The Pretty Reckless at Jack Rabbits

I have been wanting to shoot The Pretty Reckless for quite some time.  I almost had the chance a few years ago when they were in town.  I'd worked things out with a friend of mine that works the door so that I would be able to bring my camera into the venue.  Then the day of the show, he called to let me know that the band had strict instructions that no cameras were going to be allowed.  :(

When I found out they were coming back to Jacksonville, I quickly contacted the band to arrange for a photo pass to the show.  After some communications back and forth, it was all set and ready to go.  Now the hard part; waiting the few months to pass between getting approval and waiting for the actual show.

The show was yesterday, September 25.  My calendar had it as this coming Sunday.  OOPS!  Fortunately, I was looking at Facebook and saw a post from the band that alerted me to my error.  I quickly grabbed the camera and headed out the door.  There was a small line outside, but at least I didn't miss the show.

Louna, a band from Russia, went on first.  This was their first show in the US, which made being there a little more special.

After Louna's set, it was time for Heaven's Basement.  They are from England.  While I don't recall them specifically saying so, I think this was their first time playing in the States, too.  They kind of reminded me of a young ACDC.

Then it was time for the headlining act, The Pretty Reckless.  Their set was particularly difficult to shoot.  There was more use of fog machines.  The lighting was harsher.  People kept crowding and pushing in front of me, and then raising their phones in front of my view to take photos.

Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless

Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless

Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless

While it was a difficult show to shoot, I think they turned out pretty well.  More pictures from the show can be seen at my site John Shippee Photography.

banning photographers from concerts...is it going too far?

"After some unflattering photos went viral online, Beyoncé has decided to ban photographers from her shows and only allow pre-approved images from each show to be released."

I realize that artists are concerned about their image, but as a photographer, I think banning all photographers from her shows is going too far.  I suspect that she has probably received more good photos from the photographers that receive photo credentials than she has bad photos.  And if that is not the case, perhaps there should be some sort of review process to determine which photogs get photo-passes.

Why stop at just banning photographers from her shows?  If she is so concerned about people seeing her in unflattering poses or making weird faces, then why not take it a step further and not allow fans into the shows at all?  This way, nobody will see her make the same expressions and poses that she doesn't want photographed?  Why not just release a pre-approved DVD of her concert for fans to purchase?

What do you think?  Is she taking it too far, or am I looking too much into her actions?

You can read more about it at the link below, if you'd like.

http://www.photography-news.com/2013/04/beyonces-unflattering-photos-lead-to.html

Fetish, Burlesque, Concert, and Fun

On Friday night, an assorted group of Burlesque and Fetish groups and performers joined together to put on a great set of performances at Brewster's Megaplex in Jacksonville, FL.  While I did not have a photopass, nor did I have any specific magazine in mind for the photos, I'm always excited to shoot a live show.

I also came up with a few ideas for future posts.  In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite images from the night.

Live burlesque image by John Shippee Photography

Live burlesque image by John Shippee Photography

Live burlesque / fetish image by John Shippee Photography

Fetish / Suspension image by John Shippee Photography

The rest of the images can be seen at my site, John Shippee Photography.

Soul Asylum in Concert

Yesterday I got lucky and was able to photograph Soul Asylum live at Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.  In case I haven't mentioned it before, this is one of my favorite venues to photograph a show in Jacksonville.  The lighting is almost always top notch (I say almost because I do wish they'd stop using red lights, but I'll save that complaint for another post.), the sound is great, the stage is a good height, and there is an upstairs and downstairs area, each with a bar, for the fans to view the show.

Soul Asylum at Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach, FL

Soul Asylum at Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach, FL

Soul Asylum at Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach, FL

The rest of the photos can be seen here at my site, John Shippee Photography.

Concert Photography: Why I like it...

While many photographers shoot a wide range of subjects, myself included, they all have one particular subject that they consider to be their favorite.  Whether is landscapes, weddings, cars, boudoir, etc..., we all tend to gravitate towards a specific subject for one reason for another.  For me, it's concerts.

You never know what you're going to get as far as lighting.  Even if you see the same band over and over, their lighting is never the same.  I'll use a set of images from a Lucky Costello show that I shot at 1904 Music Hall in Jacksonville, Florida, to demonstrate what I mean.  The venue may have crazy lights sitting on the stage, as in this image:

This is Gerry, the guitarist for Lucky Costello.

Other times, or in the case of this show, a few moments later, the lighting will be almost non-existant, as shown in this photo of the drummer:

Adam, the drummer for Lucky Costello

But, just because the lighting isn't crazy and look super-exciting, don't stop shooting.  This photo of Adam is one of my favorites from that show.

And it's not just lighting.  Some venues really like their fog machines and will use them to the point where there's no point in photographing anything because all you're getting is images of fog.  It would be like holding a white sheet in front of your camera and just taking photos of that for an hour.  :(  Other times, though, the fog can produce some cool images, such as this:

Lucky Costello at 1904 Music Hall

The other great thing about shooting concerts is that if the band doesn't move around too much and you find you're getting a lot of repetitive looking images, you can turn around and shoot the crowd.  Lucky Costello is famous for drawing a fun, eclectic crowd.  There will also usually be a few people with LED hula-hoops.

Stephanie watching Taylor hoop

Part of the crowd watching Lucky Costello

I've also learned not to put my camera away until I'm back in my car after the show.  Had I put it away before I left the venue, I would have missed out on this awesome shot of Taylor hooping in the alleyway next to the venue.

Taylor hooping outside

The rest of the photos from this show can be seen here on my site.

These are just a few of the reasons why I love photographing concerts.  What do you love to photograph?  Leave me a comment and let me know.