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.
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
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 · 11 Sept 2025