Live Music Photos: Wilco @ Farm Aid

Wilco @ Farm Aid 2009

Wilco @ Farm Aid

Performing at the annual Farm Aid benefit concert, midwest alt-rock heroes Wilco delivered one of the fan-favorite performances in a day filled with big performances.

Wilco @ Farm Aid

Photographer’s Notes:

This set was one of the first big ones of the day for me, and the first in the string of big acts that closed out Farm Aid 2009.

The photo pit was relatively crowded for this set, and I staked out a spot just stage-right of singer Jeff Tweedy. I think that a counter-position stage-left would have been a solid choice, too, but I felt that my spot provided the best option for picking up all three of the band’s guitarists.

And, as it was, Tweedy, John Stirratt, and Nels Cline were just about all the subjects there were for this gig, given the fixed position and relatively high stage for this event. However, it’s worth noting that the last time I photographed Wilco, I shot Tweedy from stage-left for the majority of the images.

As far as lighting goes, this was a cake walk. Open shade under the shed of the amphitheater, I shot this set at around ISO 1000 and f/3.5 at 1/400. While I could have easily shot a stop or two lower in sensitivity, the performance of the D3 gave me the luxury to stop down and rock a high shutter.

I relied primarily on the Nikon D3 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8, and only switched to the Nikon D700 and 24-70mm f/2.8 for a handful of shots.

End Notes:

For all the Uncle Tupelo fans, you can see Jay Farrar rockin’ out with Son Volt in their recent performance at the Pageant here. And if you haven’t had your Wilco fill yet, you can see their performance at the Pageant last year here.

About the author: Todd Owyoung is an internationally published music photographer specializing in concert photography and band portraits. He also grills a mean steak.

Contact Todd for image licensing and assignments wherever the rock show lives. You can also get in touch with Todd via Twitter.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 9:38 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with farm aid, Glenn Kotche, jeff tweedy, John Stirratt, live, Mikael Jorgensen, music, Music Photography, Nels Cline, Pat Sansone, photographer, photography, wilco. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

←

→

FG says:

November 9, 2009 at 10:15 pm

Those are really great. Looks like you shot in a studio.

Todd says:

November 9, 2009 at 10:16 pm

Hey FG,

Thanks – the lighting for this set was pretty nice, I have to say. The open shade of the amphitheater shed combined with the mix of stage lighting made for a great-looking combination. Nothing too dramatic, of course, but very nice nonetheless.

tim says:

November 10, 2009 at 11:37 am

that’s funny, having Wilco and Son Volt galleries back-to-back. :D

very nice shots, great sense of detail and spaciousness. too bad the pit was too crowded to get a decent line on Kotche…he’s a great drummer and a fun one to shoot (here’s a shot from this summer: http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p1018848799-4.jpg)

Todd, do you find yourself favoring the D3 or D700? as they are both full-frame, how do you decide which lens to mount to which body, or does it not matter at all?

Todd says:

November 10, 2009 at 11:51 am

Hi Tim,

Since I hadn’t posted the Wilco shots yet, I figured that just having photographed Son Volt was as good of a reason as any.

I would have liked to photographed Kotche, but the front of the stage was lined with monitors. Normally the stage at the venue, the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, is pretty reasonable, but the added height of the speakers didn’t help us here.

I favor the D3. All things being equal, I prefer the ergonomics, dual CF slots, and I simply trust the AF just a little bit more. So, I put what I expect will be my main lens on the D3 and put the supplemental lens on the D700. Most of the time that means that that 24-70mm is on the D3 and the 70-200mm is on the D700. That was reversed for this show.