October 4, 2008 – Returning to the Pageant after a year’s absence, the Upright Animals exploded out of the gate, making it clear to their fans: their faces were about to be rocked.
The St. Louis quintet wasted no time in their tight, 40-minute set, ripping into “Taking The Sun From Our Days,” the epic single from their debut album, Scams.
Frontman Jamie Irwin lead the assault, dominating the mic with his polished howls and fiery croons. On either side of the singer, brothers Jim and Ben Peters laid down the double guitar, alternating between spaced out riffs and fiery attacks.
At the back of the stage, Jeff Hall on drums and Bill Newmann on bass shored up the rhythm section with slamming performances.
The Upright Animals are currently working on their follow up to Scams, due out in 2009.
Photographer’s Notes:
Despite being a hectic shoot, the Animals’ performance was a blast to photograph, and I loved seeing these guys in top form. They tore the roof off the Pageant.
There was no pit for this show, so I shot from the crowd for most of the set, taking the stage twice to pick up shots of drummer Jeff Hall. I was generally able to move around to a fair degree, so shooting from the second row only ruled out clean shots with the 14-24mm.
Photographing this show for the band, I had an all access pass for this event and was able to set up flashes in between set changes. I used three SB-600s and one SB-800 on-stage, using the Nikon SB-900 as the on-camera commander.
Upgrading from the SB-800, the SB-900 is a tremendous improvement in interface design and makes changing flash power on the fly a breeze by comparison.
Due to the use of flash, I only used one body for this shoot instead of the normal two, opting to go with the D3. The 24-70mm and 70-200mm zooms were used for the majority of the shoot, with the 14-24mm only coming out for drummer shots.
End Notes:
A big thanks and shout out to Chris Weiss, who assisted me on this shoot.
I’ll be doing a promo shoot with the Upright Animals next weekend, so stay tuned for those shots.
21 Comments Add your own
1. Keith | October 6th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Gosh, this is stellar, Todd. Too bad I missed this one. I love #2. Awesome balance between the flash and ambient. The drummer shots are pretty cool as well. I love the last one of the guitarist. BEHIND THE BACK, yo!
2. Todd | October 6th, 2008 at 1:07 am
Hey Keith, thanks for the feedback. This was a heck of a show, these guys have definitely honed a tight live set.
Jim with the behind-the-back – he always does this at least once a show! I think for this performance, we go it twice, even.
3. Dan | October 6th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Hey Todd,
As always your shots are brilliant!
Again you captured the artists on their best!
I’d love to read a little “how to…” for the use of flashes during concerts!
That would be great as I’d love to learn from you…
Dan
4. Todd | October 6th, 2008 at 3:09 am
Hey Dan, thanks for your comment – hopefully the band feels the same way.
I’ve been thinking of putting together a short article on how I’ve been using flash, so let me see what I can do. Any specifics you’re interested in knowing?
5. dan | October 6th, 2008 at 4:46 am
heeh what happen to your rule number 1.. no flash :P
anyway ur shots are still freaking awesome man !
6. Todd | October 6th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Hey Dan, the “first three, no flash” standard when out the window for this gig. I’d change those rules to “whenever, whatever” if I had my way. ;)
Thanks for the comment.
7. Melissa | October 6th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Have you heard of LOGOS? Their drummer, Jeff, he also drums for them as well.
They just opened up for Blue Oyster Cult and it was great. The Animals are one of my favorite St. Louis Bands. I’ve photographed them before, at The Bluebird. They are a great band.
8. Todd | October 6th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Hey Melissa, I’ve heard of LOGOS, but have never caught their set and I didn’t know Jeff was their drummer, too. Thanks for the heads up.
Did you catch the Pageant set this past Saturday? Great show. Thanks for the comment!
9. Chris | October 6th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Wow, I remember when you were shooting these guys with a D2X and no flash. The quality of the files is just out of this world. What a difference a year makes!
10. Todd | October 6th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Yeah, you’re telling me. The D2x topped out at about ISO 800 for “usable” high ISO, so, needless to say, the D3 is in another league entirely.
Maybe I’ll and pull a few examples from the past shoots to juxtapose with the new work.
11. Olivier César | October 6th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Hey Todd,
I just reviwed your shots. Some great compos.
The fourth before the end, is usually not your kind of picture but I admit: Well done !!
I am curious to see more of that kind of shots of yoou
12. Todd | October 6th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Hey Olivier, thanks for the feedback. Composition for this set was a nice challenge, as I was generally shooting from the second row of fans.
There was no barricade for this show, so the front of the stage was lined with the die-hards. Luckily, there was an “alley” between the first and second rows, so that’s where I was free to move and shoot.
13. Chris | October 6th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Definitely lovin this set, and think the flash added a lot to the images to bring up the range to the next level. No bad blowouts, and certainly not underexposed. That nice addition of white light really complements the photos, me thinks.
My picks are definitely 1 and 2, although I wish he wasn’t so red in the first one. I love the flare, and man those flashes can really put out some power… I also really like 4, 15, and 20 [behind da back!]. Honorable second mentions are this , this [which I like better than the other one because he is smiling], and this . Ben was SO hard to get a good shot of — with his hair flailing about, and absolutely no fill light in his face, was definitely hard.
I’ll try to get my photos up soon! And thanks for the reference, it was much appreciated.
Thanks, also, for getting me into the show :P
14. Todd | October 9th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Hey Chris, thanks for the comment. I think the flashes helped, too, and it was nice to be able to experiment with these guys. Thanks again for assisting with this gig.
You’re right, Ben was a tricky subject with his long hair!
15. Dan | October 10th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Hey Todd,
Tomorrow I’m taking pictures of a band that I know, and they’re allowing me to use flash!
Problem is that I never used flash during a concert before…
Do you have any “beginner-tips” for me?
Any “do’s” and any “don’ts”?
I’m thankful for every piece of advice…
Dan
16. Todd | October 10th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Hi Dan,
In using flash for shows and most other applications, the best thing you can do is to get it off the camera to create more interesting light.
One common way is to use a flash sync cord, holding the flash in one hand and the camera in the other. You can also just place the flash on the stage to gain some separation.
Aside from that, balancing the light of the flash is an important element. For many gigs, it’s best to creature a mixture of ambient light and flash so that images still have atmosphere.
Hope this helps.
17. Dan | October 11th, 2008 at 1:45 am
Hey Todd,
Thanks for the quick reply!
I do have 2 separate flashes.
Would you place the 2 flashes on stage?
If so, where would be the best place?
Or just one and keep the other one near the camera?
I dn’t have a sync cord but a wireless remote, I guess that does it too!
How would you set your camera?
And how can I best follow your advice of creating a mixture of ambient light and flash?
Thank you very much!
I really do appreciate that you take the time to reply, as you gotta be really busy!
Dan
18. Todd | October 11th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Hey Dan, the placement depends on the performers and the space on stage, so it’s hard to give exact suggestions.
That said, I generally find “short lighting” works better than “broad lighting” for performers, because it adds a little edge that’s complimentary to most rock acts.
Hope this helps.
19. Carsten | October 16th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Wonderful set Todd and excellent use of the CLS.
20. Todd | October 16th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Hey Carsten, thanks. The Upright Animals’ show was a great opportunity to try out some flash work. I’m hoping to get a little time on stage at the Pageant again so I can try another setup.
21. The Upright Animals | ish&hellip | October 28th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
[...] past weekend I did a shoot with The Upright Animals, a great group who I’ve had the pleasure of working with several times in the past. However, [...]
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