Concert photography...something new for me. 56K warning

[Maestro]

I had the great luck to have a parent at my school that works for the company that does the concert lighting for Metallica. She is based in town while her husband travels with Metallica. She obtained backstage passes for me. :bounce: I was able to go backstage, walk around, take pictures in certain places...Even with a pass there were areas that were off limits. Metallica had two opening bands that are two of my favorites as well. The first band was Gojira. They play a brand of extreme metal wrapped around environmentally and socially themed lyrics. The second band was Lamb of God who play a brand of new American metalcore or so the critics call it. They too are a very good and technically proficient band. I was able to meet the drummer for Lamb of God. He couldn't have been nicer and more down to earth. BTW, one odd thing about the whole night was how drug free the environment was. I am used to attending metal concerts back in the 80s and drugs were everywhere. I'm not complaining. It's nice to see people and bands who are more discreet about getting high or drunk. I guess it is the parent in me, but since Metallica is from generation there were many people with kids at the show and a lot of gray hair. :) The kids do not need to see that.

Anyhow, here are some photos. This is my first attempt at concert photography. I was only allowed a lens that was less than five inches long so to be sure I just brought in my Canon "Fantastic Plastic" 50mm F1.8 lens. I even had to use my back-up camera, the venerable Canon Digital Rebel 450D since my 40D is being professionally cleaned. It took me a while to figure out the best settings but I think what I got is usable.

Equipment containers






Chris Adler, the drummer for Lamb of God


Joe Duplantier, vocalist and lead guitar for Gojira


Michel Labadie, bassist for Gojira


James Hetfield, lead singer, rhythm guitar for Metallica


Kirk Hammett, lead guitar for Metallica


Robert Trujillo, bassist for Metallica


I have quite a few more that I will share later.

[Mira]

1. Being old and stuck on classical music I don't understand this well YET

you are bringing me something new and fabulous.
Thanks for the explanation too.
The shots of the performers "rock", second from the bottom is my favorite it all but has sound, and I'm glad you remained handsome.

[Maestro]

11. You are too kind Mira.

If only you could see all the gray hair I am getting now, but not any worse than the guys from Metallica. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

2. These are great shots, Maestro.

I've tried some concert photography before, but I always get the white balance all wrong. These are just beautiful.

[Celebration]

3. Ohhhhh, I love, I love

Fun to do a bit of different kind of photography, isn't it? These are fabulous.

[NashVegas]

4. Great Start, Maestro!

A tip: use your familiarity with the music, or your sense of rhythm to accustom yourself, and guess when the lights and musicians are going to do something fun.

[Maestro]

5. Thanks for the tip.

As you can imagine, the lights played havoc with me. Many shots just did not come out, but by the time Metallica came on and through trial and error, I found a setting that worked rather well for most shots...F2.2/SS 200/ISO 400. It was a lot of fun, but now I am willing to fork out big bucks to get close just to take pics. Does this hobby ever get cheaper? :)

[NashVegas]

6. You Don't Need Big Bucks

You just need practice, a camera that can capture with low noise at ISO 800/1600 and a lens that can go 200mm at least 4.5 or lower. Meantime, it's a safe guess lighting will be strong on BIG beats & major passages.

[mth44sc]

7. Buddy of mine is into this

And I think he does some really great work.

http://www.mschoenphoto.com/Images/Live%20Performances/index.html

On Edit - message was intended for Maestro

[Maestro]

8. Wow! What a list!

Your friend does great work!

[Maestro]

9. I certainly need the practice, but

the big bucks I was referring to were for the cost of getting close to be able to take pics. No one is willing me to give me passes yet. ;)

[NashVegas]

10. Ah

pm'd

[Maestro]

12. Here are more images from that night.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. Wicked cool! YoungerGreenKid has disovered our old Metallica stuff and

loves it. I think he would have enjoyed the concert. :^)

[Blue_in_CA]

14. Yea!

One of my very first concerts was Metallica - I think I was maybe 15 or 16 (thanks mom!) These pictures take me back - though the Metallica boys were definitly younger ... with longer hair ... and I don't remember Hetfield ever smiling like that back when I saw them. He looks happy! I love that picture.