December 8, 2008 – In their headlining performance at The Pageant, melodic death metal pioneers In Flames brought the sonic devastation to the stage with harmonized guitars, heavy beats, and vehement vocals.
Photographer's Notes:
This set was a beast to photograph. Red, blue, and green washes dominated the first three songs, respectively, schemes that created massive challenges for In Flames' set.
The second half of the third song featured some white warm white light from the back of the stage, and this shift created the opportunity a little more separation than the previous songs.
Overall, backlighting was the name of the game for this set.
The band's monitors were set up about a meter back from the edge of the stage, which was actually a good thing, given their height and numbers. Any closer and they would have obscured even more of the performers.
Singer Anders Fridén was an interesting target, as he would often swing his long dreadlocks during the breakdowns. Fridén stuck mostly to the front of the stage, often singing with a foot up on one of his monitors.
I shot this set with the usual: Nikon D3, D700, 14-24mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm. Of the three lenses, the 24-70mm was used for the majority of these shots, and could have easily handled the entire shoot.
End Notes:
