Boats, I hear you say, I thought it was a music festival? It can be hard to get access to some events unless you have been part of the team for a number of years though as they say ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’. Sometimes volunteering for one event will open the door for the next.
So from spending the day on the lake photographing the first race of the ‘Championship de Petit Lac’ which was the first time on the water (see blog Championship du Petit Lac, CDPL) with a camera, I was told I would have access to Caribana!
So after the excitment and the realisation that the tickets I had bought in December of last year were no longer needed, sell sell sell!
Preparation and research were my next step, its OK having one foot in the door but its better to know what to expect at the festival. Checkout the bands, to have an idea of what to expect from their set via resources such as YouTube and Instagram, especially if the band are on tour as their other dates are probably out there as video clips.
Depending on the festival and band you might have limited time to capture the photograph from their set. You could be limited to the first 3-4 songs and even then images may have to vetted as Ok for publication. Yes that last one is strange especially when you have a large crowd with 200+ camera phones pointed at the same stage but its important to respect the rules directed.
From a camera point of view you will need to cover from 24-200mm focal length and maybe something wider. Just be aware that changing the lens could result in missing a shot or ingress of dirt or indeed liquid so check your setup between bands.
Gear
Shimoda Expolre V2 35 with mirrorless medium core unit.
Nikon Z9 with 70-200mm f2.8
Nikon Z9 with 24-70mm f2.8
BlackRapid Double Breathe Camera Harness.
Macbook and cables to download direct from camera.
Ear plugs, ALPINE Hearing Protection, MusicSafePro. These are an absolute must!!
Photographing the action.
Your mind will tell you you need to be front and centre, but if the stage is 2m above you then you will get a great shot looking up the nose of the performer, so try to be a little to one side. Good shots can also come from being at one side as this may mean you can capture an artist at the other side of the stage and without a microphone stand blocking their face.
Look at how the people on the stage are lit and try to capture the artists back lit or spot lit by the lighting.
Don’t forget the guitarist or drummer at the back of the stage their action is often about a solo or movement and interaction with the other artists.
Sometimes the real image isn’t even of the band but the crowd enjoying the moment so turn around and snap a few images. People will often play to the camera so engage and enjoy the music after all you’ve a front seat in the house.
Lastly be courteous to the other photographers even if they don’t return the favour as you want to be invited back and you need to work together.
Camera Settings
For the most part you are shooting action so setting are similar to that of sport but in this instance you are also fighting with noise and high ISO.
I shot these in manual fixing the shutter at around 1000th second @ f2.8 and auto ISO (max iso set to 6400) on continuous focus with the subject detection set to people. Depending on the act I sometimes needed to reduce the shutter speed to allow for correct exposure when the ISO got too high. Generally though the subjects are well lit on stage.
