When the Canon 5D Mark IV was announced I pre-ordered it right away. I had been preparing to buy a new camera the whole year and was hoping to purchase a 1DX Mark II but when I saw this I pounced on it because even it were only slightly better than my wonderful Mark III I'd be happy. I was a little worried though because I wondering how much better the ISO performance would be because from the announcement the ISO range wasn't anything close to what Nikon offers with its brand-new line of cameras. So I was excited/nervous to shoot my first show with the camera. But ... from the images below it's obvious that the ISO performance and dynamic range is amazing. I'm so happy with this camera. The most important thing I'd like to point is how sharp these photos are even with heavy cropping because I was shooting from at least 100 yards away. That 30MP sensor is fantastic but if you miss the focus it will make you pay. Also it was great to take advantage of the wifi and transfer photos to my phone right away. So far, I haven't found any issues with this camera.
Kings of Pop-Punk
In probably one of the biggest concerts of the summer, Blink 182 and A Day To Remember headlined Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas to a massive audience. It was the first time I'd shot Blink 182 and the second time shooting A Day To Remember. The latter has been one of my favorite bands for years and not only was it great to see them play in such a large setting but it was great to see how many fans in the audience were wearing ADTR merch throughout the venue. ADTR have been underground kings for years selling out massive shows at Verizon Theatre and South Side Ballroom and it won't be long before they're headlining Gexa themselves.
I don't shoot too many rock shows but I feel like some of the best rock photography is done with wide angles and trying to capture the high energy of the performances, which is different from hip-hop where the energy is typically a bit lower and the artists are more concerned with looking cool. That usually lends itself well for portrait-esque photography. Here these guys were running around and going crazy so it was easy to capture some good moments. It was great to have an opportunity to shoot two enthusiastic drummers.
Brand New @ Verizon Field
The Dallas Observer sent me to cover Brand New and Modest Mouse's co-headlining show at Verizon Theatre and I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. The show was outside in a field across the road from the venue as a bit of an experiment for AEG & Verizon Theatre called The Field at Verizon Theatre. According to the marketing manager, they want to experiment with an outdoor stage to host festivals and/or concerts that'll draw more than the 5,000-person capacity of the theatre. So that seemed like the most newsworthy angle for my write-up but at the same time there have been rumors swirling about Brand New calling it quits some time soon due to ominous merch for sale this tour that reads: "Brand New 2000-2018." As a huge fan of the band that seems like a pressing, newsworthy take also but it's all hearsay as of now so I settled my focus on the new setting. If you ever want to know how I really feel about Brand New and this current era of touring, this is the post to read.
Also, I was genuinely surprised that Brand New allowed photography at this show. Brand New hasn't allowed photography the last two times they've been in town. Allowing photo access was definitely some subtle sign to me that they're close to calling it a day. If this was their farewell tour I think I can accept that. They've certainly delivered the last three times I've seen them in the past two years but I really wish we could've gotten a performance of "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot." Also, this post says Brand New but it's really just photos of Modest Mouse and Jesse Lacey. Oops.
Getting Comfortable At Arena Shows
Now that it's officially summertime there are tons of big arena shows on the calendar and for the first time ever I'm feeling comfortable shooting these big shows. In the past I would pass on shooting arena shows when they were offered to me because I just never thought I'd be able to get clean photos since photographers usually have to shoot from the soundboard, which is at least 30 yards away from the stage.
Shooting in these environments wouldn't be so bad if I had, say, a Canon 1DX and a 400mm f/2.8L but I don't so I really have to push my camera's limits. But before I even compose a shot, the first tool necessary for a great shot is a stool. That will put you head and shoulders above the standing crowd and will give you a clear sightline of the stage. Then, I just have to hope that there's enough light since I'm using a 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L. At times for these shots I was shooting at ISO 6400 with a shutter speed of 1/500 and f/5.6 -- that's about as far as I can push my camera and still get photos that aren't cluttered with noise. They're not perfect but for now I'm happy with them.
JMBLYA Just Keeps Getting Bigger and Better
There are a ton of music festivals in Dallas and while most of them have seemed to find their place in the city and are becoming traditional annual events like Homegrown and Untapped, JMBLYA is growing at such a rapid pace that its still continuing to evolve and test out its potential each year. The 2016 edition was its biggest yet and brought in over 20,000 people to Dallas' Fair Park and boasted a lineup of some of the biggest acts in hip-hop like Future, Rae Sremmurd, Post Malone, Kehlani and Kevin Gates. I genuinely think this festival put together by Scoremore has the potential to grow into something like Van's Warped Tour since it's already booked for Austin and Dallas, so it wouldn't be too crazy to eventually see the festival add more cities each year. Pretty exciting stuff.