If Ha Ha Tonka are playing your city, grab your camera and your dancing shoes, because these guys bring a great show to the stage.
I didn’t know what to expect from this four-piece, but I came away completely entertained by their set of foot-stompin’ indie rock.
Photographer’s Notes:
The lighting for Ha Ha Tonka was pretty sweet, once you got around the fact that there was a metric ton of haze laying over the stage and that the backlighting was what could only be described as relatively ferocious.
I say relatively, because there wasn’t so much in the way of light coming from the front, so, when exposing for the band members, the background atmospherics shifted to the bombastic.
A huge aid in this photographic approach was the little Nikon 50mm f/1.4, which I shot nearly wide-open for this whole show. All the images in the main set above were shot with the small-but-mighty 50mm.
For me, Brett Anderson on guitar was one of the most fun aspects of shooting this gig, as he frequently came out from behind his mic stand to rock out. And, more often than not, he seemed to be backed by a heavily atmospheric lighting, which wrecked havoc on even the D3‘s AF system.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2009, ha ha tonka, images, live, ludo, music photographer, Music Photography, music photography, tour. 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.
These days, just about every digital camera better than your iPhone has a user-selectable ISO range.…
Last year in one of my favorite promo sessions, I headed to sunny Miami’s South Beach to photo…
With Nikon steam rolling through what feels like a complete update of their prime lens arsenal, it w…
You’ve seen it before. A sea of point and shoot digital cameras and cell phones held aloft dur…
My friends and UK photographers Danny North and Ashley Bird just posted an interview with me on thei…
Sometimes it takes the small-but-mighty 50mm to take on the rock show. Concert photos of @HaHaTonka ripping it up: http://is.gd/4EXUy
You can never go wrong with the 50mm. I love my Nikon EM and it’s 50mm. Need to try it for live shows now.
Hi Al,
Most of the time I shoot with my f/2.8 zooms, so sometimes I forget just how nice the little 50mm and 85mm f/1.4 primes are when the light is low. This show was a great reminder. Thanks for the comment.
Something about this set I just really love. Are you not shooting Taking Back Sunday and Anberlin tonight?
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the comment – this set does have a distinct look that’s a product of the lighting and haze.
No Taking Back Sunday or Anberlin tonight. I think my next shoot with FTSK on Sunday – are you going to that show?
Todd,
Great job again! Ha Ha Tonka is one of my favorite bands. They put on a great show that night..which you definitely captured.
Hey Jessica,
Really glad to hear that these images capture Ha Ha Tonka’s performance that night for you. Thanks for the comment, nice to hear from you.
Dude the lighting in some of your shots have been really harsh recently. Seems like you’ve been cursed with overpowering backlights for the last few shows you’ve been to! Here’s to someone giving you some nice light to work with :)
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the comment and good wishes for better light. This sort of lighting is very typical for the venue when only th house lights are used. Here’s to sportlights in the future!
Wooo! 50mm! I love it. Nice set, Todd =)
Thanks, Roxanne.
this is sweet! 50mm does do the job
Hey Azam,
Thanks for the comment. The 50mm certainly worked for this gig, no doubt.
Sometimes it takes the small-but-mighty 50mm to take on the rock show. Concert photos of @HaHaTonka ripping it up: http://is.gd/4EXUy
Love The DoF on the shot of the 2 guys at the mic. 50mm’s Rock!
Hi Martin, thanks for the comment. I was shooting between two monitors for that shot of the guys at the mic.
i love reading your blogg Todd keep it up.
plus one for the 50 and 85mm f1.4s makes all the difference with bad lights.
do you ever convert to black and white to counter some of the awful colour casts at shows?
i find myself doing it a lot know.
Hi Johnny,
Thanks for the comment. I used to convert to B&W, but more recently I have just left the color casts for the very dim images. With deep colors, I think it works out well. If the lighting is just more simple bar lighting with incandescent lights, then I think B&W would work well.
Todd,
Big fan of your blog – you do absolutely beautiful work. What sort of settings do you use on your camera in these settings? White balance, ISO (auto? manual?), image optimization? Most of my upcoming photo passes are for small, hazy clubs and I’d love pointers on shooting in similar conditions.
P.S. – my first photo pass was Andrew Bird too!
Bing,
Thanks for the comment. I think the FAQ page answers a lot of your questions – the ISO was around 2500 to 3200.
Todd, your photos are very inspiring…
tomorrow I’ll be covering some shows in my home town,
I hope my d200+50 1.8 will do well :p
I’ll definitely try to explore them :D
Abi,
I appreciate the comment – good luck with your shows tomorrow.
[...] The lighting for the set was dim enough that I broke out the 50mm f/1.4 for this set and shot around f/1.6 and f/1.8 for a good deal of the show, just as I did for Ha Ha Tonka’s set. [...]
the 50mm f1.4 is the only lens i have for low light. it works so well. im jealous of your zooms. nice shots
Hey Aaron, thanks for the comment. Yes, the last few shows, I’ve been reminded of how nice it is to have the 50mm f/1.4 in the bag. Hard to beat that f/1.4 aperture.
[...] first set I photographed of the night, and Meese was a nice way to kick off the night, followed by Ha Ha Tonka and Ludo. Overall, Meese put on a great, lively set that was the perfect way to ease into the night [...]