Guitar Hero: Try #1

Several years ago, I attended a White House News Photographers Association lecture and panel discussion. These photographers had a front row seat to the making of history, and they each were incredibly passionate about their careers. I came out of that event feeling truly inspired. One thing I noted during the panel discussion was how competitive their field is - constantly fighting with other photographers as they bump elbows to vie for best position to capture that award-winning presidential expression. Well, I got a small taste of that competitive edge on Tuesday night (10-20-09) at a music festival at the Black Cat in Washington, DC.

Copyright (C) 2009 Mary Weiland

I was allowed to bring my DSLR into the Backstage concert room to snap away at the bands. I knew this would be a great opportunity to explore shooting live bands, as the Backstage is very small and intimate (about 200 people max capacity) and allows the concert-goer to be almost literally right on top of the band. I guess a few other photographers felt the same way, and I found myself competing for the best angle among them. I felt quite intimidated as I watched them shoot – what angles they positioned their cameras, how close they got to the band members, who they were working for, did they get "the shot"? I knew I had to be different, not be a copy-cat, and in all honesty, just be downright lucky.

Copyright (C) 2009 Mary Weiland

Copyright (C) 2009 Mary Weiland

This was the second time for me testing out my new equipment [Nikon D90 with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC lens], and my first time shooting band shots without a point-and-shoot. Not having read the camera manual, I found myself winging it. I set the aperture to f/2.8, played with the ISO, and went to town. My goal was to capture sharp images of the bands rocking it out with the ambient light enhancing the photograph – i.e. no flash. I think I came away with a few decent shots, but for the most part, unusable. I found that my new lens was very slow to focus. I’m not sure if this was due to the dark lighting, the movement on stage, the lens itself, or a combination of the three. But the slow focus made me miss a lot of opportunities, which was disappointing.

Copyright (C) 2009 Mary Weiland

I thoroughly enjoyed shooting the bands, and it certainly made the show go by fast (understatement – especially since the bands played from 9 pm – 1 am!). I will definitely test my hand again in this area, and hopefully I will learn something new each time – whether it be a feature on my camera, learning the most interesting angles, or working with the lighting. One thing I did learn, though, is that when you have a big camera in hand, most people get out of your way! Little did they know that these pics were experimental and only for my blog...but I was certainly glad for it!