Death Cab For Cutie

10.14.08 | 18 Comments

Death Cab For Cutie @ the Fox Theatre -- 2008.10.13

October 13, 2008 – Following an engrossing performance by Fleet Foxes, Seattle’s Death Cab For Cutie softly rocked three-thousand at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

Death Cab For Cutie @ the Fox Theatre -- 2008.10.13

Photographer’s Notes:

As they say, third time’s the charm. I’d had the opportunity to photograph Death Cab For Cutie twice before, but this shoot went the most smoothly – which is not to say the gig was without its challenges.

For the four-piece’s performance at the Fox, the orchestra pit seemed unusually crowded, even more so than many sold-out shows, with chairs occupying even the very edges of the semi-circular area. Shooting areas included the narrow gap between the first row of chairs and the stage, as well as the center and side aisles.

The Fox has a relatively low stage, and this is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, performers are only about three feet off the floor, but blocking the audience’s view is also a big concern. Since everyone in the first row was seated, I shot the first three songs crouched down, trying to keep as low a profile as possible.

Lighting for this set started out pretty dim, transitioning to some interesting changes during the second and third songs. The first song saw Ben Gibbard lit by a small spot mounted in the rigging high in front of the stage, bathing the singer in pale, high contrast lighting.

The second song saw the lighting open up more for the band with explosions of orange and magenta from the sides of the stage, while the stage was bathed in yellows and oranges for much of the final song of shooting.

Overall, white light was at a high premium during this set, though Chris Walla received a few nice splashes during the second song. I can say that the lighting for the band’s set was generally much brighter than it was for their last two performances at the Pageant.

As always, Nick Harmer was the most difficult target on stage, as he wheeled around slamming home the bass, never staying still for an instant. Ben Gibbard was second up for that distinction of toughest target, as he has the habit of twisting back and forth with his guitar while singing.

Almost all of these images were shot from the center of the stage, between Gibbard and Walla. I used the Nikon D3 and D700 with the 24-70mm and 70-200mm, respectively. ISO 3200, f/2.8, and slightly marginal shutter speeds did the trick.

Death Cab For Cutie @ the Fox Theatre -- 2008.10.13

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18 Comments Add your own

1. Annie Zaleski | October 14th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

uh there was no soft rocking last night. they were loud and a ROCK BAND!

RFT Review: Death Cab for Cutie and Fleet Foxes at the Fabulous Fox Theatre
2. Todd | October 14th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

Ha, I kid, I kid. Harmer rocks more than a lot of metal bassists I’ve shot.
3. doug | October 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Great set. The shots of Neil are my faves - you managed to capture some good moments despite his animation.

I’m seeing them open for Neil Young this Sun, so I’m looking forward to it even more now.
4. Todd | October 14th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

Hey Doug, thanks for the comment. Harmer was certainly the most animated member of the band, so I found myself turning my lens to him throughout the set so I could nail a few shots.

Should be a good show with Neil Young!
5. Keith | October 14th, 2008 at 3:03 pm

The lighting at the Fox really seems awesome. Great set!
6. Todd | October 14th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

Hey Keith, the lighting at the Fox was certainly interesting to look at. Not easy to photograph, but it was a nice challenge and probably the best I’ve seen for the band so far.

Though the first song’s treatment was pretty spare, the third song gave some nice effects.
7. Eric Hamilton | October 14th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

Great job shooting in some tough conditions. =)
8. Todd | October 14th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

Hey Eric, thanks for the comment. The toughest part? Shooting on my knees for most of the set.
9. Jessie | October 14th, 2008 at 6:29 pm

this is my favourite. And good job about the crouching down, awesome job as always
10. Todd | October 14th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

I always try to stay out of the way as much as possible, particularly when I’m in kicking height/distance. Thanks for the pick, Jessie!
11. Harry Simpson | October 15th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

Todd,

Your shots are always so brightly exposed. Is that the 2.8 kicking in or did you use aux flash?

Are those two lenses ISed and if not do you wish they were or does the high ISO and wide ap make it not an issue?

Great shots!!

Harry
12. Todd | October 15th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

Hi Harry, thanks for the comment.

I did not use flash for this set, it was not allowed. For shows of this size and production, I prefer not to use flash, and it’s almost never permitted.

The brightness of these shots is a product of exposure. A few were pushed a stop in post, which the D3 and D700’s files handle very well up to about ISO 3200 pushed +1EV.

The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 has Vibration Reduction (Nikon’s term for image stabilization), while the 24-70mm f/2.8 does not. At the shutter speeds and focal lengths I used, VR wasn’t a major factor so much as the motion of the performers.

That said, I don’t think VR/IS hurts, and it can be useful even at wider focal lengths and slow shutter speeds as long as the subject isn’t moving. For most rock shows, though, there’s too much motion on stage for VR/IS to make a huge difference.

Hope this helps!
13. Noahm | October 17th, 2008 at 11:15 am

Hey Todd !

Noahm here :) we do Live Music photography in NY - I’ve been meeting your brother on several occasions now, as we both shot some of the same gigs in the City. I must first say I’m a big fan of your work, those angles you get sometimes just drive me insane. Full frame is at just used at its fullest with that type of camera in your hands !

I had the chance to shoot Death Cab For Cutie at Radio City Hall, same thing, tough show, not a lot of space plus I was kind of expecting more intense lighting conditions… the second song actually turned out to be ALL RED. Though, Harmer provided some action, I mainly focused on him :)

Fell free to have a look at them, I’d love to hear from you.

http://noahm.com/2008/10/09/death-cab-for-cutie-radio-city-music-hall/
Will be happy to hear from you
14. Todd | October 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm

Hi,

Thanks for the note! I see you must have shot Stars, Grizzly Bear, and Teagan & Sara with Chris. Yup, NYC is an interesting place for shooting gis, there are always some characters in the pit. ;)

The lighting for Death Cab was actually the best I’d seen it, so I think we’re somewhat lucky on this tour. Of course, they’re also touring with a much larger rig this year. That said, I think the band just must like their stage treatment on the dimmer and more atmospheric side.
15. doug | October 20th, 2008 at 9:55 am

There was obviously far better lighting for this show than last night here in Calgary, but they still put on a great set, playing for an hour before Neil. Ben dedicated I Will Follow You Into the Dark to the city.

Sadly, Neil was so incredible that he didn’t just overshadow their opener, he totally eclipsed it. One of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.
16. Todd | October 20th, 2008 at 10:15 am

Hey Doug,

Thanks for the update, glad to hear the show was so excellent. I’ve heard that Death Cab has not has such “good” lighting for other shows, which is strange, since they should have the same lighting techs on the tour.

However, if the set list is changing from date to date, I’m sure that affects the lighting, and of course if they’re the support, Death Cab probably didn’t have their own tour rig.
17. Lila | October 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Hey Todd!

Amazing shots. How do you shoot at 3200 and get absolutely no noise?! what’s your big secret?!! Thanks!
18. Todd | October 22nd, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Hi Lila, thank you. I can’t say that there is no noise, but with the D3 and D700, noise is generally quite low at ISO 1600 and 3200. I actually shoot with noise reduction turned off in-camera.

However, I think there are two big contributing factors to the perception of noise, or lack thereof, in these shots.

1) Size: At such small resolutions for screen, even much noisier cameras than the D3/D700 will look pretty clean, so shots like this are no sweat.

2) “Grain”: The noises pattern of the D3 and D700 is really quite fine, so at small sizes, it’s not really visible. There is little chroma noise to speak of, so that’s not an issue, either.

So, no real secret here!

In general, accurate exposure and WB will help keep noise down for all cameras.

speak up

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