Umphrey’s McGee is a rock band originally from Indiana, whose music is often called “progressive improvisation” which to me sounds like a fancy way to say jam band. The band consists of Brendan Bayliss (guitar and vocals), Jake Cinninger (guitar and vocals), Joel Cummins (keyboard and vocals), Andy Farag (percussion), Kris Myers (drums and vocals) and Ryan Stasik (bass).
On March 14, they brought their show to the San Diego House of Blues and I was there to capture the action. This band differed from many that I have photographed at the House of Blues since they not only brought their own lights but their lighting director really knows his stuff and makes the lights an integral part of the show. This was one show where instead of just trying to make sure that the musicians were illuminated, the lighting became something to capture, something to play with.
One way to do that with that small House of Blues stage was to use the 16mm fisheye. It gave me a great view of both the musicians and the lights at the same time.
All the photos were taken with the Nikon D4 and Nikon D700 using the 16mm f/2.8 fisheye, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses. All images captured on HoodmanUSA CompactFlash cards and Sony XQD cards.
The shooting conditions were pretty good for the usually cramped House of Blues photo pit. There were six total photographers for Umphrey’s McGee and while two seems to be more fans than working photographers but they didn’t get in the way too much. All in all a good shoot and I am really happy with the photos.
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