I love when weird stuff like this happens.
Belgian rockers Creature With The Atom Brain opened up for Alice In Chains in a heavy, dramatically lit set that hit just about all the primary colors in succession during the first three songs.
While on the one hand I love the pressure of photographing big, rock star bands, one thing that I love about photographing opening bands is the sense of freedom that comes with covering their sets.
Photographer’s Notes:
This set was a lot of fun to photograph, even if the use of color washes seemed a little repetitive. If anything, the consistency of the lighting treatment meant that I felt a little more free to take more time with compositions or experiments that I wouldn’t normally have the luxury of doing.
When there was a splash of white light, it was a challenge just catching it, as the duration was very quick and the exposure was several stops hotter than the mono-color washes.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with alice in chains, Creature with the Atomic Brain, live, music, music photography, performance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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great post Todd~ also love the new site/blog design:)
Openers are interesting – sometimes they are basically in the dark – these I don’t like – especially if they would otherwise be interesting visual subjects…
But like you point out – sometimes…it’s nice to have the magic just happen – unexpectedly…
One of photos I sold last year was directly to an opening band I had shot ahead of SPW(that I was credentialed for) – the 1st opener (ahead of SPW) for the Sounds, called Foxy Shazam…these guys were just lot’s of fun – totally unexpected, and quirky.
The other opener I remember that I ended up w/some of my favorite shots of from last year, was Suzie McNeil. She was gorgeous, and funny – and the shots really came out better over all, I thought, than the headliner I was there to shoot – Gavin Rossdale…
Both one of her and a shot from the Foxy set, made my fave shots of 2009…
Hey Elisa,
Thanks for the comment. Do you have a photo of that Foxy Shazam image? I would have loved to photograph that tour. Both the Sounds and Semi Precious Weapons are so fun to photograph on their own, on the same bill I can only imagine.
Part of the opener-magic is that there’s no pressure or expectation, so when it does happen, it’s a very pleasant surprise.
Yellow’s not a primary color, Todd. ;-)
RG…Y?
That all depends on which color model you’re using. They hit red, green, blue/cyan, magenta, and yellow. That’s enough for me!
CMYK isn’t primary colors either, it’s a colorspace….
But I digress, you’ve done fantastic work once again, and therefore I must hate you. ;-)
Kidding, of course.
Hey Todd,
So you always have such awesome pictures of drummers. I don’t have quite an extensive glass selection as you, I have an 18-55mm kit lens and a 50mm f1.8..
How would you suggest I get good drummer shots given the lenses that I have?
Hey Kayley,
Thanks for the comment. I should say that the drummer shots here were made all the more possible because the drummer was set up relatively close to the front of the stage.
If you’re limited by focal length, shoot with what you have and get as close as possible. If you can get on stage, you don’t need long glass at all – you just need that access. If you’re looking to build your drummer portfolio, work with smaller local bands at venues were you can get on stage to maximize the lenses you have.
Great shots, Todd!
BTW, the name of this band is Creature with the Atom Brain, not Atomic ;-)
Hey Reinier! Thanks for the comment, nice to hear from you. You’re right, of course – I think the venue had them listed as such and I didn’t double check. Thanks for the correction.
Creature With The Atom Brain has to be good the guitarist is wearing a Bad Brains shirt! Todd – great use of what looks to be tough lighting conditions.
plus they took their name from a Roky Erickson song, another bonus point for them. i think i need to check ‘em out!
Hi Todd,
Have to agree that catching support acts can be challenging (lighting-wise) but sometime more interesting (experimentational), and also quite (personally) rewarding…
If I shoot a support, then I often make a visit to the merch stand after shooting the main act and have a chat with the support band and show them the shots. They are often really pleased and amazed at the photos, you are talking the actual band, and it also it can lead to an unexpected sale and thus wider coverage, not to mention they might perhaps remember you next time they pass through :-)
Sometimes it even turns out that you have mutual friends if they are from your home country, which helps to gel a relationship which can only be a good thing!
Have a look on http://fotoswiss.blogspot.com/2010/01/malefice-salzhaus-winterthur-10-january.html to see what I mean!
Hey (again) Todd,
I’m shooting Jack’s Mannequin tomorrow. Get to do the first 3 songs. Any last minute advice?
Loved the wide-angle shot with the monitors!
Amazing composition!
[...] I’ve mentioned before, I think there’s a really nice freedom that can come with photographing opening bands. The [...]