at Glastonbury so all the images were available to us instantly.
As a picture researcher, what do you look for?
It’s my job to locate all the archival images for all sections of the magazine, so that means everything from rarely seen Nirvana images to a Japanese hi-fi toilet. I always look for the best images possible as Q has extremely high standards when it comes to the quality of its images.
Do you have a list of photographers you stick with for certain musicians or concerts?
We have collected a team of photographers with individual talents and experience over the years. That way we can match specific artists or events to the most appropriate photographer. We know some photographers will already have a relationship with an artist so that can only help the flow of a shoot.
Do you have a favourite music photographer yourself?
There are many, spanning over many disciplines and eras, but I’ve always loved Kevin Cummins’ work.
How is technology changing what you do?
Drastically. Personally and professionally it seems to change week by week. Research tools like the Internet are invaluable.
How do you think it will change in the future?
I hope we don’t lose old analogue technology in the pursuit of rapid efficiency. Film stock, hand prints etc. still have a major role to play. Digital cameras will eventually overtake the resolution of traditional film stock, and as technology becomes more and more affordable everyone will be able to shoot magazine quality images on their phones, let alone cameras. This means that the volume of recorded images will explode.
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