Photos: The Governor’s Ball 2016

M83 photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

This year I had the pleasure of shooting the Governor's Ball in NYC on assignment for Rolling Stone. Honestly, shooting for a publication like Rolling Stone is something that is always a thrill, and I was happy to cover Gov Ball for them, especially with the great line-of of talent. Here are some of my favorite photos from this New York City music festival.

Big Grams photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

The Knocks with special guests Carly Rae Jepsen and Wyclef Jean photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Miguel photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Matt and Kim photographed performingat the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

The Knocks with special guests Carly Rae Jepsen and Wyclef Jean photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Bloc Party photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Misterwives photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Meg Mac photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Action Bronson photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Robyn photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 3, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Atmosphere photographed at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

The Knocks with special guests Carly Rae Jepsen and Wyclef Jean photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

M83 photographed performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randalls Island in New York City on June 4, 2016 (Todd Owyoung)

Best/most wild stage treatment I saw was M83, with super atmospheric haze and lighting. Big Grams had the perfect mix of daylight and stage production.

One of the more special moments was shooting the set of the Knocks on stage to capture Wyclef Jean make a surprise appearance. Overall, just a great festival shoot. Even though the third day of the festival was rained out, this Gov Ball was still a banger to cover for Rolling Stone!

Photographer's Notes:

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This was one of the first festival gigs where I used the dual Nikon D750 combo, and I have to say, the D750 absolutely knocked it out of the park. The lighter weight, ace AF performance, and great high ISO performance were all fantastic for covering a festival like this.

In addition, I put the Nikon D500 into its first festival situation, and it delivered phenomenally. The D500 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 were great to get just a little more reach and a flatter perspective for larger stagers, when I wanted to be farther back toward the barricade. For the main stage of Gov Ball, I also used the Nikon 300mm f/4 PF VR on the Nikon D500, which gave me tons of flexibility in being able to move back into the alley between the mix and the photo pit, and again get a nice, flatter perspective and less cut-off due to shooting up at the stage.