Band photography.

[POSTI-Tuomo]

This Friday will be a great day: the venerable Canadian prog-punk-jazz trio hailing from Victoria BC, NoMeansNo, shall grace us Finns with their presence and a concert! As they rarely visit this end of the world, that occasion must be captured on film. And there come the problems. What gear to take with me?

I have two real options, my SLR with 55mm f/2.2 prime and the Zorki1 with that f/2 Jupiter 8. The obvious choice would be the Zorki+J8, but alas, the RF patch is a bit too hard to see as it is, even more in bad lighting. And I'll be having a lot of that! On the other hand, the 55mm Fujinon is a bit slower, but composing and focusing should be easier...


Ideally, I would be able to use my f/3.5 35mm-70mm Tamron, but even with ISO 3200 film, I don't think there will be sufficient light to produce decent images. But even here I'm confronted with an option: pushing the film to 6400. Graininess is not an issue. Rock and grain go well hand in hand!

Light is all. What do you suggest? If you have sample pictures from gigs, I'd be most interested in them. Just so that I can compare lighting and ISO/aperture/shutter speeds.

 

[Rhoyle]

You should have absolutely no trouble with 3200 speed film. There should be plenty of light. Make sure you spot meter your exposures. The venue will probably be dark and if your meter takes that into consideration, the bandmembers under the spotlights will be blown out. Also, consider a longer lens so you can get close up.

 

[Jonathan_100]

I'd go with the SLR rig if you don't have up close access. 3200 is more than enough. The club may be dark, but the stage lighting is more than enough for the 3200. In fact, slap on that 35-70 3.5 you should ok. I've had good results with a 2.5 at 1600 in bars and clubs. Your background will go dark and your dof will be shallow, but your exposure will be correct if you remember to spot meter for the skin tones.

jz

 

[POSTI-Tuomo]

I'm thinking I should take my Luna Pro with me + the "spot" attachment. 7,5 degrees of coverage should be just fine, considering the distances I'm going to shoot at. The built-in meter of my Fujica will be useless anyway. Hard to spot that needle in dim light!

The way to go could be to take meterings from the band members when the spotlights are at their brightest and act accordingly when the lighting is dimmer. Just increase exposure a few stops as necessary...

And what comes to lens choices, I have very few. Honestly, just the 55mm f/2 and the 35-70mm f/3.5. I am leaning towards the latter...

 

[cfoto]

I would think 3200 ISO should do fine. I shot the below with 3200 ISO with a 2.8 lens (Canon 20d). A Punk Rock concert in a typical venue.



Some more examples are in the below album (along with flash):

http://graphicknight.smugmug.com/gallery/1638991/1/80015573#80015573

 

[POSTI-Tuomo]

Thanks for sharing, Eric. The lighting is similar to the venue I'll be shooting at. I think that 35-70 f/3.5 will be sufficient, seeing that you used fairly fast shutter speeds to capture those images.

Very nice photos, by the way. 🙂

 

[Joe Mondello]

I would think 3200 ISO should do fine. I shot the below with 3200 ISO with a 2.8 lens (Canon 20d). A Punk Rock concert in a typical venue.



Some more examples are in the below album (along with flash):

http://graphicknight.smugmug.com/gallery/1638991/1/80015573#80015573

You gotta love Flickr's stats . . .

Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.01 sec (5368709/536870912)
Aperture: f/2.7999999523163
Focal Length: 38 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

I'm still looking for the 5368709/536870912 shutter speed setting on my camera!

Nice job, too BTW!

 

[POSTI-Tuomo]

You gotta love Flickr's stats . . .
I'm still looking for the 5368709/536870912 shutter speed setting on my camera!

Haha, it would take quite a dial to show that setting! About the diameter of a cartwheel... 😀

 

[cfoto]

Thanks. The exposures were 1/100, 1/125, & 1/200 respectively, by the way. Scary part is, those numbers on flickr (0.01 sec (5368709/536870912) )actually equate to 1/100 second. You'd think they'd convert them to layman's terms, however.

I think that 35-70 f/3.5 will work great for you. If you get a little blur, I think that just adds more to concert photography. I wish I had shot more of the band without using flash.

 

[POSTI-Tuomo]

try ilford hp5 and push it to 3200 --- this is a wonderful option
Bessa R2, cv 75mm lens f2.5, no flash -- i tend to be able to get close most of the time --- try the rangefinder ---

Well, I went forward and got meself a roll of Kodak Tmax 3200 and a roll of Ilford Delta 3200. We will see how the photos are going to turn out. Good photographs there. That's roughly the look I'm going for. Dust, grain, contrast. Cheesy and clichéd, but pleasing. 🙂

EDIT: Getting close to the band isn't an option here, the stage is quite high and no doubt lots of people moving in front of it. My best bet is this slightly elevated row of seats running perpendicular to the stage.
This means that a 50 mm lens just won't do. I need the flexibility my SLR and zoom lens offer. But a RF would be most nice in many other venues I frequent.