Nas

Nas @ the Pageant -- 2008.09.03

Backed by DJ Green Lantern on the decks, hip hop luminary Nas took the stage in a fiery performance that had the house shaking with tracks from 1994's Illmatic to 2008's Untitled and everything in between.

Nas @ the Pageant -- 2008.09.03

Nas @ the Pageant -- 2008.09.03

Nas @ the Pageant -- 2008.09.03

Nas @ the Pageant -- 2008.09.03

Photographer's Notes:

Compared to the set for Talib Kweli, Nas's set flew by. Just as for the opening set, I used a trio of Nikon speedlights for the performance, with the SB-900 on-camera and two SB-600s positioned on the stage as remote flashes.

While flash is normally restricted at many concerts, I brought the speedlight setup on a hunch and was glad I did. Without the aid of flash, this set would have been a struggle with the house lighting, which remained a dim glow over the stage for the majority of the set.

Combined with the fast movements of Nas on stage, and it was a no-brainer to fire up the flashes for this one. The SB-900 was on-camera as the commander, with two SB-600s on the stage.

Due to his mic technique, I found myself shooting Nas from house left for most of the first three songs for shots with the least mic-blockage possible.