Gig Photography - my thoughts and practice

[Thanasis]

Great article Tony! Very interesting and informative.

[Tony Egan]

Originally Posted by Mick Fagan

Good article Tony!

I also missed this first time around as I thought it was a Gigabit film article.

If ever you do get the chance to borrow an 85 1.4 do so, you won't believe how bright it is in dim light.

Mick.

Thanks Mick - the things you learn. I was not even aware of Gigabit film until several people mentioned it here. Sounds like an oxymoron!
Yes, the 85mm f1.4 is on my wishlist but it's considerably bigger than the f1.8 and I got my 1.8 for a very good price at the time and could not justify the price difference for the extra f0.4! One day I'll have one....

[Ian Leake]

This was a very interesting article. Thanks Tony

[david_mizen]

it too have been doing this for years Motorhead were here recently so i took my nikon f3 in with a tamron 135 and about 10 rolls of 400 fuji i got some good shots and after scanning the best ones i emailed them to the band who put them on their web site, you can see them at:

http://www.imotorhead.com/gallery/live/l221.htm
http://www.imotorhead.com/gallery/live/l222.htm
http://www.imotorhead.com/gallery/live/l223.htm

[KWhitmore]

Great article! Thanks for sharing.

[Tony Egan]

[quote=david_mizen;612812]it too have been doing this for years Motorhead were here recently so i took my nikon f3 in with a tamron 135 and about 10 rolls of 400 fuji i got some good shots and after scanning the best ones i emailed them to the band who put them on their web site, you can see them at:

Thanks for sharing David. Your shots nicely illustrate a few of the points I was making in the article. You were a long way from the action so the performers are small in the frame and an overall band performance shot is probably the best you can do in that situation. A "portrait" is out of the question. For these reasons I think the first shot (121) is the most effective due to the inclusion and interaction with the crowd and Lemmy's peak moment with the raised bass guitar. There is also the flare and "mess" I was referring to when you have to include this much information. Finding a satisfying composition can be a challenge. They also illustrate some of the exposure challenges with some really hot highlights in several places which again is probably unavoidable when trying to get a balance between enough lighting on all the information in the scene without blowing out the highlights on faces and hands. It's also a lesson in making the most of where you are and the gear at your disposal and going for it regardless!

Motorhead is not really my kind of music but Lemmy is certainly a great character and I'm old enough to remember their performance on The Young Ones over 20 years ago. Still makes me smile today.
http://99clips.net/en/video.php?vid=e27b3f30c

Cheers

Tony

[seawolf66]

Tony: your words do carry a lot of fact and truth to them about doing Gig work weather for fun or for profit: In my few times I was able to fotograph a band or its crew, Were limited But I do have one shot That I have of Buddy Rich on the drums , After an hour or so his Head stopped bobbing long enough to get his hands in motion and his head still: None of the rich band stayed still long : Memories are made of those times:

[q2q@tds.net]

Since I spent 3 years deaf and contact-buzzed from shooting the big shows, I'll add my 2 cents.

As close as you can, 45˚ to the stage (if you HAVE to chose between straight on and 90˚, go for the 90), shoot manual, use the slowest film you can get away with.

Took me 2 years to figure this one out, and it's worth it's weight in something: if it's a big show with a lot of bass and drums, learn to shoot between the beats. Sounds silly, but you'd be surprised how much air pressure there is on those speaker enclosures, and how badly it'll screw up mirrors, shutters and the film itself.

And wear earplugs. I didn't hear a word of my senior year because I was shooting 4 or 5 shows a week.

jack