The Gaslight Anthem @ Sound Academy - July 14, 2010.

The Gaslight Anthem kicked off their tour for their new album American Slang at the Sound Academy on July 14, 2010 with Tim Barry opening. Shot for AUX.

                          

Sigur Ros frontman Jon Por Birgisson (aka Jonsi) performed and impressive show at the Sound Academy last Friday night with the inclusion of a theatrical set design by 59 Productions. Shot for AUX.

Having just returned back to Toronto a few weeks ago, and getting over a nasty case of laryngitis, I was eager to start shooting concerts again and am pleased to be working with AUX for that. AUX really is what’s new in music television. Spending a few minutes (or more) on their site will prove that.

The warm weather is fast approaching and we’ve even had hints of it already. That means more concerts, and festivals in the next few months and I look forward to it. I just applied to Bonnaroo today and am hoping to submit my media request for Pitchfork Music Festival this week as well. Those would bring me to the States in the next two months but there is plenty happening around here as well, like: NXNE, Van’s Warped Tour, Mariposa Folk Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, Toronto Island Concert and more!

                          

Timbaland @ Sound Academy - February 22, 2010.

Photography is a constant learning experience. I have spoken to people who have been doing it for 20+ years and they have said if anyone says they have nothing more to learn then they are lying. I have shot at the same venues countless of times but my recent gig for Timbaland threw me a curve ball with some incredible intense strobe lighting.

I prefer shooting all my concerts in Manual Mode. Usually keeping my lenses at f/2.8 and iso 1600-2500 depending on the venue, I have a good idea when to change my shutter speed. To tell you the truth, I rarely look at the metering while doing concerts because the lights change enough that the meter just ends up distracting me. In the last few concerts, I have recently tried Aperture Mode. Since you need as much light as possible, my aperture usually stays at f/2.8 and that will allow AP mode to change the shutter speed when necessary. The problem with these settings (I learned after, talking to two concert photography friends, Carrie and Frank) is that when the strobe occurs, they’ll be far too much light coming into the shot and your pics will just be blown out.

So at least I know what to do the next time I have to deal with this: Turn the aperture a few stops down to something between f/8 or f/11 and slow down the shutter to something like 1/50th – 1/60th of a second. In the end the strobe will act like a flash and still freeze the image, despite the slower speed. Even though I’m happy with some of the shots I got in the concert, a lot more were thrown out than a usual set for myself. Learn something new every time…

                          

Die Mannequin @ Sound Academy - December 12, 2009.

As I wrap up my Concert shooting for the 2009 year, I can now say I’m very happy that my friend Carrie Musgrave convinced me to shoot the Die Mannequin show at the Sound Academy. Apparently the lead singer, Care is always fun to shoot. And she was right.

Of course, she and I had to go to Sneaky Dee’s before the show for their famous Nachos. Once we got to the Sound Academy though we were disappointed by two things. First, the concert wasn’t on the usual (main) stage but on this tiny corner stage at the back of the venue. Second, we were in this super tiny pit, less than 2 feet wide and the stage was surrounded by red light. Once the show started I was relieved to see that for a band that usually is darkness, they had great light. As my friend, and fellow concert photographer, Papa John said after commenting on one of my photos, “This is ideal. The look and feel of a small club stage but the lighting of a much bigger venue. Wish I could have been there. ”

Photos: Die Mannequin