Photos: Willie Nelson

Shooting a legendary musician like Willie Nelson from the photo pit? A pleasure and an honor. For the second time in half a year? That’s just gravy.

I’d photographed Willie Nelson for the first time last October at the 2009 Farm Aid benefit concert, so getting a second chance so soon afterward was a treat, not to mention doing so in a club like the Pageant.

Concert Photographer’s Notes:

When I went to pick up my credentials at this show, I was a little surprised to see that there was no photo pass – just a wristband with “www.willienelson.com” printed on it, and written in Sharpie, “Photo F.O.H.”

I didn’t mind the lack of a proper pass, but the prospect of shooting from the front of house was mildly alarming, even in a club venue like the Pageant. However, any initial fears of photographing from the front of house were soon put to rest when I saw a photo pit between the general admission crowd on the floor and the stage.

Willie Nelson and band were set back a good ways from the edge of the stage, but due to the height of the stage at the Pageant, this was actually a good thing. Any closer and it would have been a more acute shooting angle. As it happened, the increased distance made for a less severe upward angle, resulting in a more flattering vantage point for press.

Here’s a wide-angle shot from the photo pit showing the setup:

Photos: Willie Nelson Performing Live In Concert

Thanks to spotlights positioned in the balcony, I shot happily at ISO 1000, 1/150, and f/2.8 for most of the allotted two songs.

End Notes:

For more photos of Willie Nelson, head over to the images of the American icon performing at the Farm Aid 2009 benefit concert if you haven’t seen them already. In addition to his solo set, you can see images of Willie Nelson performing with Dave Matthews at Farm Aid as well.

About the author: Todd Owyoung is an internationally published music photographer specializing in concert photography and band portraits. He also grills a mean steak.

Contact Todd for image licensing and assignments wherever the rock show lives. You can also get in touch with Todd via Twitter.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 9:36 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2010, country, images, live, Music Photography, photos, singer, tour, willie nelson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

←

→

Jason Green says:

March 16, 2010 at 9:57 am

Great shots of Willie Nelson by @toddowyoung, who never ceases to impress: http://bit.ly/afzgEf

Kevin deLeon says:

March 16, 2010 at 10:22 am

Great shots of a living legend here Todd. Love the shot of the guitar. It is so symbolic of his life and career.

Todd says:

March 16, 2010 at 10:24 am

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the feedback – when they brought out Trigger, I knew I had to get a shot of it on the stand. They even had a spotlight on it for a few seconds, but this was lit just with the stage lighting. VR and a slower shutter speed did the trick.

mebashberry says:

March 16, 2010 at 11:42 am

RT @smokinphoto: Photos: Willie Nelson | ishootshows.com http://bit.ly/cKZXLX

Todd Owyoung says:

March 16, 2010 at 3:42 pm

Photographing a legend like Willie Nelson for the second time in six months? A pleasure and an honor. http://bit.ly/afzgEf

Agung H. Wirawan says:

March 16, 2010 at 4:04 pm

RT @toddowyoung: Photographing a legend like Willie Nelson for the second time in six months? A pleasure and an honor.. http://bit.ly/afzgEf

kevindeleon says:

March 16, 2010 at 4:22 pm

RT @toddowyoung: Photographing a legend like Willie Nelson for the second time in six months? A pleasure and an honor. http://bit.ly/afzgEf

Paul Addotta says:

March 16, 2010 at 7:26 pm

“You won’t get kicked out of the pit at this point”.
Todd Owyoung 2010

…my fav is the wide angle shot… …you don’t see too many of those out there…

…take care…and hope to shoot with you soon…

Paul

Todd says:

March 17, 2010 at 9:58 am

Hey Paul,

Ha, sometimes I’m wrong! Maybe I’m just an optimist.

I was shooting tighter shots with the 70-200mm and I knew that the set would be a little boring if it was just mugshots, so I wanted a few wider shots that showed will and the purple/blue background lights, which I thought picked up the haze nicely.