Charlie Foster — DIY BABES ZINE

Documenting Punks Quirky Moves

Charlie Foster picked up a point-and-shoot camera in 2017 and began documenting the Naarm underground punk scene in 2019.

“I love music, and I like the energy at gigs. So, those two paired together create an excitement in me that makes me want to capture it all and get the best shot I can.”

By Billie Estrine

Fri. Aug 2 2024

Credit: Charlie Foster Pictured: Gut Health

Credit: Charlie Foster Pictured: Billiam

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the West Midlands, which is a county in England. It's a town not far from Shakespeare's birthplace. It's deep country, the nearest city would be Birmingham and Oxford [it's] probably in between those places. England's a very small country when you compare it to Australia. So, I was only an hour and a bit [from] London as well. It was nice to be positioned there because of the access to these vibrant cities.

Did you spend much time in those cities growing up?

I would visit occasionally if I was going to see a band, for example, to visit friends or just get out of the small town to explore. My later teenage years [was] when I would do that.

Does your childhood or adolescence have a link to your decision to become a photographer?

No, I was really interested in music from a young age. I had a little collection of tapes that I got handed down from my dad and stepdad and from going to the market and finding things I liked the look of. So, I had a range of different musical sounds in my collection. Bands and different [things].

The photography came much later; around 2018 or 2019, I picked up a camera properly for the first time. It was a point-and-shoot camera initially. I went over to Italy for a short holiday and wanted to document it in a more vintage style, as opposed to using my phone all the time. I was kind of sick of taking digital photos on my phone. So I bought a point-and-shoot Pentax Espio 115V, a really nice little camera. It had a manual focus adjuster, which you could [use to] make the photo blurry just to the point where it looks like a painting. It was really cool.

That camera only lasted me another year because a year later, when I was traveling in Cambodia, I got it wet crossing a river. When I got back, my housemate was an avid collector—he was English, too. He had loads of SLR film cameras, and he helped me choose and buy my first proper film camera—well, an SLR film camera with a lens on it.

What kind of camera was it?

I had a Minolta SRT 101. So, for a long time, I was strictly [shooting] film. That was at a point when film was relatively inexpensive still. It jumped up a lot more the years later, which turned me towards digital. That way, I could still continue shooting the volume I shot at a more affordable price.

I still like to shoot film. But it's more of a luxury these days. If a band specifically wants film, I can do it. It's also for my enjoyment; I like to take my film camera when I think it might give me something different than what I'd expect from my digital camera.

When did you move to Melbourne?

I moved here in 2014, which was my proper move. I'd visited numerous times from 2003 to 2007, and in 2009, I came back. Then, in 2012, I came back again. It wasn't until 2014 that I properly left and relocated here.

What made you keep coming back all those times?

Initially, I traveled after school—that was the 2003 trip. Then, once I'd visited Melbourne, I found that I really wanted to come back and move here. I'd made a few friends, so I was keen to see them again, visit, and keep in touch.

I have family [members here]; they don't live in Melbourne, [but] they're in Australia. So when I'd go and visit them, I would often fly over to Melbourne as well; whilst I'm here, it made more sense to do it that way. The other time I was traveling in New Zealand, and this is when I was in the application process for my visa. I had to get it activated, which meant making an initial visit to get a stamp in [my] passport. The whole visa process I was in was quite complicated, but I finally got granted when I was back in the UK. At that point, I was gearing up to leave anyway.

Do you have a background in playing music?

I started playing in bands with some friends at school in my early teens. We would hang around the music rooms together, [on] our breaks, and play the instruments. I was drawn to the drums a lot more than other instruments. I liked the chaos of it. Initially, [I liked] getting aggression out or something. I didn't have as much patience to learn the guitar. I tried, but I found it really hard to sit down [for] a long period of time. Where the drums felt more natural to me.

It wasn't until I was about 17 or 18 that I started playing properly with my friends, actually getting songs together, and actually writing songs with them. In my early teens, it was more about hanging out and bonding over music.

Credit: Charlie Foster Pictured: Billiam

When did you start documenting gigs?

I guess when I went to Italy in 2017 [and] took my first point-and-shoot camera. The reason for me going to Italy at that time was actually for a festival called Beaches Brew; it was a three-day festival on the beach in a town called Ravenna di Marina, which is on the Adriatic Sea. King Gizzard, The Osees, King Khan the Shrines, Kikagaku Moyo, and Shellac played there. There were so many bands I can't remember every single one. Those were the main headliners. I took photos of those bands.

I wasn't as passionate about proper band documentation until 2019 when I got my SLR camera. Then, it was a case of me fumbling my way around that camera to figure out what I was doing with it. It took me some time to properly get a feel for it and what I liked. Initially, I wasn't even shooting with a flash. My setup was so much more basic back then. I would just take my camera; it was all trial and error. I would have to figure out all of the things that I was doing with the aperture, the f-stop, the ISO, and the film I chose.

I knew that I wanted to try and capture as much of a natural feel for the gig. I felt like not shooting with a flash would mean that I could shoot the gig almost exactly how somebody would have seen it as well. I just used the stage lights for my illumination, which did create a nice ambiance in the shot. It was a bit more arty. They weren't all usable photos for the bands to promote themselves with. I felt it was more of my own artistic eye coming out.

When I discovered that I could get these different effects with a flash, that's when I started to take it more seriously.

Where does your passion for documenting gigs come from?

I love music, and I like the energy at gigs. So, those two paired together create an excitement in me that makes me want to capture it all and get the best shot I can.

I'm really drawn to picking up on a band's individual energy and what makes them who they are. Often, it's the different quirks that each band has, and I'm looking out for those that really draw me in. Also, [there are] moments where each gig is very individual in a way because of the people who are there and maybe the venues that they play, and [I] try to find something quirky about the venue or the people there. It's always changing.

It's almost like an addiction to keep going back and capturing something different each time or trying to find something that you didn't quite maybe see the first time or the last time picking up on [something because] often you miss things. As much as you want to capture everything, you'll miss things and won't get everything you want. You may be drawn back [and try] to capture the angle or the quirk that the person has.

Was an example of that moment when Billy was crowd-surfing at The Gem gig on Saturday? Or is that just classic?

Yeah, that's just the crowd-surfing shots you get at those venues.

I'm thinking more about the quirks that some members have. They'll have their signature move, [which] might be a kick they do in a song. You want to capture that full extension of the kick. Often, you might miss it slightly. It's not likely that you'll get it every single time. Sometimes, you might not even be able to frame it perfectly. But I think there's also a lot of beauty in not getting it perfect. No one's perfect, anyway. So, to get this perfect shot is almost like a myth. It can happen sometimes; there are definitely moments. There are also elements of luck that come into it; you can never be certain what's going to happen in a shot, in a frame. You can be pleasantly surprised by subtleties that creep into it as well.

When you started photography and capturing musicians' portraits, did you have a specific goal or objective you wanted to share through those pictures?

It got to the point where I got so deep into shooting that I decided, "Yeah, I want to keep documenting and documenting the scene and grow with it." There'll come a time when some of these bands that are young now will be old, and if you're still going around shooting them, you're going to have this huge archive of these bands, and that's quite exciting to think about. It might take a couple of decades, but you'll look back and see the progression and the changes in the style and the people as well. That's something I'm aware of now. Initially, it was more about doing something creative and different and challenging myself. Now, it's wanting to keep documenting and documenting.

You talked about the decision to switch from strictly using film to shooting on a digital camera. What do you gain, and what do you lose, from shooting digital photography?

Well, there's a pureness to it, I suppose. Film is a bit more unforgiving in a way that digital can be fine tuned. Depending on the camera, I haven't got a vast knowledge of digital photography cameras. [Still], there are certain things you can add to your camera or in the editing process that you can make it look like film. Or you can change to suit an aesthetic you're after. Whereas with film, because of the pureness of it all, you don't always know how it's gonna come out. So, there's a bit of a surprise.

Often, when I shoot film, I'll be almost hoping for the best, because you can't review what you've already taken. You might hope and think that you're getting what you want. Sometimes, that comes with constant use and knowledge, and you need to be constantly doing it to be fully sure about what you'll get. I think digital makes you a bit lazier because you can look [at] it constantly as you're shooting. You can adjust it as you're going, and you know what you're going to get.

You can never fully replicate film, which is part of the beauty of film. It stands by itself in that way; you can try and try to make certain simulations. You can put presets into the editing process. You can trick people who don't know what to look for into thinking it is film. A lot of photographers like that aesthetic and try to replicate the film look without actually having to go through the struggle of using film and spending the money on it and going through the whole process. But it's never going to be exactly the same, and it's not going to give you the same joy either. The surprise I find is one of the best feelings of it. When you see it coming out in the process, behold what you've created when it fully reveals itself. That's something that you're never going to get from digital.

Yeah, that's really special. Do you develop your own film?

I've dabbled. But it's something I'm not as confident and familiar with. I've allowed others to do it for me. The cost of it, it's an expensive mistake to make when you've got a roll that you're being quite precious about, and you don't want it to end up being a complete fuck up. So, you wanna take it to a lab that you trust and get them to do a good job of it instead.

Yeah, I will do it again in the future when I'm not so precious about some things. For now, I'm shooting mostly on digital. I'm still fairly new to this aesthetic as well, really. It's only been in the last year that I've been using digital. I'm still figuring it out. What I like about it, what I want to improve about it.

I know that you don't edit your photos a bunch. Can you tell me about that decision?

I do tweak it somewhat if I feel like it needs it. With the film, I would rarely edit it. With the digital shots, I'm sort of trying to become familiar with the camera and the style that I like.

It's essentially me trying to replicate the film shots that I do. The decision to get the camera that I have was to allow me to shoot alongside my film camera without disturbing the aesthetic that I'm trying to capture. So, the camera I use is made by a company that produces film. They've created these film simulations based on the film that they produce. You can get it pretty close to what it really comes out like. When you put them side by side, you don't [see the difference immediately]; there are little nuances that you can see.

I'm still figuring out what I really like. So, I do have to tweak it a little bit here and there just to get it sort of consistent. I'm not shy to say that either. I think it's important to know those things, to understand the editing process, [even] the choices you make with the film you decide to shoot with. There are a lot of processes involved in getting the art you want to create.

How have you been able to go through that process?

It's all trial and error again. I've [never] been taught in a classroom, and I've never really used tutorials. It's more about figuring it out for myself and knowing what I like, and I think that helps to separate each person from another. Once you have your own style, it allows your work to stand out. No one wants to be mimicking everyone else's work. It's a bit boring doing that.

Luckily, there are so many great photographers around [who] produce a lot of different styles of work. It's nice to see and be challenged and excited by others' work and your own. Keep improving because there's always space to improve and learn more.

Credit: Charlie Foster Pictured: Gut Health

Is there a good photographer community within Naarm?

And Australia as well. There are photographers that I really appreciate all over. Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane. I guess it depends on where the scene is most vibrant.

Yeah, got to have something to shoot.

Also, I follow lots of different photographers all around the world.

Can you tell me about Exhibition Code?

They're an organization set up by a friend, Sam Totty. A few years ago, he put up an exhibition at Backwoods Gallery, which was my first exhibition. It was all film photography that I'd produced, varying from street and stage shots.

That was a fun experience, seeing my work printed for the first time and exhibited. That gave me a big boost to do more of that as well. It was photos I'd documented over the years, from when I first started to early 2022. [Sam] did one before that, maybe at the end of 2021 or the middle of 2021, not long after the lockdown [had] eased up a bit. I was really excited to be involved in that one.

Can you tell me where the funds from the exhibition were being donated?

It was in support of the arts and trying to raise funds for the arts (Exhibition Code's goal is to help financially disadvantaged and underprivileged youth get a tertiary education in the arts).

Is there a connection between you as an artist who documents culture and the decision to raise funds through that exhibition? Or was it more of a partnership with the person raising the funds?

It wasn't really a partnership at all. It was a whole collection of different artists that they'd reached out to that they wanted. Yeah, I'm not involved in Exhibition Code. It was [Sam’s] intention to bring in a whole new group of creatives and exhibit different artists that he liked, ranging from sculptors to painters to photographers—all different types of visual artists.

I read about the philosophy behind that exhibition. Can you tell me about your philosophy of the connection between the street and the stage?

Owning my camera and enjoying the process of taking pictures led me to take it around whenever I went somewhere. I was inspired by seeing great street photography in zines and online. I wanted to document it as well as the gigs. Often, on my way to the gigs or around [when] getting familiar with my camera, I would stop by and talk to people on the streets, capture moments with them or more candid shots that I was inspired by [when] finding what it is that I like about shooting street photography.

There was no real purpose there. I wasn't trying to capture anything in particular. It was more about capturing something that was interesting to me.

Yeah, learning through the process.

Yeah, learning through the process, learning through the lens. I would just run through so many different rolls [of film]. Part of the appeal was the excitement I got from seeing the photos come back. The film aesthetic was really pleasing to me, and not everything would come out as I'd want, but it was still something that I enjoyed.

Check out Charlie’s work: https://linktr.ee/charliefoz

Billie Estrine

Naarm/Melbourne, Australia

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