February 25, 2009 – Storming the stage en mass, Celtic-punk band Flogging Molly wasted no time ripping into their boisterous, roaring set, with the sold-out crowd singing back every word.
Shooting Notes:
This set marked my first of 2009 at the Pageant, and it was great to catch up with all the staff and employees who I regularly see during the concert season. I dropped into the pit about 20 minutes before Flogging Molly took the stage, plenty of time to check out the layout and get a feel for the setup. Half-joking, my friend Dave told me to watch out for kilt-wearing crowd surfers.
With five members along at the front of the stage, speaker stacks and mic stands lined the edge of the stage at relatively tight intervals. The large wedges automatically made this a waist-up shoot for the most part, the exceptions being when the performers moved back, due to the already 5-foot stage of the Pageant.
For this set, I used the Nikon D3 with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, while the Nikon D700 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 came in for support. The 14-24mm stayed in the bag except for the obligatory wide shot of the group.
Throughout the first three songs, frontman Dave King was ever the energetic subject, hitting plenty of fun, photo-friendly poses. The persistent issue, however, was King’s close position to the mic and his heavy vocal duties, which kept him tethered for a good portion of the shoot. During this set, I tried to look for moments when the singer broke away from the mic as much as possible.
Aside from King, guitarist Dennis Casey was also a great subject, as he frequently came to the front of the stage to rock out .
Lighting for this show was better than I expected in several ways, though not without it’s quirks. Among these were the use of red/orange washes throughout the second and third songs. On the bright side, there were some effects that included some relatively white light, and there was generally no shortage of interesting background effects.
End Notes:
Big thanks to the folks at Flogging Molly’s label for setting up this shoot.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 12:20 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with Bob Schmidt, Bridget Regan, celtic, Dave King, Dennis Casey, flogging molly, George Schwindt, Matt Hensley, music photography, Nathen Maxwell, photography, punk, rock. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Todd!
I love Flogging Molly. I was lucky enough to get to shoot them last year. (Sadly before I had my D300 so my pictures aren’t a sharp as I normally like them lol)
But it was a fantastic show.
Molly is one of those bands that gives it all.
Fantastic shots, as always!
Hey Janet,
Thanks for the comment. Yup, the band put on a great show. I think I’d caught them on Warped Tour years and years ago, but this was the first time I’d seen them in a “proper” venue (and not a baking blacktop in New Jersey!). Thanks again.
Blog post: Flogging Molly, tearing it up. Was that an electric banjo that just melted my face? http://is.gd/kVuk
Wow, Todd you really nailed it with these. Despite the “quirky” lighting, every shot is absolutely amazing. Every time I look at your shots I want a d3 more and more.
Hey Nathan, thanks very much. The lighting for this set was totally workable; I mention the quirks just for reference. Overall, the lighting really wasn’t much to complain about, considering that I know how easily it could have been more difficult.
The D3 is a great camera, but the D700 also offers the same great performance (or at least 99% of the image quality) at a more economical price. I shoot the D700 and D3 side by side and they’re both excellent cameras.
Hey, Todd!
I was there last night and they really were on point. I was in the back of the pit, so I am only slightly bruised… LOL.
I noticed the lighting as well. The white light was more prevalent in this show than most I see at The Pageant.
Photos are fabulous as always.
Mic placement is always a challenge, and often when I am looking at the photos I’ve taken, they seem more of distraction than natural part of the photo, so looking at your placement and composition, I am supremely jealous.
Hey Melissa, thanks for the comment. Bruised even at the back of the pit? Ouch!
Yes, the house did turn up the lights a bit more for this show, which was I was a little surprised. I know how dark it can be when the lights are dimmed.
Mic placement was really a huge part of this show for photographing Dave King. The venue’s high stage was an issue for the upward angle, and then there was King’s close position to the mic while singing. These two elements combined to make it tough to get clear shots of the singer, so timing was very important.
Cool photos Todd. I love shooting photos of FM. They are always a great time and I always liked their liking in the past. Looks like you have some nice white light in the front which helps with their strong backlighting. Wanted to shoot this show but Side1 never responded for some reason. Oh well.
Hey Bryan,
Thanks for the comment. Yup, Flogging Molly put on a great show. I should note that there was a much higher proportion of non-white lighting, but I heavily biased my shooting – and editing – to focus on the cleaner lighting schemes.
Todd Owyoung’s photos of Flogging Molly last night–amazing http://tinyurl.com/aldcs8
Great shots Todd. I love FM’s music – I think for me it’d be hard to concentrate on shooting and not just enjoying the show.
Hey Craig, thanks for the comment. You know, sometimes it is hard to concentrate on shooting when it’s a band I like. But most of the time, once the lights go down and the band takes the stage, I go a little zen for the next three songs. After shooting bands I absolutely love, I’ve come out of the pit without even being able to recall what songs they’ve played.
Hey Todd yet again you deliver the goods , The LD is for Flogging Molly is Stan Elleflot the same guy you liked so much with the Raconteurs
Can you shoot me an email , I would like to get some pics for Stans Portfolio
thx
Simon
Hey Simon, glad you saw this set, I was just about to shoot you a link. Hats off to Stan for this tour, there were some great moments – though the Raconteur’s lighting will always have a special place in my heart.
Will be in touch this weekend.
The Raconteurs lighting was spectacular! Go Stan!
These photos capture the FM lighting beautifully.
Thanks, glad to hear this set captured the lighting for you. Stan did a great job.
1 and 4 are my faves. It would be so cool to shoot that! Great set! Definitely feelin the intensity!
Hey Keith, thanks for your picks. Flogging Molly brought an incredible intensity to the Pageant. Needless to say, it was a really lively show.
[...] not to post immediately. In the meantime, check out photos from the band’s 2009 tour here: Flogging Molly @ the Pageant. About the author: Todd Owyoung is an internationally published music photographer specializing [...]