Mixing punk and folk stylings, former Million Dead frontman Frank Turner delivered a rocker of a set opening for Flogging Molly on their 2010 Spring tour. Playing under dim lighting, Turner’s set had had me feeling like I was having a minor epiphany about primes as I reached for the humble Nikon 50mm f/1.4.
Concert Photographer’s Notes:
I feel like I had a small epiphany, which is one that I have multiple times a year. To get all photo-geeky on you, namely that shooting at 1/100 at f/1.8 and ISO 3200 is probably better than shooting at 1/60 at f/2.8 and ISO 5000. To be more general, that primes can turn light that makes f/2.8 lenses cry into light that looks, for a lack of a better description, pretty decent.
While the Nikon D2x was extraordinarily harsh on the humble 50mm f/1.4, on the Nikon D3, this little piece of glass shines. I love the glowing, feathered quality of image this fast prime captures under stage lighting.
Light levels were low for Frank Turner, but what they lacked in power they made up for in atmospherics. The stage was flooded with a lovely haze that picked up the strong backlighting perfectly. What looked dull to the naked eye turned almost heavenly with the right lens and a tweaked exposure.
One fun aspect of this show was when Frank Turner crowdsourced a harmonica solo, picking a kid from the audience to give a little blues harping a try at the end of the third song. Here’s a snap of the triumphant rock star after his performance:
To this young man’s credit, he held this pose until I put my camera down, happy to oblige the photo op and make the most of his time on stage.
End Notes:
The take away from this gig, aside that Frank Turner puts on a fantastic set? Primes aren’t dead, they’re just sleeping in your camera bag until the light makes big “pro” zooms start to whimper.
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 11:58 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with flogging molly, frank turner, images, live, million dead, music photography, photography, punk, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
RT @toddowyoung: Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
RT @toddowyoung: Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
RT @toddowyoung: Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
RT @toddowyoung: Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
@Leeigh RT @toddowyoung Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60 nawwwwwww
RT @toddowyoung: Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
RT @toddowyoung: Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
Aaaaaaaaww, I agreeee <3 RT @fthc: RT @toddowyoung: Frank Turner (@fthc): A little punk, a little folk, all gentleman. http://ow.ly/1qdh60
Photos: Frank Turner Supporting Flogging Molly | ishootshows.com: 03/06 The Magnetic Fields; 03/10 Flogging Molly… http://bit.ly/cvXtEI
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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.
Frank is an absolute gentleman. Seen him acoustic but never with a full band. Great shots – never underestimate the value of the primes!!
Hey Matthew,
I wasn’t terribly familiar with Frank before the show, but the fans showed such an incredible dedication, and it’s always great to see that for any artist.
Thanks for the comment.
Lovely shots! When you’re shooting in the pit, do you usually use protective filters or do without? There’s considerable flare in the first shot, and I was wondering if shooting with a filter might have affected that or if it was just the difficult lighting conditions.
Hey Bing,
I do use neutral filters or UV filters on my lenses, but the flare you see in the first shot is due to the exposure and the fact that I was shooting nearly wide open (if not at f/1.4).
A filter could have affected it, but I never really worry about flare in that regard.
So does this mean the 24mm f/.4 will be your new go to lens?
The new 24mm f/1.4 looks like it’ll be an amazing lens, but it’s not at the top of my priorities. For the steep price tag Nikon has put on that lens, I think I’d rather put that cash toward the Nikon D3/D3s successor.
I’d love to see something from Nikon that has the high ISO performance of the Nikon D3s with something more like 16-20mp.
I’ve been wondering about that 24mm f/1.4, too. Not many test shots or reviews available. Especially in small clubs, the appeal of having an uberfast wide prime is quite appealing, but certainly pricey. For me, it’s a choice of weather I make the investment in the new 70-200 first. It’s a tough one, as I currently rent the older 70-200 a few times a year when needed.
I think that it’s useful to think about the utility of the lenses from a business standpoint in addition to the pure performance.
If I think about the images that I’ve made with primes vs those made with zooms in terms of sales/licensing/commercial shoots, the zooms win out by a large margin. Of course a lot of this has to do with the production of the concerts of artists that sell, but interesting food for thought nonetheless.
I’d say go for the new 70-200mm first, Paige.
Hi Todd,
Great shots of Frank here! You said about having ISO at 3000 or so, my camera only goes to 1600 but I’m getting a new lens. Does the ISO change with the lens or is it just the camera?
I know the apertures change with bigger and better lenses but not to sure about ISO ?
Thanks Todd!
Jordan
Hey Jordon,
Thanks for the comment. ISO is a function of the camera, not the lens, so your camera will still be limited to ISO 1600.
love your work todd and the 50mm f1.4 as well.
but i dont think this is your best stuff a lot look washed out and low contrast.
i Johnny,
The look of the images is a product of the stage treatment. What you see here is much, much brighter than what was actually presented to the audience; in increasing the exposure the subject, the atmospheric haze was also affected.
Understanding the conditions of these images, I rather like the look of these shots – the mood is accurate. I prefer this look to the alternatives of a darker image or one with artificial contrast added (which would result in a darker image, also).
Old memories, I shoot him at the mean old times of the Million Dead when he was all about punk anger, still have to catch him live now… nice shots, it goes without saying
Hey Val,
Thanks for the comment. Frank still has the intensity, but maybe not all of the anger. Still a very compelling show. Cheers.