Eels @ Den Atelier
I have to say that I was amazed when I saw that the venue was sold out. Especially on a Sunday night with a big Music Festival and the yearly fair going on at a few km away. I guess that speaks for the Eels popularity around here.
I was however to be hugely disappointed (not musically) by the Eels. I was told (as were all the other photographers) that we had our regular 3 songs no flash routine, but we were thrown out of the pit after a minute or so into the show. And that for no apparent reason. On the way out of the pit somebody from their crew told us that we could take a few more pictures from within the crowd though if we wanted.
Now I do and always did respect the rules that management has laid out for us, sometimes it’s one song only, sometimes it’s from an elevated spot in the back of the venue, sometimes it’s even from the side of the stage and I don’t mind, the rules are the rules. But I don’t understand why photographers are allowed into the pit only to be asked to leave before their allocated time is over?
What happened then? Well by the time we were back in the crowd the second song was nearly over, I looked around took one picture and to be honest at that point I thought, well if they don’t want us in the pit they don’t want their pictures taken and I left (first time I’ve done that). Especially since there were ans who paid to be there who saw a bunch of photographers blocking their view.
The few pictures I was able to get can be seen in the flickr slideshow below:
The Kooks @ Den Atelier
The Kooks performed before a packed Atelier last night. The indie rock band from Brighton made it to Luxembourg once more to the delight of their fans.
The show started off with stroboscopic effects, I was a bit afraid that it set the tone for what was to come. But it was only for a few seconds. The light was actually very nice, a lot of variation in colors, brights and darks. The pit was packed with photographers so movement was very restricted. I’ve photographed the whole 3 songs with the 28-75mm F2.8.
The rest of the pictures in the gallery here or in the slideshow below.
Daniel Balthasar @ Den Atelier
Daniel Balthasar opened up for The Kooks at the Atelier. It’s a local band that has made it’s name here in Luxembourg. Those who were not fans before they started probably are now if I believe what I’ve heard behind me in the pit. Visit them on their website.
The light was quite ok here, the only drawback was that I had the opportunity to go on stage to take my pictures, but the stage was so cramped that there was no point, movement would have been close to impossible. A whole part from the second song was lit with red spotlights which is not so nice. I used the 28-75mm F2.8 for all three songs.
You can see the rest of the pictures here or below in the slideshow.
Versus You @ Den Atelier
Versus You is a local band that is doing very well for itself. They were playing here as a support act for Rise Against. They did a nice job of warming up the crowd for Rise Against. Here’s their MySpace page, have a listen to their music.
The light was actually great on this one. A bit of red but white light was dominant. It’s a welcome change for me. The pictures were taken with the 28-75mm F2.8
The rest of the pics in the gallery here, or below in the flickr slideshow.
Rise Against @ Den Atelier
Rise Against kicked ass last night @ Den Atelier. The venue was sold out for weeks now and fans were eager to see Tim McIlrath and his guys from Chicago. They were fantastic on stage. By the time the played “Long forgotten sons” people were out of it.
Photographically it was ok. A mixture of blues, magentas and the dreaded reds. Some whites here and there. Security had a lot of work in the pit so that was a bit distracting. I shot the whole show with the 28-75mm F2.8. The stage was too busy for the fisheye and I was too close for the 70-200mm.
The rest of the pics here, or in the slideshow below.
The Temper Trap @ Den Atelier
When I heard about this assignment I didn’t know the Australian band. It’s only when a friend send me the link to the video of “Sweet Disposition” that I got to know them. It’s a great video, if you haven’t seen it yet have a look at their website or youtube. Anyway, since then I was hooked and really looking forward to this concert.
Photographically it was a good mixture of lights. The show in itself was quite static which made it tough to make different compositions.
The rest of the pics here in the gallery or below in the flickr slideshow. Enjoy…..
36 Crazyfists @ Den Atelier
36 Crazyfists were part of the three bands that performed on Sunday. They were the first ones to start the show. I was impressed by seeing them close to the stage already well before the show began. They were talking to fans and signing autographs. When they were done with their show they all were amongst the fans, having a beer, talking, taking pictures with fans. I think that’s really impressive and sends out a positive message. Respect to them for that.
Lighting was rather dull, blues, magentas and reds. Quite dark too, but that’s the usual treatment with metal bands most of the time. I used the 28-75mm F2.8 only for this show. The pit was the biggest I’ve seen tough, it really left a lot of room for movement and composition.
As always the rest in the gallery here or below in the flickr slideshow.
Unearth @ Den Atelier
I can’t say that I am a metalcore fan, but when I see a show like the one performed yesterday by Unearth, I can see that change some time in the future. Unearth was founded in 1998 in Boston, so they’re not really new in the scene. In fact one of the show goers told me that Unearth was at the very beginning of the metalcore movement.
Photographically magnificent, they really gave me something to photograph, they even sometimes went as far as “announcing” their moves with small gestures. I had a blast photographing this concert.
The rest of the pics here or below in the flick gallery below:
Atreyu @ Den Atelier
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/lyricist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc McKnight and drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller. A very energetic band and a fantastic crowd made it a treat to be in the pit and take photographs.
Photographing this show was both: excellent and one of the toughest at the same time. Excellent because the guys were great, they gave their fans a show to remember and that’s always great to photograph. Tough because the light went from dark, I really mean dark, 0 light to very bright. I had to time my shots and hope for a nice pose when the lights were there. I shot the whole show with the 28-75mm F2.8 as I didn’t want to waste any time changing lenses.
The rest of the pictures below on flickr or in my gallery here.
Hayseed Dixie @ Den Atelier
Have you ever wanted to hear a Bluegrass version “Hells Bells” or “Highway to Hell”? If that’s the case there’s no way around Hayseed Dixie. Those men know how to have fun on stage, and they are a treat for photographers.
John Wheeler (aka Barley Scotch), Don Wayne Reno (aka Reverend), Dale Reno (aka Deacon) and Jake Byers (aka Bakesnake) form Hayseed Dixie who started back in 2000 with (well you guessed) AC/DC covers. By now they have a solid base of fans, which is deserved considering the show they pull off on stage.
Oh and if you were wondering, …. yes it’s a fridge full of beer behind them on stage….
Photographically it was pretty standard. Lighting was ok with a lot of strobes, some reds but thank god not too much. The challenge here was that there was not lead so to speak. All four of them are “the lead”, they were all very entertaining and always had a smile or an expression ready for the camera. I shot the permitted songs with the 28-75mm F2.8 and the Fisheye 15mm F2.8.
The high res gallery can be found here.
Emily Loizeau @ den Atelier
Emily Loizeau is quite a famous french singer/songwriter. The stage setup was somewhat different than the usual, which made me curious. She used a kind of small construction to stand on, even though she’s not that small.
From a photographic point of view it was a bit dull. The lights were orange and constant except for some very few moments and there was not a lot movement on stage. The light was quite low as well which forced me to shoot at ISO 1600 all through the 3 songs. I used the 28-75mm F2.8 and the 15mm F2.8.
Rodrigo y Gabriela @ den Atelier
One of the reasons I like this job so much is that from time to time you get to see people like Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero perform on stage ( obviously to photograph them as well ). You could literally feel the passion of these two artists on stage. The crowd was hooked from the moment they started playing. To be honest, finding words to describe the show is near to impossible. If you get a chance to see them by all means, … don’t hesitate.
I was tempted to use the Fisheye for this show, but in the end I left it in the bag as there was no room to move around too much and the front of the stage with obstructed with gear. I used the 28-75mm F2.8 for the first two songs and switched to the 70-200mm F2.8 for the last song. The lighting was a mixture really, better than often at this location, but the variation and the speed of the artists were quite a challenge. You can see the rest of the pics by clicking here or below in the flickr slideshow.
Iswhat @ den Atelier
Iswhat was opening for Femi Kuti that night. The music is a kind of mixture between Hip Hop and Jazz. It’s a different kind of music of what I usually get to shoot here, but I liked it a lot. The crowd seemed to be pleased as well.
The light was ok on this one. It’s “den Atelier”, lighting is usually quite harsh there. When I arrived and saw the stage I was quite curious as it was very open with only a few mikes standing around. I used the 15mm F2.8 and 28-75mm F2.8 for these shots. The rest of the pics in the gallery here.
Femi Kuti & The positive force
I didn’t know much about Femi Kuti when I went to the show yesterday. But he’s one of these rare persons who has that something that makes you hold your breath and watch. The venue was quite packed and Femi Kuti & The positive force knew how to entertain.
From a photographic point of view it was a bit challenging. The front of the stage was full of instruments and microphone stands. The angles from which to photograph were very few. In addition to that the pit was very narrow and crowded. There was one part during the show where pure red was used as light, and that’s not really favorable for good pictures. I used the 15mm Fisheye and the 28-75 mm for his show.
Two Door Cinema Club @ the Atelier
Two Door Cinema Club performed as an opening for Phoenix @ the Atelier. Although the lighting was really bad the show was excellent. They made a really good job warming up the crowd for the main gig. I didn’t know them too well before this, but I am going to change that pretty soon.
I shot the whole show with the 28-75 F2.8 and the 15mm F2.8. The light was really tough. Reds for the most part and mainly lit from behind. But I managed most of the 3 songs with ISO 1600 and 1/80th at +- 60mm.
Phoenix live @ the Atelier
Well this was one of the toughest Concerts I’ve had to photograph. The light was only extremes, very bright or really dark. The evening turned out to be a real challenge, which doesn’t mean that I didn’t have fun. The lead Thomas Mars caught the crowd from the first moment on. The whole band was all over the place give the fans a performance that was worth remembering.
With everybody moving so fast and the light being that extreme I didn’t have time to switch any objectives, which makes me rethink my position on a second camera body …….
I shot the whole concert with the 28-75 F2.8, but I wish I would have had the time to use the Fisheye on this one. But hey, … we’re here to learn from our mistakes, aren’t we?
As usual the watch the slideshow below for the rest of the pics of here for the full gallery.
Rickie Lee Jones @ Atelier
Rickie Lee Jones has been on stage for a while now, she seemed at easy and enjoyed performing. Rob Wasserman on the bass astonished everybody when he used a bow (violin) on his bass guitar. The sound was quite remarkable.
I used the 28-75 mm F2.8 only, as I thought I had one more song (she asked the photogs to leave after the first song. No idea what happened), for which I would have used the Fisheye. The lighting was quite dark and monotone, with yellows, blues and some reds.
Make sure you check out the rest of the pictures on the slideshow below or here:
Air @ Den Atelier
Sometimes concerts are really difficult to photograph, not because of the light but simply because all the shots that you get look too similar. It Could be due to the fact that the pit is cramped with photographers, or that you’re allocated a very small space somewhere around the stage, or like in this case where the light doesn’t change at all during the 3 songs that ar allocated to you and the performers don’t move too much.
Here’s one of the shots from the concert. I used the 28-75F2.8 only as the songs were very short and I didn’t want to waste time changing objectives.
Epica @ Atelier
I didn’t know Epica before I was asked to photograph their concert, that actually happens a lot. I have to say that I loved their performance. Their presence on the stage was great. Simone Simons’s voice is beautiful.
I basically used the same gear as for the opening gig, 28-75/F2.8 and 15mm/F2.8. Lighting was ok, a lot of reds and often very dark. The rest of the pictures here.
Pale Obsession @ Atelier
Pale Obsession was opening up for Epica at “The Atelier” yesterday. I liked them a lot, and judging by the cheers of the crowd I wasn’t the only one. It was quite challenging to photograph them as the light was quite dim in the begining and started to open up a bit at the end.
I’ve used the 28-75/F2.8 for the first two songs, and then switched to the 15mm/F2.8 Fisheye. I had a blast with that lense, but it’s very easy to over do it with this one. the stage is quite low and you tend to get really close to the performance which makes it the ideal place to give it a try. The rest of the pictures can be seen in the Gallery here.
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.
Tori Amos @ Atelier
Well she was great. However we had only 1 Song to photograph and we were forced to the back of the concert hall. To be honest if they put this kind of regulations on us, why do they let us take pictures in the first place?
Macy Gray @ Atelier
Well it’s been a while since the last pictures, concert and personal ones. But a lot of stuff happened. Some happy things others not so. Anyway here’s the pictures from the Macy Gray Concert today at the Atelier.
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