In the moments before Angels and Airwaves take the stage, the pit is packed to capacity, and even the few people who are pulled over the barricade at the front due to heat exhaustion do little to alleviate cramped quarters.
The people are the front are begging roadies for water, one girl has bruises in the making on her forearms from being jammed against the barricade, and there are male friends who look conspicuously uncomfortable about the physical arrangement and proximity in which they now find themselves.
And yet, as the familiar synth lines from “Call To Arms” fluttered in over the house sound system and Tom DeLonge takes the stage, the pit lights up with a hungry cheer and the sardine-tight situation is the last thing on its member’s minds.
Touring in support of their late 2007 release I-Empire, Angels & Airwaves threw down a mix that drew heavily from that sophomore album while still including fan-favorites from their debut, We Don’t Need to Whisper. Highlight tracks from the new album included the lead-off “Call to Arms,” “Sirens,” and “Secret Crowds.”
Shooting Notes:
As is par for the course, I had the first three songs up front in the pit, which flew by with the anthemic rock of Angels & Airwaves. After disappointing lighting for the openers, I wasn’t sure what to expect for this set other than quickly changing lighting schemes and plenty of epic, stadium-ready rock moves from Tom DeLonge.
The biggest challenge for this set was DeLonge’s constant motion as he hit his poses, which made composition an interesting challenge. Frame the shot too tightly and one cuts off the arms. Stay too wide waiting for DeLonge to go big, and the frame can be a too loose for any intermediate shot.
Still, I found that perseverance was a necessary approach to this set that did pay off for all the key shots.
Due to the difficulty of photographing DeLonge, I made the executive decision to concentrate on the former-Blink 182 frontman, at the expense of the supergroup’s other members.
Lighting:
The first song started out with flashes of white light that eventually gave way to warm backlighting, with plenty of strobes thrown into the mix. The second and third songs were graced with magenta lighting from the sides, alternating with a little turquoise added for contrast.
Overall, as expected, the changes were very fast, and what light there was came punctuated with complete darkness.
Lenses & Equipment:
I shot with the Nikon D3 and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 almost exclusively for this set. I pulled out the 70-200mm f/2.8 for a few shots, but the midrange zoom was easily the best choice for this set.
Exposure:
The first song started off relatively dark and put me at 1/200 and f/2.8 at ISO 5000. The second and third songs were a little brighter, and I dialed down to around 1/200 at f/2.8 and ISO 3200.
End Notes:
For anyone shooting this show, to paraphrase M. J. Fox, watch for the changes and try to keep up.
Here’s the set list from the night:
17 Comments Add your own
1. Chris | March 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 am
Wow. This set looks pretty rough (both the light and the band). I like #12 and #14
2. Todd | March 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 am
Chris,
This was not a great shoot, due to the lighting and the difficulty of tracking Tom DeLonge. Lots of backlighting and sidelighting that would flare up, all the while DeLonge was bouncing around. Thanks for your picks!
3. G | March 3rd, 2008 at 9:24 am
Great serie
4. Todd | March 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 am
Thanks, G.
5. Raquita | March 3rd, 2008 at 11:04 am
I like fourteen the best - fifteen and four are battling for my two and three spots..
6. Todd | March 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 am
Hey Raquita, thanks for your picks, I appreciate it. Looks like 14 is pulling away with the popular vote. I almost put that shot as the lead image, but thought I’d go with a slightly wider angle of the same pose (which Tom hit about every 60 seconds).
7. Joe | March 3rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
some great photos of Angels and Airwaves - i was at the Detroit Show - thx
8. Todd | March 3rd, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Hey Joe, thanks.
9. Lori | March 4th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Awesome, awesome photos. I like lucky #13 the most. Loving the sidelighting. Very dramatic.
10. Todd | March 4th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Hey Lori, thanks for the feedback and your pick, I appreciate it. Overall, the lighting was very dramatic, with lots of high contrasts due to the strong backlighting.
11. Jan | March 6th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Hey Todd,
i really like #8 and #14, but also the rest of the series is pretty cool. i have a job in july in US, so maybe we should meet i would love to have some nice exchange on our joint topic.
take care…
12. Todd | March 6th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Hey Jan, thanks for the feedback and your picks. Please send me an e-mail when your plans for coming to the US are forming, that would be cool to meet up and talk shop.
13. Mike | March 16th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Wow, unbelievable pictures. They are my favorite band. And I’ve never seen them captured like this. I was at the Chicago show a week before, so it was so great to see everything again, despite different shows. GREAT JOB!
14. Todd | March 18th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Thanks, Mike. Glad to hear this set brought back memories of the set you caught in Chicago. It’s always great to hear from fans.
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