Concert photography rule #22: Squeezebox players always take editorial priority.
In St. Patrick’s Day come early, Flogging Molly stormed the stage of the Pageant with a fiery performance that had me grinning from ear to ear: these guys are simply a lot of fun to photograph. I’d photographed their show last year, so when I heard that they were making a stop in town, I knew I jumped at the assignment. Of course, Flogging Molly didn’t disappoint, as my enthusiasm in the after-show preview post may have suggested.
Concert Photographer’s Notes:
I’d heard good things about this tour and seen some great images, so the stakes were high for Flogging Molly when I entered the photo pit. Light levels were good – nothing blindly bright, but respectable enough at ISO 2000 and f/2.8 zooms to keep me happy.
In addition, I was pleased to see that there lots of roving spots in the background to pick up the generous amounts of haze the lighting designer was using.
With as many members as they have – seven strong – a group like Flogging Molly are always a challenge for a concert photographer. Of course, speaker wedges and a five-foot stage at the venue didn’t help, either.
There was a gap in between Dave King and banjo/mandalin player Bob Schmidt, that was the best opportunity for wide shots, and I pulled out the 14-24mm f/2.8 for just a few of those snaps. Other than that, the 70-200mm f/2.8 and the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 were great for everything else.
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 9:27 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with flogging molly, images, music photographer, music photography, photography, photos, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
RT @smokinphoto: Photos: Flogging Molly | ishootshows.com http://bit.ly/9kGIBQ
A sea of green, an electric banjo, and St. Patrick's Day come early – Flogging Molly are in town: http://bit.ly/9pxhbT
RT @toddowyoung: A sea of green, an electric banjo, and St. Patrick's Day come early – Flogging Molly are in town: http://bit.ly/9pxhbT
RT @toddowyoung: A sea of green, an electric banjo, and St. Patrick's Day come early – Flogging Molly are in town: http://bit.ly/9pxhbT
@mrch0mp3rs @delasare I will always have a soft spot for Hensley http://bit.ly/9vSfls
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.
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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.
Two thumbs up, Todd… or two other fingers, would maybe be more fitting with the spirit of Flogging Molly :)
Haha… Thanks, Tasha. Yeah, perhaps Dave King was giving me a vote of confidence.
The last photo is the absolute best.
There’s another rule of concert photography about that. If anyone on stage is giving you the bird, press the button.
Great set man … and good luck tomorrow make sue to have a few primes on hand the lighting at the blue note can be tricky sometimes :)
Hey Corey,
Thanks, I’ll let you know how the Blue Note shoot goes down if it happens, have fun with Company of Thieves.
Hi Todd,
once again an impressing set. You rock!
Cheers,
Sven
Hey Sven,
Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate the feedback.
Some really awesome shots of one of my favorite bands Todd.
Question, and you may have answered this in a prior post…how many total shots (keepers + garbage) do you think you average per concert in a “3 and out” gig. Obviously quality is the goal, but as with wedding photography, I would imagine quantity is one avenue to get to those quality shots (shoot a ton hope for a few amazing). Obviously this differs per gig, but just wondering what you think your average is.
Once again, awesome work!
Hey Kevin,
Check out this post for the answer to your question:
http://ishootshows.com/2009/03/18/how-much-do-you-shoot/
Thanks for the comments on Flogging Molly here, glad you saw this set.
Awesome as always Todd I especially like the accordion shot (maybe because its a different from the usual guitar or bass? haha)
iso 2000 at 2.8 though? What happened to the blown out highlights?
Hey Melly,
Thanks for the feedback – that accordion shot is one of my favorites, too. Definitely different than the standard guitarist shot.
What do you mean when you mention blown highlights?
A fun band to shoot! Nice job!
Hey Eric,
Fun is definitely synonymous with Flogging Molly – a great band I think all concert photographer’s should love!
They rock!
Your photos rock!
I realy hope for an opportunity to see them in Germany. And shoot some photos of them of course.
Hey Wolfgang,
Hope FM get to Germany as well, thanks for the kind words.
Damn it! Just checked out FMs homepage. They will play in Germany. In my f****ng hometown with less than 10.000 people living there.
And I will NOT be in Germany at this time. Live is hell.
Life is cruel. Sorry to hear that Wolfgang, but hopefully you’ll get them next time.
btw. like your shoot of the guy playing accordion. my favourite instrument – to play and to shoot photos of.
I really do like the dynamics of the accordion visually – the way it’s curves can add some dynamism to the frame is nice, but they’re also a nice challenge, too.
Hey Todd,
Great shots. I’m curious in your technique for getting such clean shots. Many concerts I’ve shot have a lot of haze as a result either smoke machines or just light/crowd/sweat. In post production upping blacks usually cures but in often creates over saturation or lost of detail. How much of the sharp contrast is out of camera for you and how much is from pp techniques?
Thanks,
Ken
I’d say that most of the contrast here is right out of the camera. Most of the haze that was used was at the back of the stage (you can see this in the drummer shot), but at the front of the stage, it was pretty clear. That, and the lighting was relatively harsh, so that adds to the contrast, too.
Great set Todd,
I especialy like the 4th down on the banjo player. Nice rim lighting. I love his bowling shoes.
Hey Aaron,
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it. I think salt-and-pepper hair is made for backlighting. And yeah, those are some nice kicks.