New Year’s Eve With “The Ladies”
January 03, 2009 by David Bergman
I shot the Barenaked Ladies ringing in the new year at the Fox Theater in Detroit for TourPhotographer.com. The guys dressed up for the occasion, so I’ve now photographed them in just about everything from a tuxedo to, well, nothing.
Right before the band went on stage, I made my favorite image of the night. Steven Page was fixing his bow tie in the mirror when Ed Robertson came over to give him a hand. It was a nice moment that most people never get to see.
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/125, F/2.8, 1600 ISO, SB-800 bounced off ceiling)
During the show, I had a remote camera mounted on a lighting rig at the back of the stage so I could get a shot of the sold-out venue. When the house lights came up during “If I Had A Million Dollars,” I knew I had my shot. On a large print, you can see almost every face in the crowd.
(Nikon D700, 14-24, 1/125, F/4, 1600 ISO, Pocket Wizard remote trigger)
I also arranged for a security guard to bring me a chair to stand on right before midnight so I could shoot over the crowd during the balloon drop. It worked out well, except for the fact that the same security guard decided to stand right in front of me at the last second. It’s kind of odd to see one guy facing the wrong direction right in front of the stage.
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/500, F/2.8, 1600 ISO)
These photos and about a dozen others are available as prints at TourPhotographer.com. Click on any of the images to go directly to the gallery.
Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!
Great idea with the remote triggered D700! What did you use to mount it o the rig? Did you set it to auto mode or manual? I would guess with rapidly changing lights it is difficult to operate just in manual mode, isn’t it?
Normally, you want to put a remote in full manual. But in this case, I went with Aperture priority since, as you mention, the lights are changing constantly. I couldn’t pre-meter with the house lights on, so I had to hope for the best.
The camera was locked down on a Bogen super clamp with a safety cable in case anything broke or fell. Focus and zoom were taped down.
I love this shot of the crowd. Excellent work David!
Any camera damage from showers of Kraft Dinner?
The last time my cousin saw BNL in Winnipeg, he was able to smuggle in a bag of dope but security confiscated his macaroni.
Excellent, fun shoot. Viewing your images puts me right there. I love it. It’s amazing the quality we can get with these new DSLRS.
I got to shoot them a few years ago. Nice guys. Very cool to work with. Good to see how big acts can work well with photographers to make great pictures.
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