August 23, 2008 – Bruce Sprinsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Scottrade Center arena in a no-frills production that saw the Boss dig deep into his back catalog, with frequent trips across the length of the stage to return a bit of the love his fans displayed so enthusiastically. With a very sparse stage treatment and 360º seating, it was a night of no frills – just rock.
Photographer’s Notes:
While I generally prefer to avoid soundboard assignments, I jumped at the opportunity to photograph The Boss. Going into this show, I knew well in advance that this was going to be a soundboard shoot, so I came packing. I decided on the Nikon 500mm f/4 and the 1.4x TC for the Nikon D3, which put me at an effective 700mm. You’ll have to believe me when I say that every millimeter counted for this gig.
We were set up behind the soundboard on a slightly elevated platform – quite ways off from the stage at the opposite end of the floor. Still, the super telephoto and teleconverter did an admirable job at helping to close the distance. The reach was just about perfect for a full-length shot of Springsteen at center stage.
The effective f/5.6 aperture of the combo made for a considerable cut in light, so I shot the entire performance at ISO 6400, with marginal shutter speeds hovering around 1/250. Given that the 500mm f/4 is about as big as my leg, I shot the whole rig on my old Manfrotto 3021 with the Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead.
Aside from the telephoto prime, I also twisted on the 70-200mm and 14-24mm for a few one-off shots with the Nikon D700 for wider perspectives.
Overall, the stage treatment was very simply and without much variation during the two songs we shot. The light levels were fairly bright, given the arena setting, but lacking in the surgical brightness of some larger pop shows.
End Notes:
Did you see the halftime show for the 43rd Superbowl? If not, you should definitely check out the video, particularly the first song, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” where the Boss does a powerslide over the stage – right into the camera. His face when he gets up is priceless – that’s pure love.
The knee slide is at about 2:20 in this video.
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 at 11:02 pm and is filed under Music Photography, other and tagged with 2008, boss, bruce springsteen, e street band, halftime, live, Music Photography, photographer, superbowl, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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I’ll have to remember to rent a super tele-photo for this show! Love the fourth shot down…it’s your money shot, for sure.
Hey Carrie, nice to hear from you, thanks for the comment. Definitely rent a super tele for this show! Depending on the arena, I think you’re going to want anywhere between 500mm and 800mm.
I made a black & white 20″ x 30″ print of the fourth shot. Bruce is fierce!
RT @toddowyoung In honor of Springsteen’s epic knee-slide during the Superbowl halftime show, snaps of the Boss: http://snurl.com/b52cl
I just saw your post on your site and thought you were actually shooting him at the Superbowl, then realised it was an old one ;)
I noticed him coming into the camera also, the guy is an absolute legend for sure!
Hey Ramsey,
I’d have loved to have photographed the halftime show, as it seemed Springsteen really turned it on for that performance and hammed it up for the cameras a bit. But yes, this was just from August when the E Street Band was touring the US. Thanks for the comment!
Trying to shoot the Boss at Izod center in May, doubt i’ll get passes for it but I guess I’ll know that i’ll need to rent a giant telephoto lens if I get passes haha.
Shot number 4 is the money shot like Carrie said.
Hey Bryan,
Good luck with the pass for this tour. There were two other press photogs there shooting at this show, one for a daily paper and another for a large website with great press connections. There was also another photographer there who had photographed a bunch of dates on the tour. I wasn’t clear if he was shooting for just himself or the label. Hope it works out, thanks for the comment.
hey todd,
great shots todd! remarkable that you were able to get such quality with the 5.6 and the tele. great work!
Hey Chris,
Thanks very much, glad to hear this set works for you. I will say that f/5.6 was a struggle at times, but there weren’t really any other options to the stage!
I looked at these last night, I am still speechless about them. These absolutely kick butt.
How far would you say you were away from the stage (feet) aprox ?
I am truly impressed … #4 would be a wall hanging at my house for sure. Maybe even on Canvas :)
Hey Rene,
Thanks! It’s hard to estimate, but the distance seemed in excess of 200-feet.
I have to say, though, after seeing Bruce last night, I think he was holding back for this show!
Shot concerts in the 70′s and 80′s, prehistoric days considering what you do now, better equipment, probably less access. Great work. Found you on Twitter. Great blog too. Check out my old stuff on my site some time when you have time to burn. Some from Bruce on Born in the USA tour.
Hey Art, glad you found me here. I checked out your work and you’ve got a great collection of iconic artists. I would say we definitely have less access than you did, but I guess it’s all relative now.
Hi Todd,
Your site is just a wealth of information. I just started shooting Christian music concerts and man what a great source of information you have to share. It’s so cool that your willing to do this. It’s not often the best share what they know.
So I have a non-tech question…Do you ever sell your work? My boss is one of the biggest Bruce fans I have ever met. He’s getting his PH.d in May and we are looking to try to get him a totally cool gift. I’m not sure if we could afford your stuff if your were even willing to sell any, but let me know if you are.
Thanks again for all you do for us “little” learning shooters!
David, hope Todd can help you out with a shot of the Boss for your boss (small b). If not, I sell some prints from my website of Bruce shot back in the 80′s. @ artmeripol.com
Todd’s current shots are amazing. If he can help you, definitely get his work.
@Art,
I was looking at you Boss pixs..pretty nice indeed..question though..it say’s they are signed prints..signed by who? the artist?
thanks
David
Hi Todd,
Somewhat late with this question, but I am going to be in a similar situation where I will need that much zoom and I had a question for you. You decided to use a D3 and a 1.4TC and a 500mm lens to reach 700mm. Is there, in your experience a reason to do this instead of in addition to renting a 500mm, rent a D300 body which has the 1.5 crop and forgoing a TC in order to preserve a faster F stop? I use a D700 and would have to rent the lens anyways so I wanted to know if there was a reason besides cost that I wouldn’t rent or borrow a D300 and stay with my D700?
Thanks!
Hey Sanjay — Great question. Mind if I use this for the Q&A?
No not at all! I’m looking forward to reading it.
Great, I think it could be a great topic for discussion. Thanks.