Opening up for John Mayer on the Battle Studies Tour 2010, Michael Franti & Spearhead delivered an explosive performance on stage in the way any great opener delivers. With bright, colored lights and a bevy of interesting subjects on stage, I loved photographing this energetic group as a prelude to Mayer’s more contained set.
Photographer’s Notes:
Michael Franti & Spearhead were just plain fun to photograph. While there was a ton of activity on stage that made tracking difficult at times, the sheer energy and number of great subjects on stage made this a great concert photography shoot.
I was shooting this concert double-barrel, with the Nikon D3 and D700 and all my f/2.8 zooms.
There was generally plenty of light, and this could have been a “low” ISO 800 shoot, but I wanted to keep shutter speeds up and shot happily at ISO 1600.
For this concert, the real challenge was close ups of Michael Franti himself – for most of the long three songs, he was running around and hyping the audience. With the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 and a few dedicated moments to the singer, perseverance was really key here in delivering clean shots of the singer’s face.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 9:18 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2010, battle studies, concert photography, john mayer, live, michael franti, music, photos, spearhead, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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High energy, bright lights, and @michaelfranti dominating the stage? Perfect way to kick off a show: http://bit.ly/b963XS
Hi Todd,
I love your use of the concert lighting!
All your 2.8 lens? Does that mean you have a more than your 70-200 and 14-24? I changing lens once during a concert but I felt that it slowed me down and I missed moments :(
- Melly
Hey Melly,
Thanks very much. This concert had lots of relatively bright backlighting on the back corners of the stage, so there was something to play with.
All the zooms I use are f/2.8 – I also have the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8.
When I shot concerts with one camera body, I often tried to play a sort of “zone” defense. For example, I’d have one song where I mostly shot with the telephoto, one that was more wide-angle, and another that was mainly the midrange zoom.
This sort of approach can help simplify shooting, but of course when a certain moment calls for a specific lens, you’ve just got to be quick.
I should say that even with two cameras and three lenses, I still have to change lenses.
RT @toddowyoung: High energy, bright lights, and @michaelfranti dominating the stage? Perfect way to kick off a show: http://bit.ly/b963XS
Awesome shots. Michael Franti, Cherine and the gang are awesome. Saw them in Jacksonville Florida back in Feb.
Hey John,
Thanks for the comment – after the show, the band came out and talked to fans in the front row, which was nice.
Michael Franti is one of the most energetic performers out there right now. I really appreciate you posting this set of photos. Michael is a such a genuine person. He usually plays out in the front of the arenas acoustically before each show. I’ve been to a lot of shows in my time and Franti w/ Spearhead is always a pleaser. i’ve never felt more included in a show in my life. He always comes out after the show to talk to his fans. I can’t wait to catch them again at Bonnaroo and Hangout.
Hey Aaron,
Thanks for the comment – really nice to get a fan’s perspective on Michael Franti. I did think it was very cool to see the whole band talking to fans after their gig. Cheers.
Were you at the May 29th concert in Baltimore at the Harbor? Thought I spotted you and would love to view some pics that you may have taken that night. Awesome vibes and of course, as always, they were fabulous. Tanks in advance.
Hey Jill,
I wasn’t at that Baltimore show, but hope you enjoyed these shots. Must have been another photographer.
[...] last saw Michael Franti & Spearhead open for John Mayer on the Battle Studies Tour with a huge, high energy [...]