NIN Greenville, SC 11/1/08

[yoda31419]

So, a funny little story about this concert. I was worried walking in that I wouldn't be let in with my camera, so I begrudgingly left my flash in the car. I just put a 50mm 1.8 on the camera and headed off to the show.

On the outside of the building, on the rules they had "No professional cameras allowed." So, I said to myself, "I only have a Rebel XT, that's not professional!" The lady at the door only asked me if "the lens would come off". Only having one lens with me, I said "no, ma'am".

Anyway, she let me in, and you're here not to hear me babble, but to see some concert pics. I was kind of disappointed that all of the best pictures I took were of the guitarist, but oh well! At least I got some good pictures.

1
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRCoio1RrsI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/H49xJ19KfnI/s800/IMG_9467.jpg


2
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRCs-AKDHsI/AAAAAAAAA5w/8YDMkbeRHrQ/s800/IMG_9478.jpg


3
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRCwT4_melI/AAAAAAAAA7k/Y-4pkzv6ZWQ/s800/IMG_9500.jpg


4
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRCwLSkdSVI/AAAAAAAAA7U/9QNoJitWbzA/s800/IMG_9493.jpg


5
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRCyTRzOC9I/AAAAAAAAA8U/T8nTBg6_1rU/s800/IMG_9522.jpg


6
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRC9JCfmQeI/AAAAAAAAA_4/lDFXj0URzO0/s800/IMG_9585.jpg


7
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRDHyttiYFI/AAAAAAAABDE/a-0jYsM6DoY/s800/IMG_9625.jpg


8
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HbhfrnKqMns/SRDQHVjieaI/AAAAAAAABGw/0VdNeCy-YKI/s800/IMG_9683.jpg

[londonblue007]

#2 is the best of the group.
#1, 4, 5, 7 are OOF.
#3 isn't very interesting.
#6 is nice, but needs a little cropping. #8 is too dark and also not very interesting.

Nice job in getting in with the cam. I'm finding more and more people at shows don't have a clue (training) about cameras.

Even worse are the people who don't have a clue (training) about photo passes and hold you up for 15 minutes because they have to check with someone who they can't find before they let you in.

[yoda31419]

It was very difficult focusing as most of the time the camera simply focused on the lights at the back of the stage. I didn't mind it when it was just silhouettes, though.

[blackshadow]

A pretty fair summation by londonblue, although even #2 is very soft or a little OOF.

Looks like you need a bit of practice to hone your skills - I suggest you start at small local venues and shoot shoot shoot before you embark on smuggling a camera in to bigger shows. Once you have a portfolio of decent work then start to find avenues to gain photo passes - you will get much better photos from the pit for bigger shows.

[londonblue007]

It was very difficult focusing as most of the time the camera simply focused on the lights at the back of the stage. I didn't mind it when it was just silhouettes, though.

What focus mode did you use? If you used the All focus Points option, it most likely would focus where ever the best light/dark contrast point would be (at the lights)

The 100mm f/2.8 would probably have been a good option as well if you had a photo pass and were actually allowed to bring the camera in :-)
Boost the ISO and shoot at f/2.8. Arena lighting, regardless of band, would be enough to suffice.

[shannyD]

its nice to see fink still apart of NIN.. hes probably one of the original members of NIN. well maybe not all the way original.. but hes been around a long time.

i agree with the oof shots.. but still fun none the less.. reminds me of good times i had when i was younger at all of the nin shows..

my first show was in 94.. he played at the great western forum with david bowie.. and the opener band was a band called prick.

i miss their older shows, with danny lohner, and chris vrenna.. they were apart of the great act that goes on with NIN. the new guys arent so fun :(

i like 8,6,3, and 2. those are some really nice shots.

shannon

[yoda31419]

A pretty fair summation by londonblue, although even #2 is very soft or a little OOF.

Looks like you need a bit of practice to hone your skills - I suggest you start at small local venues and shoot shoot shoot before you embark on smuggling a camera in to bigger shows. Once you have a portfolio of decent work then start to find avenues to gain photo passes - you will get much better photos from the pit for bigger shows.
Thanks for the advice. It was very awkward to shoot this from the pit (I simply held the camera up as far as I could to minimize how much of the crowd I shot), I doubt I would've made the effort if I didn't like the band so much :D Sadly, the music scene around Clemson is pretty dismal, but I'll shoot shoot shoot a little bit more.

[yoda31419]

What focus mode did you use? If you used the All focus Points option, it most likely would focus where ever the best light/dark contrast point would be (at the lights)

The 100mm f/2.8 would probably have been a good option as well if you had a photo pass and were actually allowed to bring the camera in :-)
Boost the ISO and shoot at f/2.8. Arena lighting, regardless of band, would be enough to suffice.
I was using the All focus Points because I wasn't actually able to look through the viewfinder in any of these shots :o I shot at ISO 800 for the most part with a 50mm f/1.8 at f/4.0. I heard that was the sharpest aperture for the nifty fifty, so that's what I went with.

[Steve Beck]

I had free tickets to that show but could to that show, could not make it... :(