July 13, 2008 – With a show that begin with him passing out long-stem roses to the ladies in the front row, The Reverend Al Green delivered a spirited performance to a sold-out crowd at the Fox Theatre.
Decked out in dark sunglasses and a sharp suite, the R&B and gospel singer wore a huge grin throughout the show and especially at the start, clearly enjoying his time on stage before the 6,000-strong audience.
Photographer's Notes:
Compared to the 60-second shooting restriction for Gladys Knight, who performed before Al Green co-headlining the tour, this set felt downright long at a full two-songs.
Still, it wasn't without its own complications, as the positioning was still confined to a few small pockets at the front of the stage. I shot from essentially two main locations: in the center aisle and crouching down just stage left of Al Green.
Lighting:
This set was lit by spotlights, just as Gladys Knight's performance was, though the intensity of these lights was about a stop dimmer than for the previous set.
Light atmospherics graced the stage, with green, red, and magenta washes coming in from behind.
Lenses & Gear:
I shot this set with the Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm, and Nikon 24-70mm. The telephoto zoom was my main go-to lens for this gig and its range was just about perfect for this stage and performance.
Exposure & Metering:
I shot this set around ISO 1600 at f/3.2 and 1/400.
End Notes:
I'm personally curious whether I would have shot this set much differently if I had only a minute to make my shots, though I'm pretty sure that Al Green was still passing out roses around the time that clock would have been up.
