Impromptu "Concert Photographer"

[ray_g]

I was on vacation in Prague last week, and a fantasy came true. 😉

My wife and I were staying with a doctor friend. We were aware that he played in a band, and he asked us to see them play. Little did I know that it was quite a popular band, with 2 CD's under the Sony label, and at least one song currently in that country's top ten.

Turned out that they were having a concert at one of the clubs in Prague, with an audience of about a thousand people. The night before the concert, he hands me an "all access" pass, and asks me to photograph the event. They had a video guy, and a second photographer (who turned out to be an amateur as well, with an Olympus E300 and kit lens).

I only had a one body, an M6 and two lenses, a 35asph summicron and a 50 summilux. No flash. The only other camera I had was my Ricoh GR-1. I had no long lens, but I could get up close, even shooting from the back part of the stage. That morning, I ran around prague looking for fast film, and managed to get some Delta 3200 at PhotoSkoda.

The lighting was brutal! There was no steady lighting. There were multiple spotlights from different directions, in yellow, green and red, alternately flashing for about 2 seconds. Needless to say, most of the photos have extremely high contrast, and grain. Personally, I kind of like that "grungy" look for these photos.

Well, I had a blast. I doubt that I will get the chance to do something like that again! I have started posting some photos in my gallery, and will be processing some backstage photos tomorrow. Please have a look and feel free to comment or pass on some post processing advice.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=5972

 

[ch1]

Great shots - you are a pro! Makes you wish you could hear the music.

Congrats - and no need to make apologies about contrast! You "nailed" it real good!

 

[Dougg]

I see what you mean about brutal lighting, but you got some great results! And what wonderful close-in access you had!

 

[Goodyear]

Lookin' good, Ray.

Gigs are great fun to shoot, and those are some nice shots.

 

[rover]

Oh Man!!! I still have your 85 🙁

See, we should have had a quick drive by drop off before you left.

The shots look great, you were able to get close enough to make the 50 work well. I found that too when I shot my concert thing.

Your shots show a lot of energy (looks like a fun band), I agree the high contrast look compliments this well.

 

[PeterL]

Well, I had a blast.

Concert photography is fun. So is photography around concerts. If you're allowed, always take your camera. But do make sure to check before hand, otherwise they might take it from you.

The attached picture is a Minolta TC-1 (28mm f3.5) on Portra 400VC.


Peter.

 

[darkkavenger]

The photos are wonderful, Ray! What was the band's name ?

Btw you could've spotted me at Skoda btw.. I'm going there several times a week and I went there to buy some Ektachrome 100 GX in 120 and 135 during those days..

I'm staff in one of the local bands called Bran, I manage their website http://www.bran.cz and I'm also their photographer and techie guy 🙂 I'm sure I've got some photos taken with RFs, though at their concerts I tend to use my PSix with 180/2.8 Sonnar and Delta 3200 🙂

http://www.deviantart.com/view/24399466/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/24241369/
I'm lazy to scan all the photos I have! *giggles*

 

[BrianShaw]

Great job Ray. I can REALLY feel the excitement of the concert in your photos! You used the harsh lighting to your advantage... BRAVO!

 

[aad]

Very cool. I think being restricted to 2 lenses may be a blessing?

 

[ray_g]

Thanks, guys. The band's name is G8, Max. Here's their website . Too bad we did not hook up. From a previous thread a few months ago, I thought you would be out of town in Paris. I definitely could have used some tips for the concert. I did not even have internet access to go to RFF!

 

[darkkavenger]

wow I didn't knew them, and I like what they do! I gotta "czech" out more 😉

 

[Scarpia]

Great shots Ray, and flare is very well controlled in spite of shooting into very bright lights.
With so many folks being obsessed with the quality of bokeh in modern Leica glass they seem to have forgotten about flare or the lack of it. The shots show great spontineity and you feel you were there.
Kurt M.

 

[ray_g]

I was very impressed with that too, Kurt. Even the older (E43) version 50 summilux controlled flare well. I had hoods on both lenses, but when I went to bed that night, I worried about shooting without taking the UV filters off. I opted to be safe as I was moving quickly, and changing lenses mostly in the dark.

This was also my first time with Delta 3200, and wondered, in retrospect, if I had made a mistake rating it at 3200. I know many people, like Roger Hicks, say its true speed is 1600.