Ours opened for Marilyn Manson in a solid, 45-minute performance that laid down straight ahead rock in contrast to Manson’s particular brand of circus that followed.
Frontman Jimmy Gnecco hit all the rockstar moves leading the five-piece band through their set, whose first two songs seemed to use up all the white light in the venue to leave nothing left by the time Marilyn Manson took the stage an hour and a half later.
Shooting Notes:
Ours’ set was pretty much as straight ahead as it goes for a rock band, and the group received tight technical support for a relatively easy shoot.
I had two songs in the spacious pit, and other than contending with the lighting gear and multiple speaker monitors lining the front of the stage, this set was pretty painless.
Lighting:
The first song started out with a swampy, deep red wash that had me questioning the ROI of the shoot, but this atmospheric scheme gave way to slow-decay bursts of bright white front-lighting that alternated with equally bright light from the back.
While the sweet light raining down from the ceiling wasn’t constant, it was easy enough to time my shots to make the most of the regular flare-ups.
Lenses & Gear:
Due to the high speaker monitors at the front of the stage, which created obstacles in clear lines of sight and also pushed the band back, I used the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 on the Nikon D3 for the entire shoot.
The reach was perfect for Gnecco on vox and perfectly nice for picking up his brother “Pit” on drums.
Camera Settings:
During the red wash of the first song, I shot at f/3.2 and 1/250 at ISO 5000.
With the introduction of the white light, I quickly locked down to f/2.8 and 1/250 at ISO 3200. Due to the inconstant output of the lights, this resulted in range of exposures that could potentially have posed a challenge, but bursting and exposure compensation in post went a long way toward making any variances moot.
End Notes:
The ease of this shoot couldn’t have contrasted more starkly with that of the act that followed, and it was a pleasure to shoot in such easy light as Ours provided.
During the alloted two songs, I couldn’t help but think how I’d love to shoot an arena rock band like U2 under such agreeable, publication-friendly lighting.
In addition, what I liked about this shoot, with particular regard to frontman Jimmy Gnecco, was that while the lighting on him was plentiful, there was still just enough atmosphere in the backgrounds to add a little interest, in contrast to more stark lighting like that for tours by Morrissey and Common.
9 Comments Add your own
1. Ian | February 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hello,
You have done a great job with both your photography and the website. I was curious as to what wordpress plugin you are using to display the image blocks. An example would be the Recent Images section.
Cheers,
Ian
2. Todd | February 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Hey Ian,
Thanks for the comment and kind words, I appreciate it.
For the “Recent Images” section, I’m using the FlickrRSS plugin for WordPress, which is really easy to set up and configure.
For the images at the end of my concert write-ups, I’m using the plugin Crossroads and HighSlide for WP. This plugin was a little harder to configure out of the box. Crossroads also offers some other display engines like LightBox, too.
Hope this helps, let me know if there’s anything else.
3. Chris | February 15th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Nice work as always. I can’t wait to get healthy and start shooting again.
4. Todd | February 15th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Thanks, Chris. I had what you have now when I photographed Killswitch and Dillinger, it was awful. I wanted to pass out during the concert.
I just have one show on Sunday, then nothing for a little while. But Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 is one of the special guests Sunday, so that should be cool. Got shot down on Kid Rock tomorrow.
5. Eric Hamilton | February 18th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I just shot a rave that went nine hours, all the while feeling horrible stomach pains. It was a commissioned gig, so I couldn’t just pack up and go home. What a nightmare. On the plus side - the show was good and the stage lights were awesome. =)
It almost goes without saying that I love the shots you got at this show. Very cool!
I don’t envy those three song rules at all, by the way. I ran into that while I was shooting Paul Oakenfold — but I had stage access, so that kindof makes up for it. =)
6. Todd | February 18th, 2008 at 10:05 am
A nine-hour gig sounds while ill sounds brutal, Eric. That’s just a few hours shy of a full-day festival. Glad to hear the show and lights made it worth your while.
Thanks for the feedback on the shots. This was a very short shoot, but the lights worked out.
Sometimes the three-song rule is nice just because it really forces condensation and efficiency. But much of the time, I’d love to shoot for just a few songs, or at least some toward the end when the lighting is often so different.
Oakenfold, nice! It must be great to have stage access for shots of a singular figure like that, especially if you can get right up close and personal. I always like picking up shots of drummers with stage access, since they’re normally so pushed back.
Cheers.
7. Eric Hamilton | February 18th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I like to shoot when the light is right and the vibe is really going strong. That’s when the performers tend to really come alive. Sometimes in the first 3 songs, they’re just warming up and teasing the crowd…
And yeah, I like to get up close and personal.
8. Todd | February 20th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Hey Eric, I definitely agree. The light really has to be there, and if the lighting tech is worth anything, he should be lighting it up at the right moments to coincide with the music.
I would love to be able to shoot longer for a lot of shows, since so much good stuff is happening at the end of the show, but the way things are going, these opportunities are becoming fewer and fewer.
9. Eric Hamilton | February 20th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Well, you’re doing a stellar job with the limitations you’re working in. I’m a huge fan. =)
speak up
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