Last Sunday, thanks to my good friend and sound engineering genius Nate Periat (the audio mastermind behind the Roundbottom podcasts), I had a chance to do a shoot of a couple of live bands here in town at the Cork. I’ve never shot in this kind of environment before, and honestly, it’s a bitch. The lighting was so absolutely low i had to shoot at ISO1600, which is just terrible, terrible noise with banding on my E-3 (not known for it’s ability to handle low light conditions). However, with some judicious high-contrast black and white processing, I think they turned out nicely anyway. I shot most of this with the pancake f2.8 25mm (50mm equivalent). Both bands were a breeze to shoot with. I just wish there had been more light. Pictured here is half the quartet that makes up Other People’s Children. Check them out if you like punkish metal.
Branching out as a photographer. Feels pretty good. Might lead to some good opportunities.
Live shooting’s a bitch. With my cheap kit, I end up taking 3–400 shots in three songs and getting maybe three barely usable pix from the set; skill obviously helps (as does timing and experience) but the light situation means it’s hard work without top-grade cameras and lenses the size of beer barrels. Still, you caught some goodies there — it’s all about the candid moment, and you’ve got the eye for it. Guess all that stalking wild animals has paid off, huh? :)
Yeah, I shot about 800 shots for the two groups and got maybe 60 shots that I wasn’t completely embarrassed by. Thanks, glad some of them turned out okay. Stalking animals is EASY compared to shooting in this light.