The Mission pres. Above & Beyond ● Group Therapy 2012 was my third concert I had the opportunity to shoot with a fancy accreditation hanging at my neck. And, after a crazy night, I still believe being a concert photographer is as hard as any other assignment.
For starters, lighting is difficult and rapidly changing. Now you have blinders flooding the scene with light, next comes complete darkness. In between: stroboscopic beams of all possible colors. If no photo pit is provided, you are constantly kicked and pushed around by energetic dancers. You have to carry quite some equipment on you, and make sure it doesn’t get damaged. Drinking, eating, going to toilet… well, you have to make do with the available schedule. And, maybe the most important, you must know how to capture a dynamic event and transmit that using static images.
I really hope my skills are getting better. Next concert, I will try to take more shots of the audience, keeping an eye on individuals standing out of the crowd with their appearance and gestures. It seems this time I forgot to do that altogether.
