Last week was busy, I mean really busy. After spending the week at Photoshop World, I was off to shoot the Mat Kearney / Ingrid Michaelson show at the local House of Blues with Brad Moore. This was my first time shooting at this particular HOB and the first thing I noticed was that it is much bigger than the San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas clubs. The photo pit was huge and there was plenty of space with just two of us shooting.
One of the things that I talk about in my Concert Pre-Con Class at Photoshop World is the “First Shot”. This is the shot that I take before the band even takes the stage, it is useful for checking exposure, making sure the camera works and can be used for galleries both online and in print. The above shot is one of those. I really liked the way the guitars and amps were setup. This was shot at 1/80 of a second at f/2.8 using ISO 1600 on a Nikon D700.
I would love to spend this whole post talking about how much fun the music was and how great it was to shoot in a wide open pit, but instead I’m going to talk about the lighting. It seemed to me that the lighting director for the show really enjoyed solid color washes with very little blending. As I went through the photos after the show it seemed that the light was either Orange or Blue. The Orange shot was taken at 1/100 of a second at f/2.8 using ISO 1600 while the blue shot below was 1/160 of a second at f/2.8 using ISo 2000. Both were shot on a Nikon D700 using Hoodman CompactFlash Cards.
So what to do when everything looks the same under the lights? Go black and white !!
More photos soon.
Nice shots under what looks like minimal lighting conditions, Alan. This show would have been a challenge for me, since I would have been so distracted (in a good way) by the music. Mat & Ingrid are great!
Really wanted to attend PSW this year, and specifically, your pre-con. But finances dictated otherwise right now.
You’re livin’ the life, dude!
You know, I’ve been to that House of Blues many times and never even noticed a photo pit or anyone shooting a show there. I just thought HOB was rabid about denying photography (based upon the signs there). I may have to give it a shot to get a photo pass one day.
Sometimes the crowd is as much fun as the band, or more so. Let’s just say that Cyndi Lauper’s show there was a fan spectacle.
When you shoot as much as i do, the photo pit is the first thing you see when walking into a club or venue.
The House of Blues can be very strict on cameras but it never hurts to ask..