My history with Mark goes back a long time. I have shot Mark over the years way too many times to count. From photo pits of venues like Irvine Meadows and the Greek Theatre to radio stations in upstate New York I really have shot Mark more than any other performer that I can think of.

Due to scheduling conflicts and book deadlines, I haven’t been able to see or shoot Mark much over the past year but all changed a few weeks ago when he brought some friends to play at the the Mint in Los Angeles. Lets talk a little about the Mint for a moment…. For a concert photographer, this venue is as bad as you can possible get. There are no lights…. no sight lines, tables everywhere, small stage, did I mention no lights?

Normally I wouldn’t really care since it was enough to just hang out with good friends, hear good music and have a beer or two. But I needed to get a shot because Mark had developed a pedal in conjunction with Hartman Electronic and the advertisement was going to press in two days and they wanted a new photo. So the pressure was on.

I shot the show using  a Nikon D700, the 70-200m f/2.8 and the 85mm f/1.4 lenses. Most shots were taken at 3200 and higher. I tried to get the shots I needed in the first two songs so as to not disturb any of the other concert goers too much. I also concentrated on Mark and ignored the other band members this time. Sorry guys but I needed to make sure that I got the shot I needed.

One trick to dealing with really bad lighting —-  Go Black and White.

And here is the ad for the pedal.

For more info on the actual pedal, you can visit Hartman Electronics at: http://www.hartmanelectronicstore.com/

So here is the ad with the shot from the Mint.

Now, many times you see a band photo taken against a brick wall or on railroad track or some other totally uninspired location. Hey… here’s mine.  We were hanging out after the show and I noticed that only only was there a brick wall but all four band members were standing close to it. This shot will never make it into a great band shot book, but it was fun to trying to be cheesy.

You can catch Mark out on the road this Winter.

FLORIDUCK  with Roy Jay Band opening:

• November 3 • Pour House – Charleston, SC
• November 4 • Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL
• November 5 • Funky Buddha Lounge – Boca Raton, FL
• November 6 • Play – Ybor City, FL
• November 9 • The Atlantic – Gainesville, FL
• November 10 • Social – Orlando, FL
• November 11 • Smith’s -, Atlanta, GA
• November 12 • Local 662 – St. Petersburg, FL
• with JT Thomas, Bob Gross, Billy Lee Lewis

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• November 19 • HopMonk Tavern – Sebastopol, CA
• November 20 • Moe’s Alley – Santa Cruz, CA

with Robin Sylvester, Mookie Siegel, Billy Lee Lewis

• December 3 • Palm Ballroom – San Rafael, CA
• December 4 • Humboldt Brews – Arcata, CA

with JT Thomas, Bob Gross, Billy Lee Lewis

For more information on Mark Karan, go to www.markkaran.com