lake street dive and celisse at the greek - 7/27/24

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged a show I’ve shot - but I recently shot Lake Street Dive and Celisse at The Greek, and this show felt blog-worthy.

Perhaps relevant background: I recovered from COVID just in time to make it to this show (still masked, of course, out of precaution). As I walked to the bus that day, hoping the connecting shuttle would come in time, I felt a bit like Jonah Hill in Get Him to the Greek. The shuttle did come on time and I actually wound up getting to The Greek a few minutes earlier than planned - doors were opening, but there was over an hour until the opener, Celisse, would go on.

Before arriving at the venue, I was nervous that I wouldn’t have the right lens - large outdoor venues came sometimes have high stages (which = potential for unflattering, “up the nose” shots, and the artist being far away and tough to photograph) and many will place photographers at the soundboard, would I wish I had a longer telephoto lens with me? Well, I actually did just fine with the lenses I bought - my Tamron 24-70mm/f2.8 zoom (this is my go-to lens for most of my concert work!), a Rokinon 12mm/f2.8 fisheye, and a Nikkor 50mm/f1.4 prime.

I was pretty stoked that I was able to photograph Celisse’s full set from the photo pit. When she went on, it was still light out, which made for some gorgeous shots. I started with the trusty 24-70mm, which was perfect for individual shots of Celisse as well as her bandmates (both of whom are named Sam).

Using a fisheye lens at a large venue is something I don’t always see other photographers do - I think the tendency is often big venue = bigger stage = use a longer telephoto lens to get close-ups. But The Greek is such an iconic venue, I knew I wanted to celebrate that in my photos, so I pulled out my fisheye (which also allowed me to get these fun shots that show the crowd as well).

Using a prism has become a “signature” technique of mine that a lot of artists I’ve worked with love. Here’s a fun fact: you’ll get the best results with a prism when shooting at a wide aperture, which is why I stuck with my 50mm prime for these prism shots. When shooting with a prism, I typically shoot between f1.4 and f1.8.

After Celisse, Lake Street Dive as on. Their photo policy was one I hadn’t experienced before- as opposed to the typical “first 3 from the photo pit, no flash”, I was able to shoot songs 4, 5, and 6 from the photo pit and the rest of the show from anywhere else in the venue. This was actually a really nice way to do it - I got to watch the band and study their movements on this stage before zoning in in the pit.

I went with a mix of color and black and white for these photos. Lake Street Dive used a lot of colorful lights (lots and lots of blue for the first song I was in the pit for); in some cases though, depending on where the light was hitting the subject of each photo, the image just seemed to look better in black and white. Also, with social media focusing on vertical content lately, I’ve been really prioritizing including a good amount of vertical photos in my galleries - specifically, cropping to a 4x5 aspect ratio for Instagram.

Up next I pulled out my fisheye again. It was important to me that I not only capture horizontal wide shots, but some vertical ones, too. I think it’s easy to neglect wide-angle vertical shots but I’m really enjoying that viewpoint lately.

After leaving the photo pit, I walked back a bit towards the soundboard to grab a few photos. I did pull out my 50mm and prism again, though I didn’t spend much time with that. Instead…

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…I hiked all the way to the very top of the venue. Ok, ok, maybe “hike” seems like a strong word… but keep in mind I had just recovered from COVID, and even now - two weeks after the show - I’m still dealing with increased lightheadedness and tachycardia (fast heart rate), especially when walking uphill or up stairs. So… it certainly felt like a bit of a hike!

But seriously, it was worth it. I love a good crowd shot and my favorite place to shoot a crowd shot is as far back as I can get, while still having a view of the stage. At The Greek, where each level is higher than the one in front of it, that was no problem. I had a clear view of the stage from the very last row.

I definitely had to play with my settings a bit for these (see how dark the crowd is and how BRIGHT the stage is in comparison?) - but also, I had to wait for the right moments to grab these shots, when the light was just right. I’m proud of how these turned out - and hoping I get to photograph another show at the Greek soon!

chase petra, sydney sprague, and pool kids at the echo - 7/15/23

I’ve been in Los Angeles for seven and a half weeks now, and still every time I walk around my own neighborhood, or a new part of the city, I get this crazy realization that I actually live here. I’m having so much fun learning my way around my neighborhood, trying new vegan restaurants, meeting new people, and spending time with friends.

The first show I photographed since the move was on July 7: Sam MacPherson and Ruel at the Shrine, next to the USC campus (fun fact: I almost went to USC! It’s wild to think how differently my life could’ve turned out if I had - but hey, here I am anyway!). I had previously been to the Shrine a decade ago, while on tour with PETA and Steve Aoki - I definitely had some flashbacks while waiting in line! Just over a week later, I headed to The Echo in Echo Park. I’d been to The Echoplex years ago (on another tour with PETA, I caught a show there on a night off) but never to The Echo itself.

I arrived early to take portraits of Chase Petra (blog post with those photos coming soon!); with plenty of time to go before doors, I grabbed some pizza next door to the venue (it was super good - really nice, fresh tasting tomato sauce - but I wished I’d ordered a second slice!), and spent some time wandering around a bookstore and a thrift shop and talking to the other folks waiting for the show.

The Echo does not have a photo pit, and the lighting was also… not great. The show was sold-out, too. So my still-pretty-new camera and I were in for a challenge. Chase Petra was up first; I started near the corner of stage left, before making my way around to the other side and then back again. I increased my ISO and played around with shutter speed, and ultimately decided to do the whole photo set in black and white. This way, all my focus could go to capturing the moments I wanted to capture - even if the colors of the lights weren’t flattering. a

By the way, Chase Petra may have been the first act of the night - but that didn’t stop the crowd from cheering for an encore.

Sydney Sprague was up next. I didn’t take as many photos of her set; the crowd was intense (in the best way!), and I needed a breather and also some water. So, after I got a few shots, I filled up my water bottle and sat down to watch the rest of her set.

Finally, Pool Kids closed out the night and holy shit, I knew they would rock, but they put on such a good show. I’d known Andy Anaya since the days of You Blew It! (RIP, btw), and it was great to see him again. (It’s so fun for me to catch up with people as they ask about the move and how I’m liking LA - honestly, I’m thriving and couldn’t be happier that I’m here). Pool Kids put on the kind of show that it didn’t matter if you knew their songs or not; you’d be having a blast either way because that energy was off the walls. (As were the crowdsurfers.)

At shows like this without a barricade, I usually shoot the first three songs or so; depending on the room and depending on the photos I captured in the first three songs, I may go in for a few more shots. Pool Kids had everyone pull out their phones to light up the room towards the end of the set, and you know I had to get a photo of that.

I wanted to share two, non-photo related things I really enjoyed about this show:

1. The crowd went OFF for all three artists! You know how most shows, the crowd goes OFF for the headliner, but not so much for the openers? (Or there are the rare shows where the crowd goes OFF for one of the openers, but doesn’t seem to care about the headlining act?) That was not the case here. The energy was on 10 all night.

2. Gender diversity in ALL THREE ARTISTS! When I started photographing shows and interviewing artists in 2011, it was a Big Deal to me if there was ONE single woman on stage in a three-act show. Have I mentioned that Genevieve, the guitarist of Chase Petra, absolutely SHREDDED? Because she did, and that was SO COOL. I saw so little representation of women on stages when I started out, and it makes me so, so happy to see that happening more now. Here’s to even more in the future.