Shooting Music

Let’s take a break in the whole portraiture series. I’ve experimented with music photography on and off. Music *was* my first love, so all the better when I can combine that with my current first love, photography. While I have altogether given up taking marky Mark to concerts and festivals any more – I’d rather see the event through my eyes rather than through the lens – I did not hesitate to go out and shoot at a concert that a good friend of mine was playing last month. The Choir Invisible are a Dublin-based band and I was at their gig in The Workmen’s Club to try and capture some impression.

Now, shooting in clubs is ridiculously hard (I think). You are dealing with a dimly lit which requires either strong flash or high ISO. Strong flash irritates musicians and audience. High ISO inevitably results in grainy, fuzzy imagery. Hmph. But what else can you do? Open up the aperture, shoot slow at 1/30 s and pray that the band doesn’t move around too much. As per usual, I was unenamoured with my band shots. Maybe I am too hard on myself, I’ll show them another time. My favourite instead is a technically faulty shot that I personally find quite nice.

Yup, shot so slow that the movement of the guitarist results in multiple exposure on the sensor.

Well, it’s all deliberate, I will claim. The rest is silence.

PS: The Choir boys are playing Whelan’s this weekend, May 30th, 2014, supporting Carriages. Check them out!