Under bright, high-contrast spotlights, Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus, and Tom DeLonge came together as Blink-182 to tear it up on their 2009 reunion tour.
Photographer's Notes:
This was the standard: first three, no flash. It was no surprise, being a high-energy pop punk show, that the shooting time flew by. The setup for this show was pretty stock except that there were three or four road cases butted up to the stage that were used by Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus throughout the set. All the members used in-ear monitors, so there were no wedges to shoot around.
The most active member on stage was easily Tom DeLonge, who took ample opportunity to ham it up for the camera and play out at the front of the stage during the first three songs. DeLonge never missed an opportunity to rock his hyper-extended power stance – the only snag was that he often did so behind his mic stand, so shadows and angles are a consideration for those instances.
Mark Hoppus also played to the camera during the first song, coming out several times and thrusting his bass out with a huge grin on his face.
After shooting this concert, I'd say that the big thing to photograph is the instances when Hoppus or DeLonge come out from behind their mics and rock out. This is especially true during the first song when the band is greeting/working the crowd, so keep your eyes peeled and bring your track shoes!
Lighting:
The lighting for this gig was dominated by spotlights on Hoppus, Barker, and DeLonge. While there were video screens and other background effects, at least for this performance, they played a very minor effect during the performance. It's worth noting that this effect is exaggerated by photography; from a more macro view, I think the experience is more balanced.
Throughout the three songs, the one constant was spotlights trained on each of the three performers, so exposure shouldn't be an issue aside from the flicker of the spotlights that I always get at this venue.
Gear:
I shot this with the Nikon D3 and Nikon D700. Overall, I'd say this show is a wide-angle and midrange zoom kind of concert. Naturally, Travis Barker at the back of the stage required a the 70-200mm f/2.8, but his band mates were up close enough that they didn't require too much focal length. Still, I shot with the 70-200mm strapped to the D700 and switched off between the 14-24mm and 24-70mm on the D3.
