This is my new house.
I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve recently accepted a position as the house photographer for the newly opened Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.
The new arena is a 10,600-capacity multi-use venue that will serve as the home to the St. Louis University Billikens basketball team, in addition to hosting a number of concerts in the 2008 season.
Considering my start in concert photography bringing a camera to a small club on a whim, I’m thrilled at the opportunity to act as the house photographer for the Chaifetz Arena.
Icon Barry Manilow performed the inaugural concert on April 25, 2008. Images from that event will be posted soon, and I will definitely keep you posted on events from this new venue in addition to my usual gigs.
This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Music Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Welcome to ishootshows.com, your source for music photography featuring daily concert coverage, portrait features, and photo advice from professional music photographer Todd Owyoung.
Support this site by purchasing your photo equipment through my affiliate links to B&H Photo Video or Amazon.com
Learn more about how you can support the features of ishootshows.com.
Shooting Caitlin Rose and band before the Old 97s was a fantastic warm up, and a nice way to dust of…
Here’s a little preview from a recent shoot with my friends Option Control toward the end of l…
Today Adobe has released the beta version of Lightroom4, the successor to their popular image manage…
You’ve seen it before – weird, colored blobs in your photographs radiating outward from some…
About that time when I said about the megapixel war being over with the release of the Nikon D4 and …
Todd, congrats man! Thats awesome. AND….this shot is sick. Can’t wait to see what else you came up with this weekend!
I wanted to ask, did you get my email this week? Again, no rush. Just want to know if you got it!
Hey Keith,
Thanks very much. I met your friends Chris and Ryan. They were telling me about how they were totally addicted to Flickr and asked if I had an account, and what the name was.
I said, “Yeah, it’s ‘ishootshows,’” and Chris flipped out. So that’s how we got to talking about you, ha.
I did get your email, sorry about the late reply – I’ve been a little busy, but no shows until the weekend, so I will try and get back to you straight away.
Congratulations :) I hope you will still be doing concert photography at other venues?
Hey Janet, thank you! I will definitely still be photographing at other venues. I do love the Pageant and its people, and I’ll be back there this weekend.
Congrats, you certainly deserve it.
Thanks, man!
Will you continue with the blog then?
I’m definitely still blogging, unless there are situations (contracts) that prohibit me from doing so.
I have a bunch of stuff from the last two weeks that I’ll be posting soon, including:
Okkervil River
New Pornographers
Barry Manilow
Alicia Keys
The Wailers
Murder City Players
And upcoming shows at the Pageant include My Chemical Romance with Billy Talent, and Tegan and Sara.
Congrats Todd! You are truly gifted.
Thanks, Will.
Congratulations! Enjoy the new digs.
Thanks, Jason. I’m looking forward to seeing what this venue can do.
Congratulations Todd! This is such a well-deserved offer and the perfect fit for you. It is fantastic to see your exceptional work rightly appreciated.
Thanks, Tom. I appreciate the kind words, the people at Chaifetz have been really great. I shot for a total of about nine hours there this weekend and it was a nice way to “break in” the new place.
I hope for you they pay the big money there ;)
Congrats.
Hey Andi, thanks.
I have reached a very satisfactory agreement with the management and the experience has been nothing short of excellent so far. I’m looking forward to seeing what gigs this venue will bring in!
Congrats Todd! This is a fantastic opportunity! I look forward to seeing the results of your hard work.
Thanks, T. Barry Manilow was from the soundboard, but on Saturday I photographed a six-hour event with five performers that should produce some nice results.
I have a bunch of shows to post, but hope to post at least some of those images and write-ups this week.
Wow, Todd, that’s fantastic! Congratulations. I’m really happy for you, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your work!
Hey Lori, thanks! Good to hear from you. I have a ton of stuff to post, so stay tuned.
todd,
great news! good to see your rapid ascent in the concert photo scene. as always, look forward to seeing more of your work.
Hey John, thanks! It’s been a pretty interesting ride so far, with a lot happening with regard to concert photography in just the last six months.
Thanks for the support.
Ez mate!
that’s good news for you!
really glad for you :)
but i have to say that doesnt surprize me :
u’re fkin talented ;)
G
Thanks, G. I’m looking forward to this opportunity – will keep you posted about how it works out.
Congratulations Todd! I can’t say I’m too surprised – this is really well deserved :-) Although I haven’t had much time lately to comment, I’ve been following your progress and I can’t wait to see what you do next. Is this a full time job?
Hey Stephen, thank you. This is not a full-time gig, but simply a contracted position for which I’ll provide coverage as needed. I will be doing all of the music evens, but perhaps some of the sporting and general university stuff as well.
Good to hear from you.
Well Done. I can only hope to accomplish such great photos from passion like yours. You inspire me.
Hey Meio, thanks very much. For me, inspiration is one of the highest compliments!
That’s great – so does this mean that you won’t have the 3 song limit imposed on you or is that up to the bands individually?
Hey again, Stephen! I’ll still be limited as per the band’s requests, but there may be situations in which I have more flexibility.
The house sets up all credentials and such, and I show up and shoot in a normal fashion.
One nice aspect of this venue is that the stage is only about four-feet high, which is very manageable, especially for an arena.
Hey Todd, just another congratulatory note! To be the house photographer for an ARENA…wow. I’d say ‘good luck’ but I don’t think you really need it! :)
Thanks, Jacinta! I really appreciate it. Considering my first gig was bringing my D70 to a dive two years ago, this arena deal is a big step.
congrat, Todd
Thank you, Anand. Good to hear from you.
Ciceros, Pageant, Chaifetz, Madison Square Garden, Space Shuttle, Moon Station…. Keep on Climbin’ Brotha! Congrats!
Ha, thanks, Kenny! We’ll see where this goes… We’ve got to meet up sometime for another concert. Aside from My Chemical Romance this weekend, maybe we can hit the Panic at the Disco show. They put on a fun and very photogenic performance last time I saw them.
Hell yeah, man! You definitely deserve this gig — you have such talent in this area, I love all your work! Keep it up, hopefully I’ll see you again at Chaifetz soon!
Thanks, Chris! I really appreciate it. The next Chaifetz gig I’ll be attending is Stevie Nicks, I think, but I’m hoping they’ll be booking a lot of shows later this summer and fall.
Todd, nice work. well done!
Thanks, Tim! I appreciate it.
Hi Todd,
a bit late, I missed this post, but congratulations, it looks a wonderful place. Hope it hosts also wonderful shows, does it? how big is that?
Will you be able to shoot somewhere else or it is going to be much that?
sorry too many questions,
have fun
ciao
Valerio
Hey Valerio,
Thanks! This venue seats 10,600 at full capacity, and slightly less for concerts, as the stage is positioned at one end of the arena.
I will be able to shoot at other venues, too, though if there’s a conflict between a gig at the arena and another venue, I will be shooting the arena. Most shows will be from the pit, though there will be the occasional soundboard shoot, too.
Thanks again.
Congrats Todd. Sounds like a good regular gig to get.
Thanks, Dan, I appreciate it. Incidentally, Boudist was one of my inspirations for ishootshows.
I just wanted to say I enjoy your blog and photos and congrats on getting the fantastic job! Good Luck!
Hey Sanjay, thanks very much! Good to hear from you.
Congrats man….that a huge arena – hope they treat you well
Thanks, Dan. This ultra-wide shot makes the arena look a little bigger than it is – but I guess an arena is an arena. I appreciate the good wishes, so far, so good!
[...] was my first gig at the new Chaifetz Arena, and the start of my position as the venue’s house photographer. While the shoot wasn’t in the pit, it was still a great experience stepping into the arena [...]
wow, way to go, todd! this is really cool. it’s about time St. Louis made you its house photog. :)
Thanks, Brian! I’ll keep you posted. I also have some more exciting news that I’ll have to share with everyone, but want to keep it under wraps until it’s 100%…
i imagine world domination is next. :)
Wow, congratulations! Couldn’t happen to a more deserving photographer!
Thanks, Siobhan.