Pale Obsession band promo shoot.
We had only 3 days to prepare the shoot, the location was only confirmed the afternoon of the shoot, some gear that we needed was still on it’s way from Germany, and this was our first band shoot ……. all these elements and the lack of precious sleep created quite a sense of pressure that day.
But in the end we’ve had a lot of fun, and the result was well worth the effort. The location was the Rockhal Club in Luxembourg/Belval and it’s entry hall which provided us with a total of 4 sets. For these sets we used quite some gear: 2 Canon 5d’s, 24-105F4L, 70-200F2.8L, 17-40F4L, 15mm F2.8 Fisheye, 3 Flashguns Elinchrom D-Lite 4′s and 2 continuous lights, 2 Elinchrom remote triggers, 1 Flash as a back light, reflectors and a fog machine (thanks guys), and some HLS’s ….. thanks Mick and Tania.
It turned out to be a great experience, the guys from Pale Obsession were great and very patient. We’ve had some trouble in finding the right light setup for the fog and I wish we’ve had one or two more flashguns for the more complex shots, but in the end there was nothing we couldn’t handle and by having to deal with the gear at hand made us learn some interesting stuff.
Check out Pale Obsession on iTunes, and keep your eyes open for the release of their new CD.
Make sure you check out the rest of the pictures on the slideshow below or here:
Summer Break
Well we’re here, ….. the summer break. Concert planning is running at it’s slowest pace here in Luxembourg. The last three weeks were mental, non stop concerts, long hours of waiting for the bands to start, photographing the support acts, editing the pictures, facing picture theft and so on. It was a tough time but I enjoyed every single minute of it. It was very rewarding in terms of publications, contacts and public exposure in general.
The video below is Pale Obsession’s CD release trailer, made with various photographs from our photo session (post to follow).
That being said now it’s time to take it easy for a while and spend some quality time with family and friends. Leaving on a trip pretty soon and looking forward to snap some shots of things a bit different than performing artists. Although I am still wondering how to fix a D-Lite4 with it’s Battery Pack in the middle of a “Via Ferrata” without killing myself or anybody else in the process……….. If somebody’s done it before and is reading this, … any piece of advice is welcome
I’ll also spend a tiny amount of time on some other projects with InFocus. We were quite busy getting everything up and running in the new studio. But after the first two or three sessions in there I think I can say that we’re there. Lately requests have been increasing exponentially which is nice but it also takes it’s toll
Claudine Muno & The Luna Boots @ Fête de la musique
Claudine Muno & The Luna Boots are a quite famous local Band. They performed at the fête de la musique this year, which is a yearly music festival here in Luxembourg and France. They have have release two CD’s in the past.
I am not a big fan of photographing festivals, as the daylight takes away most of the atmosphere of the stage light. One the positive side you don’t have to fight with high ISO and slow shutter speed. I used the 70-200mm F2.8, 28/75mm F2.8 and the 15mm F2.8 Fisheye.
The rest of the pics in the gallery here, or in the slideshow below.
RSS Feed subscription change and some other stuff.
I’ve received some emails from people telling me that there were some issues with my RSS feed. It has indeed changed in the beginning of the month and I have to admit that I forgot to post the change. Anyway don’t forget to update it in your RSS Readers. The new link can be found on top of the blog or use this one: http://www.tomdimaggio.org/blog/?feed=rss2
On another note check out Everwaiting Serenade’s new mySpace page that resulted from our shoot a few month back. Here’s the link to the page. It was a really nice day out shooting with the guys and we’re all really happy with the results. A lot of lessons were learned that day…..
If you dig their music they will be playing on July 3rd in the Kufa‘s 12 Stonnen Rock Festival. Normally I should be there too to take some pictures. I’ll mainly photograph the young but great “Anthem of the sun” which is a rather new but promising band here in Luxembourg.
I was asked for my pictures from the Lila Downs concert by her managment. They’ve been put online here last week.
The concert season is slowly coming to an end but there’s still some pretty good shows that I’ll be covering:
- The Temper trap
- Suicidal Tendencies
- Rise Against
- Bullet for my valentine
- Slash
- Pink Martini
- Papa Roach
I’ll post the 36 crazyfists and Claudine Muno pictures tomorrow, …..
Article published on Steve Huff’s blog
Steve Huff published my article about black & white photography on his blog. It’s heavily based on a post I’ve written here back in February I think. Have a look at it and while you’re there check his blog out. It’s a really nice resource for us photographers and the community it great too.
Thanks for posting the article Steve.
News, …..
I haven’t posted in a week now, and I think this weeks gonna be tough as well. The reason for that is that I am quite busy at the moment with InFocus. It’s that time of the year again and sadly my concert photography is impacted. We’ve been doing some portrait shoots on location. You can see a sneak peek on the right side. Some more will follow in the next weeks.
We’re also working in refitting our studio. Actually we’re redoing the whole thing: floors, walls electricity, lights… More on that later. Since we started photographing bands we were really getting more and more into “on location” shoots which is quite challenging in its’ own way. But we also realized that we could not only rely on this approach . We still have too much use for a studio, and we decided to change the location of the studio. Small remark here, … if you every get to shoot in a field like the one shown on the thumbnail, check your lens for dust, trust me it will make your life a lot easier in post processing.
Meanwhile I’ve tested some new gear during the last concerts. I’m still not sure weather to get a second camera body or 
not. So I went and bought the Tamrac M.A.S. system. The price is quite low compared to a second body. I thought it would be a good idea to start with the cheaper option to make up my mind. Well after 4 concerts I am quite impressed. I carry my 3 favourite concert lenses with me at all times during the three songs. It gives me a much needed flexibility without endangering my lenses. Does this mean that I am not considering a second body any more, ….. no it does not. I am still not sure, on one hand I like to use 3 lenses for a concert and two bodies will still leave me with one lens in the bag. On the other hand the time spent on switching lenses is minimal but it’s still longer and less comfortable than just switching to the other body. I guess I’ll see in the future about this, but meanwhile the Tamrac M.A.S. system is something I can highly recommend to people who need to have quick access to their lenses without the possibility of carrying a bag around.
Another piece of great news is that I’ve finally finished my Portfolio site. As usually it took a lot of time to finish but it took even longer to make the selection for the pictures to show. Please take the time to have a look at the site by clicking on the picture on the left or here and leave some feedback.
That’s it for today, …. the next show is the Beatsteaks at the Rockhal next Monday, make sure you check the pictures out.
Article on DPS
An article I’ve written for DPS (Digital Photography School) about band photography just went online. You can read the article here. The bands on the pictures are Everwaiting Serenade and Pale Obsession. Check them out ……
Everlasting discussion about black and white concert photography.
Since I’m shooting concerts there’s always been that discussion in the pit about black and white concert photography. I’ve always avoided being drawn into that discussion as I don’t think that one can definitely say it is acceptable or not. To me it often sounds an awful lot like the “to photoshop” or “to not photoshop” discussion. Ultimately if the photograph is bad to start with, it is not a conversion to black and white that will save it.
The last such argument that I’ve witnessed (which was in the pit at a concert), and some questions from blog readers concerning my Epica post prompted me to write this post and “take sides”. That being said, not every photograph works in black and white, in fact most don’t, especially with concert photography, because of the lighting which is a key component of the show is rendered invisible by the conversion.
What I want to do with this post is demonstrate the positive or negative impact the black and white conversion can have on a photograph, and maybe demonstrate that a conversion doesn’t necessarily be a means to hide defects, whatever they are.
The next four shots are ones that worked better in black and white than in their original color. You can click on them to get a close look:
This shot from Ben Kowalewicz (Billy Talent’s lead singer) looked a bit dull to me in the blue tone, but the expression is great. The shot is better in black and white as it conveys more passion than on the mono one.
Machine Head’s lead Robb Flynn, is a very intense person. He really lives his music. This one “screamed” for conversion, the subtle change in Hue on the red background provides a great base for a conversion.
When I was selecting the pictures from Epica I didn’t notice this one straight away. It’s only a day or two later that this photo of their lead singer Simone Simons came to my attention. If there is one reference shot for a black and white conversion, this would be it.
Joe May from Pale Obsession was 100% into it at this point. The red vari-light on his face brings the intensity of the shot way down. A conversion solves that problem.
The next four shots are ones that loose in quality once converted to black and white for me, you can click on them to get a close look:
The colors at the Tori Amos performance were great. They actually help the photograph to come to life, getting rid of them would be taking away the impact of the picture.
This picture of James Morrison is full of emotion, the bright spot and smoke in the background actually make the atmosphere in this one. This and the harsh shadows on his face would brake this picture if converted to black and white.
I like the photograph of Jennifer Kae both ways. But the color version looks a lot more intense to me, the colors really fit well together and the warm tone in the background give a lot to the strength of the picture.
The lighting at Charlie Winston’s concert were very warm. They are somehow part of his music. Conversion would simply not fit to the music.
Canon 15mm F2.8 Fisheye
Personally I think there’s 3 lenses that have to be part of a concert photographers bag. There’s the 70-200 F2.8, the classic 20-70 F2.8 and then as a “last resort” lens in case the light is worse than it usually is the 50mm F1.8 (or faster).
Then there are the fun lenses, the ones that you buy but don’t really need. After months of debating (with myself) and a weekend trip with my lovely wife I decided to get the Canon 15mm F2.8 fisheye
.
I have to admit that my first impression was a bit mixed. The lens is really a lot smaller than what I expected for a 2.8 glass, which is not necessarily a mistake. No surprises with the build quality, it’s what you’d expect from a Canon non “L” glass. The lens hood is fixed to the body of the lens, it is quite small and will not prevent the front element from scratches. This could be an issue since the gear tends to be handled a bit rougher at a concert than in the studio. By the way, due to the form of the front element, there is no way of using a filter with this lens. The lens cap (in case you were wondering how to fix that one) is “pushed” over the lens hood. I’m afraid that after a few months of usage the cap will come of the hood by itself, thus exposing the front element. But we’ll see about that in a few months. Technically there is nothing to say, the Autofucs was fast, the lens is sharp enough for me and the people who publish my pictures.
As I mentioned before it’s a fun lens, and as with anything fun you can easily overdo it. I used the lens for the first time with Pale Obsession and Epica. I noticed that once I had the lens mounted on the camera I enjoyed what I saw through the viewfinder so much that I could easily have shot the whole concert with it, and that would be a mistake. I came to the conclusion that when the venue allows it I would shoot the first two songs with my regular lenses and the last one with the fisheye. When I say depending on the venue, I mean that you really take advantage of the lens when you can get really close to the action. There’s no point in using it if you are 2m or more away from the stage.
Conclusion: I am happy with the results of my first test, it will certainly always be in my bag. But it’s not a lens I will be able to use at every concert. Technically it’s a great lens with the “fun” effect. The only detail I don’t like is the lens cap, and the fact that there is no way of protecting the front element from scratches. But other than that, if you’re looking to diversify the look of your pictures and have fun at it, by all means give it a try. It’s not a lens for everybody, so renting it first would be a clever thing to do.
Here’s a few examples from the to concerts I’ve mentioned before.
2010, … a new year, new perspectives, new hopes and expactations (sounds a lot like a song, doesn’t it? And a good one at that). Some people will remember 2009 as a positive year and some won’t. Me, …. well it’s been the best year of my life and the worst, all in one.White Lies Inteview & Concert
It was the first time I’ve photographed an interview. Well it’s a little less tough as photographing a concert. In this case I had 15 minutes, no flash and I was blocked in the back of the room with no place to move. But meeting the artists like that was an interesting experience.
New assignments.
Here’s some new assignments that I’ve received:
- Antiflag & Alexisonfire 23/10/2009 Atelier
- White Lies 30/10/2009 Atelier
- Bat for Lashes 02/11/2009 Atelier
- Roger Cicero 03/11/2009 Saarlandhalle
- Nouvelle Vague 06/11/2009 Rockhal
- Portugal, The Man 09/11/2009 Atelier
- Porcupine Tree 30/11/2009 Atelier
Portfolio Updated
This weekend I took some time and did something that I wanted to do for a very long time: I’ve updated my portfolio. You can reach it via the sidebar, or via the “photos” menu in the navigation bar. It’s not 100% finished yet, it includes work I’ve done with In-Focus and my favorite non-concert pictures.
Lane
Here’s on of the shots from a very interesting project with InFocus. Click here to se some more.
Sophia @ Atelier
What an amazing concert. I was really impressed by the band. Nine people onstage……. the sound was so rich. Robin Proper-Sheppard’s (Frontman) voice is incredible.
Photograph published.
I was surprised when I read the email I was send by “Digital Photo” saying they would like to publish one of my pictures in their “Your Pictures” section. It’s one of the photographs from the trip to Vietnam last summer.
Medi & the medicine show @ Rockhal
The support act for Charlie Winston. Their presence on the scene was excellent. I hope they make it.
Shadows
No concert photo this time. This is the first one of a series I did with JP on a small Project of ours. There’s twelve shots for the project.
Julien Doré @ Atelier
Julien Doré @ Atelier. The rest of the pictures can be seen in the gallery here.
From the skies, ….
This one was taken last Sunday on a flight over Luxembourg. Thanks for the flightMichel.
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