Do you have a bucket list? Chuck Berry, the father of rock ‘n roll, was on mine up until last weekend. Still rocking at 83-years young, Chuck Berry was a pleasure and an honor to photograph. And not only photograph him, but to do so for the legend’s entire 45-minute set.
Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll!
Photographer’s Notes:
Chuck Berry is one of those iconic fixtures in the rock ‘n roll pantheon, it was an absolute pleasure finally getting a chance to photograph him.
The “Father of Rock ‘n Roll” performed at an outdoor concert in downtown St. Louis in support of bringing the DNC convention in 2012 to the city. Overall, it was a very intimate show with a limited number of tickets available to the public.
Access for this show was relatively great – no song limits, so I shot fore Berry’s entire 45-minute set. However, with a very low stage and seated VIPs just behind me, I shot this show crouching down just behind a set of barricades separating the stage from the crowd. After the start of the show, I actually ended up shooting between the rails of the barricade.
Cameras Used:
Lenses Used:
For me, a highlight of this show was when Chuck Berry stepped off the stage and came within a few feet of the barricade, close enough that I racked out to 24mm on the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 to make the shot I wanted.
Still, for most of my shooting at this concert, I used the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 on the Nikon D3, which helped close the gap between the railing and mic stand.
Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode”
This entry was posted on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 8:57 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2010, chuck berry, guitar, hail hail rock 'n roll, live, music, musician, performance, photos, rock, st. louis. 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…
Oh man!! Todd, you are so lucky to have shot Chuck Berry, a true rock and roll legend. Holy heck and still rockin’ at 83! Great, great shots of an a great entertainer. I’m also glad you were able to shoot the whole show and that CB made his way practically into the pit! Fantastic work!
Hey Eric, thanks for the comment. Chuck Berry did get pretty close – it wasn’t really a proper photo pit, but just a series of those metal barricades between the crowd and the stage, so we were basically crouched down at the feet of the VIP section. Still, a really cool shoot. I kept thinking of “Back to the Future” when Michael J. Fox performs “Johnny B. Goode.”
Deep respect for shots of this show, man.
I envy you live in America.
Hey Adis,
Thanks very much. The funny thing is, Chuck Berry plays a show once a month in my city, and I haven’t seen him in the years I’ve photographed music until now.
The shot of Mr. Berry looking directly at you is priceless…great photographs as usual Todd.
Hey Michael,
Thanks for the kind words. That shot of Chuck Berry looking at me might not be the best photo ever, but it’s going to hold a special place in the archives.
Finally crossed off Chuck Berry from my "bucket list." 83-years old & the legend is still rockin': http://bit.ly/9cYzBN
RT @toddowyoung: Finally crossed off Chuck Berry from my "bucket list." 83-years old & the legend is still rockin': http://bit.ly/9cYzBN
RT @toddowyoung: Finally crossed off Chuck Berry from my "bucket list." 83-years old & the legend is still rockin': http://bit.ly/9cYzBN
Lucky! RT @toddowyoung: Finally crossed off Chuck Berry from my "bucket list." 83 and the legend is still rockin': http://bit.ly/9cYzBN
Todd,
You are becoming a legend in your own right. And it takes one to photograph one. Really great results of the master. You are one lucky dude.
John Miller
Princeton, NJ
Hi John,
Thanks very much for the kind words. I’ve got a long way to go myself, but if I can still be rocking when I’m 83 like Chuck, maybe I’ll be a bit closer. Thanks again, really appreciate it.
Hi Todd,
Last time CB played near me in Bonn I couldn’t get a press pass so he’s still high on my list!
The 70-200 closed the gap well – I couldn’t tell that you weren’t in a pit right stagefront except that the shots are ‘straight on’ rather than the more typical pit angle of slightly below. I can imagine a moment of panic as Chuck came close and you had a wide angle limit of 28mm? It’s something I dread when I expect to be shooting ‘long’ all night.
Got a feeling Chuck (and BB) are going to remain on my wish-list indefinitely since I’m in Germany :-(
Hey John,
When Chuck Berry left the stage and started walking toward the barricade, I put down the Nikon D3 and 70-200mm I was using a picked up the D700 and 24-70mmm mounted. I always shoot with two camera bodies these days.
If I’d been using just one camera and had to switch lenses, the moment might have passed me by. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Todd,
Your photos are great! If you go to Blueberry Hill, you can see Chuck, his son and daughter and all of his band once a month. You can go on stage and talk with them, get their autographs and sit right in front of the stage. Blueberry Hill is small enough to get very close; you just have to order tickets a month in advance and they sell out immediately; then stand in line a hour or so before the show. I’ve seen his show several times; met him and his son and daughter and they put on a terric show. Congratulations on such great pictures. You have some amazing shots.
Thanks very much. I still want to catch Chuck Berry at Blueberry Hill one of these days, just because it’s such an intimate performance. I’ve been meaning to see him there for years now – I feel a little off the hook after this show, but would love to see the Father of Rock ‘n Roll again soon.
Fotos de un reciente concierto de Chuck Berry http://bit.ly/b972zv por Todd Owyoung
Chuck Berry: Still rockin at the young age of 83. Great photos by @toddowyoung http://bit.ly/aWLLSo
Johnny’s been good to Chuck. Chuck was good to you and you were good to us.
I’m not even gonna comment on the photos, cause I’m way to stoked. I’ll just say: It’s Chuck Freakin’ Berry! Guitar God!
Cheers,
Daniel
PS: sorry about losing it there for a moment, but I’m a big fan of Chuck, haha.
Ha, no worries. I geeked out a little when I was shooting him. When you have the full set to photograph a legend, I couldn’t help put put the camera down for a bit and just take in what was in front of me. Thanks for the comment as always, Daniel.
That’s exactly it Todd. When you’re in front of legends like Chuck (and there aren’t so many in the true sense of the word, at least for me), you are entitled to be a little stoked. You have to do your job, of course, but I think you’re allowed to just stop for a little and contemplate.
He’s trully one of the greats.
Cheers,
Daniel