Performing in a solo show, one-man-jam-band Keller Williams brought his whole bag of tricks to the big stage of the Pageant. And while one might think that such an assignment might be dull from a photography perspective, with just one musician in the middle of a lonely stsage, Keller’s engaging personality made it a thoroughly engrossing shoot.
Photographer’s Notes:
For me, one part of live music photography is about trying to capture the character of a band or individual. With Keller Williams’s solo performance at the Pageant, I had a prime challenge to do just that. Luckily for me, Keller’s personality comes out in spades during his live show, and it was a pleasure photographing this multi-instrumentalist.
Exposure for this set hovered around ISO 3200 at 1/80 and f/2.8. Since Keller was set back a fair distance from the front of the stage, I relied on the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 on the Nikon D700 for the vast majority of these images. The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 came into minor play for the wider contributions to this set.
For me, the biggest challenge of this performance was trying to capture a variety of images that told the story of the show, all while being very limited in position. In the execution of this set, I tried to utilize a variety of focal lengths and different framing to convey the energy and personality of Keller Williams.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 1:16 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2010, concert photography, images, keller williams, live, music, Music Photography, music photography, photos, solo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Great shots as always Todd. That girl in the second photo looks kinda like Julia Roberts.
Also, LOVE the new site design. The design of it really makes it POP, which really catches your attention. I love the colorful header, black and white rips down the side, and rotating image at the top. Plus, it’s similar enough to the original (same post format, etc) to where it’s still easy to navigate.
Hey Paul,
Thanks for the feedback on this set of Keller and for the comments on the new site design, I appreciate it. Very glad to hear the new design works for you. I’ll be tweaking the layout, but please let me know if you have any other suggestions or comments on things you’d like to see.
There really isn’t much I would change about it. If you want me to be picky, my only complaint is that the comment count for each post on the home page gets is a little lost, since it follows all the tags. Really not that big of a deal though.
Hey Paul,
Great, thanks for the additional info. I, too, have noticed how the comment count is a bit too buried for my tastes. I love the discussions that can take place on posts, so I’m going to look into tweaking the layout of that element. Thanks!
Keller is incredible, isn’t he? I became a fan of his the first time I saw him live. For someone else who uses the loop well, keep a look out for “Mr. Gnome.”
P.S. New site’s nice. Maybe a 1px black outline around the letters in the header would increase the readability?
Hey Al,
Yes, Keller puts on quite a show. I do love a looping pedal put to good use; always fun to watch. Thanks for the feedback on the new design!
Hey Todd,
How far from the stage edge was Williams standing? From the first picture it seems like he´s miles away from the fans.
Love the 8th picture. The facial expression and the “flying guitars” create a truely amazing picture :)
Cheers,
Lennart
I too give a big thumbs up to photo 8! As well as the new site layout.
Hey Scott, thanks for the feedback – looks like #8 is a popular pick! I have an image that shows a more serious expression, but the one included in the set seems to show off Keller’s personality well for me.
Hey Lennart,
Keller was probably a good three meters back from the front of the stage – he wasn’t really close by any means. The lead shot makes him appear much farther back just due to the perspective distortion from the 14-24mm.
Nice work Todd. I saw Keller a few months back in Indy. Oh, if only I could get a photo pass. He just gives so much during his shows. His stage set up is completely different now. Although I prefer the one you shot. In Indy, he had a whole wall behind him with instruments on it. Love the new site design.
Hey Aaron,
Thanks for the comment. Interesting to hear about the changed setup – was he solo your show as well? Glad to hear you like the new design.