As the time drew closer to the gig I must admit I got more and more excited... having listened to this band for about 8 years now and never had a chance to see them I was so anxious to start shooting. I had never been to the O2 academy in Leeds either so had no idea really what the shooting conditions would be like or what sort of lighting was usually used there (I was hoping it wasn’t the dreaded ‘red light’ or else I would be in trouble, unfortunately I'm not rich enough to get a fixed 2.8 or even 1.8 lens so I had my trusty 3.5 wide angle and zoom lens on hand).
Me and my mate arrived at the academy with plenty of time to spare, I always like to arrive early to get a clear picture of the equipment setup I might need and also to take a look round the venue and have some chats with the other toggers there. At the Leeds show there were only 6 toggers including me so I knew the pit wouldn’t be that cramped and I would have plenty of space to shoot without getting in anyone’s way. Arriving at the guest box office we were told that we were not down for any passes which gave me a slight heart attack but then they found our names and I had my pass for the night which let me shoot the first 3 songs from the pit with no flash... and even better there was NO photo release form to sign which for any photographer out there is a serious benefit!
The band before W.A.S.P I didn’t really pay attention to just waited for the main act to come on so I could get my pictures and then venture out into the crowd to watch the show. When the time came I started with my wide angle lens (14-42mm) as I had already done a shot test with the zoom lens and I found it to be a little too zoomed in... W.A.S.P was a band that I knew would be better off with full body shots rather than close up face shots. The band entered to an uproar of applause and kicked into their first song which then the toggers in the pit started shooting. It was difficult at first because they played a high tempo song and were moving around constantly and not even stopping to pose for the camera. Never the less I got my shots and left the pit to take a look at them... I a few hundred shots and managed to narrow them down to about 25 that really stood out for me... any lens blur just wouldn’t do for me.
I managed to have a chat to another photographer that I knew in name but never had met in person... Tracey Welch, who also blogs as well and is friends with some other people I know so it wasn’t too awkward introducing myself to her. Having shot for the likes of NME she knows what she’s doing in the business of photography!
Overall it was a cracking night and a review will be posted soon on the music website The Sheffield Scenester, you can also check out my site where you can drop me a message or view more of my photos on my Facebook page.
