After a day of heartfelt but somewhat mellow performances, I have to admit that I was surprised when John Mellencamp took the stage and Farm Aid 2009 turned into a no-holds-bar rock fest.
Truly, there were points during his set I wanted to throw up the bull horns, and for this music photographer, John Cougar gave Farm Aid the biggest dose of the rock show the 2009 event saw.
Photographer’s Notes:
Mellencamp and his band dominated the stage during their performance, and from a photography standpoint, their energy-filled set was one of the most fun to photograph of the night.
I shot this set primarily with the Nikon D3 and 70-200mm f/2.8, though the 24-70mm came into play as well on the Nikon D700.
Aside from a great vibe, the lighting during Mellencamp’s performance was also among the the most interesting of the day, with a nice mix of spotlight and accent effects.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 12:11 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2009, farm aid, john mellencamp, live, music photography, photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Gotta admit; I was surprised when John Mellencamp turned Farm Aid 2009 into a no-holds-bar rock fest. http://is.gd/7Fkdm
Welcome to ishootshows.com, the premier site for music photography featuring daily concert coverage, portrait features, and photo advice from professional music photographer Todd Owyoung.
Every time I see Dir en grey perform, it feels like a spectacle. Even though they’re touring r
Hanging out in the hot, hot sun on Warped Tour 2010, Chris and I met up with electro-pop wiz kid Gra
Both the new Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S and Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR have long been rumored, and they’ve
It’s hot, the summer solstice has come and gone, and, more importantly for many young music fa
Just a quick link to say that your truly was featured on Photoshop guru Scott Kelby’s Kelby TV
My name is Todd, and I love the rock show. My work has appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, the New York Times, Alternative Press, Metal Hammer, Entertainment Weekly, and Billboard Magazine. I'm available for worldwide travel for editorial and commercial assignments.
“…Rain on the scarecrow, Blood on the plow…”
Mellencamp, a great American heartland rocker! Great shots, Todd. I am continually impressed with the the crispness of your images. Keep up the great work.
Hey groovehouse, thanks for the comment. These images are being pulled from Photoshelter and generated on the fly, so it’s kind of an interesting – glad to hear they look crisp.
I appreciate all the support!
Do you cook your steaks medium rare after leaving them sitting out for a while? Salt and pepper only?
Definitely medium rare. And yes, only salt and pepper. If there’s anything else, I’d rather just have some dry-rubbed ribs.
Nice shots Todd. John lives right next door to the physician that I work for. He’s always driving his old cars around town. It’s nice to see a local boy on the big stages.
Were there any shooting limitations at this set? I seem to remember you only being able to shoot from one side for some of the othere artists at Farm Aid.
Hey Aaron,
Small world, very cool. Mellencamp definitely rocked it at Farm Aid, and his shot was a shot of life after a long day. We had two songs for his performance, and yes, A good third or more of the photo pit was being used by the official event photographer and his assistants. So, it was a static shooting position, but we all made the best of it.
Amazing concert photography! I just stumbled across your site and killed a couple of hours looking around.
Great information you are kind enough to share, it inspires me to share more information on my blog. Now I want to shoot some more live music… as if I didn’t already before!
I’ll certainly be back!
Hey Brian,
Glad you found the site, thanks for the comment. Sharing my experiences and what I have learned was one of the main reasons I started this site. Glad to hear if it inspires you to share on your own blog.