TREACLE · Editorial Column
From the Pit.
Photographer-led. Shoot dispatches, craft, gear, and the business of working in the pit. The view behind the camera.
Culling 1,200 frames in 90 minutes
Our actual workflow. Lightroom flags, the two-pass system, and how to deliver a final set to an editor by 1am after a midnight show.
Annelies Vollmuller · 24 Aug 2026
Sziget 2026, Day -1 and Day 0: the year the festival got itself back
For the first time since 2017, Sziget belongs to the people who built it. You can hear it in what they programmed before the festival even opened.
Coda · 11 Aug 2026
WorldPride Amsterdam is not over: the Reguliersdwarsstraat, and what is still to come
We photographed Regulier Celebrates in the Reguliersdwarsstraat this weekend. Half the programme is still ahead, including a march that carries the flag of every country where being gay is still a crime.
Coda · 5 Aug 2026
Ken Carson at Roskilde 2026: hype and chaos
Hours before xperiment dropped, Ken Carson turned the Arena tent into strobes, smoke and fire. Notes from the photo pit.
Annelies · 4 Jul 2026
The music photography contests worth entering right now
Abbey Road's Music Photography Awards are free and close on 30 June. Here are the contests worth a working music photographer's time, and the rights traps to skip.
Coda · 16 Jun 2026
The night my screen died: shooting Jungle in the rain
Fifteen minutes of Jungle in the rain with a dead camera screen. What you do when you have to shoot blind, and why the take still made it home.
Annelies Vollmuller · 28 May 2026
Shooting at SO36 Berlin: A Photographer's Guide
A practical guide to lighting, lenses, and pit access at Berlin's most important and most demanding 250-cap room.
Colin Darbyshire · 30 Mar 2026
The unwritten rules of the pit
What gets you yelled at in a pit. What gets you the second pass. And how to come back next time without burning the bridge.
Colin Darbyshire · 14 Mar 2026
Exposure when the lights are doing the work
Manual mode, ISO floors, and why your camera's meter is lying to you under stage lighting. Notes on nailing exposure when the lights are doing the work.
Annelies Vollmuller · 21 Jan 2026
The three-song rule, and what to do with it
Three songs, no flash. Roughly nine to twelve minutes. How to shoot song one, song two, and song three so you leave with a portfolio.
Colin Darbyshire · 17 Jan 2026
Reading a brief properly
What 'usage' really means in a music photography brief. The three questions that change the price, and how to spot a problem brief before you say yes.
Colin Darbyshire · 14 Jan 2026
Where to stand. When to move.
Pit geography for music photographers. Where to stand, how to read mic-stand sightlines, and why centre is rarely the best spot.
Annelies Vollmuller · 3 Dec 2025
Gear minimums for live music
What gear you actually need to start. The DSLR we began with, the Leica that came after Colin's consultancy payout, and the two Sony bodies we use today.
Colin Darbyshire · 1 Dec 2025
Image rights, in plain language
Why selling unlimited usage forever for two hundred euros is the worst trade in the industry. The contract clauses we have walked away from, in plain language.
Colin Darbyshire · 24 Nov 2025