Redwall Photo Blog

Company of Thieves @ Double Door

Tasha — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:10:44 +0000

I was super lucky to be able to see Company of Thieves twice in just a few month’s time span. Honestly, they’re one of those bands that I could watch every night. Love them.

If you’re in Chicago, they’re headlining Sausage Fest on June 3rd (and my buddies Treaty of Paris are playing the Fest on the 2nd, too), come on out. I’ll be there!

Shooting Notes

This was the first show I shot with my new 5D3s….and what a difference an upgrade makes. Aside from the fact that the cameras, you know, focused better than the 5D2 (always important), I like the colors produced much better. It seems that white balance is a little more accurate (especially impressive in the crazy lighting conditions at concerts!) and shadow detail is much better preserved. The only downside is that I get a lot more keepers, so culling the images to a manageable amount requires absolute ruthlessness.

Technical speak aside, this was a dream shoot. Company of Thieves is one of my favorite bands to photograph because of the energy and soul that they put into their shows, and Double Door is one of my favorite venues to shoot in. Aside from their great staff, the lighting rig in Double Door is the best small-venue rig I’ve run into, so you get the small-venue feel without the small-venue lighting hassle.

Shot mainly with the 16-35mmL, the 50mmL, and the 135L.

Kill The Alarm @ Abbey Pub

Tasha — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:09:09 +0000

Garen is always a pleasure to see and photograph, but photographs never do his show justice. He’s one of the few special people whose live show outshines his recorded music, so it’s always a treat when he comes to town.

He’ll be in South for a bit, so I highly recommend checking him out if you are one of the lucky millions around NC and VA!

Shooting Notes

The last few shoots that I have posted have been at venues that I haven’t shot at in quite a while! We’ve only been to Abbey Pub a few times in the hundreds of concerts we’ve attended…and those times were years ago for Butch Walker shows. Anyway, since this was a small, weekday show, I don’t think the lights were as dramatic as they could have been, but they were perfect for a black and white treatment. Regardless of the lights, I do love small venues and intimate shows, so I have no complaints!

Shot with the 5D3s and variety of primes.

The Frantic @ Beat Kitchen

Tasha — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:34:39 +0000

It was fate that we were able to make this show. I had a shoot earlier in the evening, and the set times lined up just right where we walked in mere minutes before The Frantic started playing. Hopefully that kind of serendipity happens again soon, because seeing The Frantic once every six months isn’t enough.

Shooting Notes

I haven’t been to Beat Kitchen in ages, both because I’m so busy with everything else, but also because the lighting kills me, so I generally don’t put priority on shows there (yes, I partially base my concert attendance on venue lighting…). It’s been forever since I’ve seen The Frantic though, so to Beat Kitchen I went! It was a great opportunity to test out the new Mark III in the worst lighting conditions, and it held up pretty well! Maybe I’ll go to Beat Kitchen more often now!

Shot with 5DMk3s, the 35mm f/1.4, the 50mm f/1.2, and the 135mm f/2.

Company of Thieves @ The Metro

Tasha — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:12:42 +0000

It’s been WAY too long since I’ve seen Company of Thieves. In fact, I even planned a trip to California around this concert because I didn’t want to miss them again. And I’m so glad I did because this was their first time headlining Metro, and as any Chicago band or regular concert-attendee knows, headlining Metro is a big deal. It’s the place where many Chicagoians see one of their first concerts, and is certainly one of the most historic venues in the city.

CoT is going on tour next month, so check out their tour dates, and definitely go if they’re near you. If I planned a vacation around their show, you know they’re good.

Shooting Notes

Since this show was being filmed, there was unexpectedly no photopit access. So, I shot the majority of this set from the crowd on far stage right, with a few shots from the balcony. Because of stage obstructions from the extreme angle, I was mostly only able to get shots of Gen. But, on the bright side, the light was some of the best I’ve seen at Metro.

These were shot primarily with the 70-200mm f/2.8IS L and the 5DII, with the exception of the first shot, which was with the 50mm f/1.2L.

Kyle Dee Goes To American Idol!

Tasha — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:13:52 +0000

My friend Kyle (from the Frantic, who often grace my blog) made it to Hollywood on this season’s American Idol! Kyle is such a genuinely sweet guy who truly loves music (seriously, he has photos on his Facebook of him performing when he was just a kid). He’s the kind of person who will hang around after a show until he has talked to everyone who attended, even if it takes hours. He has boundless energy onstage, and he and rest of the Frantic have been an important part of the Chicago scene for years. Basically, we’re so excited for him, words can’t even describe it.

It’s almost unbelievable, right?! I swear it’s true. Here are a few videos to prove it: Kyle’s Idol Interview and St. Louis, Behind The Scenes.

Until the beginning of Hollywood Week on Idol airs tonight (and y’all better be watching), a few favorite Kyle photos of mine are below to keep you busy.

PS. Brett, Chris, and Ian… I love you guys too, obviously.

Steel Panther @ House of Blues

Tasha — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:40:24 +0000

There are just some bands that are FUN. They’re bands that have an amazing stage show, are quite unique, have lots of charisma, and are always a blast to shoot. They’re bands that whenever they are in town, if I am able to, I get a photopass, regardless of how many other times I’ve photographed them.

Dragonforce.
Semi-Precious Weapons.
Foxy Shazam.

And, of course, Steel Panther.

This was a sold-out show, so obviously, I’m not the only one that thinks Steel Panther is worth hanging out with for an evening.

Shooting Notes

Last time I saw Steel Panther, it was at Double Door, which is a pretty intimate venue, especially when compared to House of Blues. So, I was excited to see what they could do when they had room to move, and a large crowd to feed off of. With great stage banter, lots of climbing into the crowd, and some high kicks, they didn’t disappoint.

I think the hardest part of shooting Steel Panther is knowing where to look. There is always something interesting going on onstage. Most times there are several interesting things going on at the same time. This obviously makes for exciting photos, but I often feel like I wish there were two of me to shoot so that I could get pictures of everything I wanted to.

This was shot on the 5D Mark II, primarily with the 16-35mm f/2.8 and the 24-70mm f/2.8. The 70-200mm f/2.8 IS came out for about half a song, but since these guys hug the edge of the stage, I found that wide lenses yielded the dramatic shots I was going for. The one disappointment I had was that I couldn’t get any clear shots of drummer Stix because of his positioning, even with the 70-200.

A Ludo Christmas @ The Metro

Tasha — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:43:51 +0000

Yearly, Ludo plays “A Very Ludo Christmas” in their hometown of St. Louis. This show always promises to be a wonderland of large decorations, costumed characters, and craziness. Up until this last year, it was always something we heard about, but never were able to see. But, this time, Ludo brought the show to Chicago too, which was wonderful, because Chicago loves them. As you can tell from the photos, there was no holding back: a candy cane arch surrounded the stage, presents/Christmas tress/angels/garland adorned the stage, confetti was flying, and even Santa came out to say hi. Since these are photos, you can’t see that Christmas carols were sung, but trust me, they were.

Definitely the Christmas party of the year.

Left to Right: Augie and Dan (from Last Fast Action), Tom and Tim (from The Plain White Ts)

Shooting Notes

As I mentioned with the Treaty of Paris set, the decorations were sometimes difficult to shoot around, but by the time Ludo came out, I had a few ideas of how to use them to my advantage (for example, with this shot of Andrew, I was shooting through some garland). The lighting for Ludo’s set also had a lot of front white light, which was nice (and unusual) for Metro, so I was able to focus more on catching moments and composition rather than adjusting to ever changing light. And, as it WAS a Ludo show, there was plenty going on to take photos of.

Additionally, Ludo shows are always a big reunion for me, as so many friends of mine love them, so it was fun taking some candids after the show (as you can tell).

Shot with Canon 5DIIs, along with the 50mm, 70-200mm, and 16-35mm… and maybe a touch of the 35mm f/1.4 (?).

Treaty of Paris @ The Metro

Tasha — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:12:47 +0000

Treaty of Paris got together again for a night to open up for Ludo’s Christmas show (speaking of Ludo, keep an eye out for the next post) a few weeks ago.

Merry Christmas to us. We love Treaty of Paris.

Oh, Mike… elves don’t smoke.

Shooting Notes

It’s been a while since I’ve shot at Metro, and I almost forgot about the lighting challenges of shooting there (still my favorite venue though!). The Christmas decorations filling up the front of the stage were a hinderance occasionally (I can’t tell you how many times a random angel head creeped in the corner of the frame), but who am I to bah-humbug Christmas decorations? Ultimately, though, I was thankful that I had all-access for this show, so that I could get some good shots of Chris (the drummer) from a prime angle, a few backstage shots, as well a few on-stage shots to mix up the vantage point (from a Christmas decoration free angle).

Also, I don’t know it is because I am more used to shooting with primes now, but I found that I was happiest with the shots from my 50mm f/1.2. Or, maybe I was just nostalgic for the 50mm length, which, like most concert photographers, was my sole lens for many years. Oh well, whatever works, right? Other lenses used were the 70-200mm f/2.8, and the 16-35mm f/2.8.

Shovels & Rope @ Double Door

Tasha — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:42:17 +0000

Opening for Butch Walker, the members of Shovels and Rope are also members of Butch Walker’s band The Black Widows. Just two members, and playing on just a few guitars, a harmonica, and drum, Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent kept it simple and real. A unique mix of country and rock and roll, the music was definitely enjoyable and upbeat, and Hearst’s voice was killer.

Shooting Notes
I went to this show more with the intent of watching than shooting, which was great, since we ended up a few rows back. Not to be deterred, I did take a few shots between heads, though, and I actually enjoyed the shoot-through look for this set, since it was a little more intimate. Since Shovels and Rope is a very stripped-down band, I think the simple compositions fit well with their style.

Mostly shot with the 50mm f/1.2 and 135mm f/2, and, of course, on 5D Mk IIs.

The Naked and Famous @ House of Blues

Tasha — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:52:20 +0000

The Naked and Famous opened up for Crystal Castles at the HOB Lolla afterparty a while ago. Despite not knowing much about them at the time (although I see them popping up everywhere now!), I really enjoyed their set.

Shooting Notes
I always enjoy shooting at House of Blues, because there is usually a wonderful balance of fog and light, and this set was no exception (I especially loved that blue light in the second shot, yum).

Shot with the Canon 5D Mark II, and the trifecta of Canon zooms – the 16-35mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, and the 70-200mm f/2.8.