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View Full Version : Phil Lesh & Friends Nokia Theatre NY, NY 11/1/08

skifurthur
4th of November 2008 (Tue), 10:29
I did not plan on shooting this show as my daughter's wedding was the night before, but since I was in NJ already, I borrowed a camera and one lens, took the ride across the river to New York City and had a go at it...after 3 days of wedding festivities seeing Phil was like putting on that well-worn pair of jeans!

The recent incarnation of Phil & Friends has been a seven piece and it has been tough to get good shooting angles. They added Barry Sless into the main mix of this show and the stage was set for a 2nd set guest of Neal Casal of Ryan Adams and The Cardinals. So, the pit shots were even tougher to find none cluttered views. Hey...Phil keeps his band on their toes and I guess I have to adapt as well. Anyway, I will have the final 4 shows of the stand to shoot in 2 weeks to get it right...lol.

As always, comments and critique are welcome.

1. Barry Sless
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_3834.jpg

2. Phil Lesh
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_3904.jpg

3. Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_3913.jpg

4. Phil Lesh and Jackie Greene
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_3933.jpg

5. John Molo
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_3942.jpg

6. Jackie Greene
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_3957.jpg

7. Steve Molitz
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_3966.jpg

8. The Phil Lesh Orchestra!
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/2008_11_01_Phil_Lesh/IMG_4010.jpg
johnstoy
5th of November 2008 (Wed), 03:33
Great set, Tony... Love the close ups... (must have been your Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS ?)

(Where did you manage to park your car in Manhattan? Or did you train/bus it?)
Clearlight
6th of November 2008 (Thu), 03:18
That's a very good set, both technically and artistically. I especially like #1 of Barry; you really nailed the lighting. Thanks for posting.
skifurthur
6th of November 2008 (Thu), 11:08
Great set, Tony... Love the close ups... (must have been your Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS ?)

(Where did you manage to park your car in Manhattan? Or did you train/bus it?)

I shot this show totally on borrowed equipment...a 40D and an EF-S 17-55mm, two memory cards and nothing else. Literally it was a last second thing. Being that I was unfamiliar with the camera body, I am please on what I got. I traveled with some Phil fans who were going to the show, so it was easy in, easy out. Of course Times Square is fairly easy to get to via mass transit as well. I have spent many nights taking the bus or train in and taking the last one back out again.

That's a very good set, both technically and artistically. I especially like #1 of Barry; you really nailed the lighting. Thanks for posting.

Thank you. I was hoping that Barry would have gotten up from the pedal steel during the first 3 songs that I was in the pit, but he didn't until later. I pretty much didn't take any photos from out of the pit until Neal Casal was invited onstage as a guest. As for nailing the lighting, while I got good exposures, the new beta profiles in LR are the real star here. There is a real difference is my starting point.
90c4
6th of November 2008 (Thu), 11:41
Nice shots - 2 and 7 are my least favorite but I'm glad you posted them anyway. It's always tough to shoot Phil or Bobby's bands through the teleprompters. And it's also tough to get a shot shot of Jackie where he doesn't look overly goofy (no offense to Jackie, of course), but that's a nice capture.
skifurthur
6th of November 2008 (Thu), 12:03
Nice shots - 2 and 7 are my least favorite but I'm glad you posted them anyway. It's always tough to shoot Phil or Bobby's bands through the teleprompters. And it's also tough to get a shot shot of Jackie where he doesn't look overly goofy (no offense to Jackie, of course), but that's a nice capture.

Indeed it can get cluttered onstage with both...not sure why Bobby uses a teleprompter considering he still can't sing the right lyrics!! Jackie does look a bit goofy at times. Shooting him enough times gets those moments that he doesn't.

I'm not very happy with that shot of Steve Molitz and may go back into the well to see what else I have. Normally I can go with a long tele and get some good stuff with him but this time I only had the one lens. Phil was hanging back early in the night and with the extra mic stand being to the right of him, it was very tough to get a clear shot.
90c4
6th of November 2008 (Thu), 12:29
If you're shooting Bobby on Saturday in Boston, let me know if you want to meet for a beer.
skifurthur
6th of November 2008 (Thu), 12:42
If you're shooting Bobby on Saturday in Boston, let me know if you want to meet for a beer.

Thanks for the offer but I am busy in VT working on a number of projects and getting ready for the future. Maybe some time in the future and we can get narlus to meet up as well.