Photography review of U2 in Chicago on September 12th

I am a huge U2 fan, no doubt about it. As I attended more and more shows, I found myself watching the side stage and other inner workings as much as the band. Then I found photography and concert photography and wanted to take on the biggest band in the world. I had a chance during the Vertigo tour to photograph the band with a photo-pass. I was nervous as hell, over-matched, and clearly only had a slight clue about what I was doing.

A photo-pass for U2 only allows media to photograph the band for the first three songs of the concert. After such time, the photographers are escorted out and sent on their merry way. Most photographers sent to do their work to photograph the band are full time photographs, AP, local newspaper, etc. They have a job and this is ‘just another show’ for them. They usually are not vested in the band, the music, or finding out the deeper information meaning of the music. They are there to do what they have to, which is to find one or two photos to go with a review for a newspaper or website. They have about 15-20 minutes to do this. I was there representing www.atu2.com , a fan site around since 1995. I have been on staff since about 2001 or so in various roles. I was not getting paid, it was more of a dream assignment than anything.

Preparing for U2 in Chicago

As I prepare to travel to Chicago for the US leg of U2’s world tour- I need to get my camera gear together. What all am I going to take? Here is a brief checklist of gear and explanation if needed.

The Killers at Merriweather Post

I had done some research before the show, and from most reports I would have 'issues' with taking my Canon 30D in to Merriweather Post Pavilion. I was warned that the security didn't mind going in to the pit for something. I didn't think I would if I stick out with my 50mm lens and nothing else. Got it all in no problem, however the problem became quiet evident when I got to the top of the seating bowl and looked down. The pit area was pretty darn full.
I had gotten to Merriweather Post a little late- 8:40pm or so. I had missed the opening act without too much issue. The problem occurred when everyone was pretty set in their location and I am not a pushy person to get closer. I get a bit self conscience being as tall as I am and blocking other fans views because I shoved my way in to a spot. If I had gotten there earlier and laid claim- I would not have a problem.
Once the music started up, I broke out my camera rig. No problems. With the short 50mm lens, it was easily hidden among everyone. The biggest problem, besides the distance, was the number of fans. This would include heads, arms, and me bumping in to the people in front of me as I raised and lowered the camera.
Initially I had the ISO at 800 because I didn't know how easy or tough the lighting would be. However when I spotted the three lighting rig guys above us, I was fairly confident the lighting would be better than the last time I saw them- which also meant it would change a lot quicker.
As the lighting changed, and the band moved around a bit- I found myself sticking with the settings of ISO 640, shutter of 1/100, and dialing up and down the F/ range from 1.8 to 8. Yes, upwards of f/8 because of some of the really bright conditions. I also had the camera set to hi-speed mode because of the chance at catching something in a burst that a single shot would most likely miss. (that was a big goal of mine, shoot 2-3 burst shots at every opportunity)
As it turned out, my location and short lens really did not provide me with much opportunity to get some of the better expressions of the band. I turned to the chance to capture the lighting and other broader visuals that had going. I think I did a decent job nailing down a few key visuals to express the mood of the concert. At the end I attempted to just hold the camera up above the crowd and shoot blind. I got zero usable shots from that experiment.
When I got home, I got a count over slightly over 550 shots from the entire night. I quickly discounted many, and after a first pass I had about 70 shots I thought were ok. After editing and pre-processing those 70, I narrowed it down further to about 50 shots that were better. I sent those results shots through the processing in Lightroom. Most of the editing involved cropping. The white balance on most were pretty dead on. Once detached from all the shots, I whacked more and came out with 38 that were usable and shareable. While I might have shot a crap load, it was very easy to remove most of them for being blurry, out of focus, hands/heads in the way, etc.
Concert photography is something I enjoy doing but I don't think I could make a profession out of it. The Killers have a full time photographer on staff, and I spied him on the side of the stage- for the entire show. I hope he had an assignment for that night to get a certain shot, otherwise I would be a little disappointed with his lack of movement. Even if he was trying for one shot, he didn't even try to get down low for a different angle. At least I never saw him move.

Here is the resulting 38 photos I uploaded to Flickr to share.

Killers tonight

I am planning on seeing the Killers tonight at Merriweather Post. I am not terribly excited about their latest album- Day and Age. However, I am more interested in photographing the show.
Orginally I was going to go with the wife to the show. We had some nice seats, but she decided it would be too much on the first night of school. Understandable. So I hocked those and still had two GA pit tickets. Perfect for photographing. However there is a downside to this, or rather a potential downside.
Security at the shows is now run by the 9:30 club, that changed a couple years ago. I had no clue. They are a bit tougher and no nonsense than the old security. On the Merriweather web site they state- no detachable lenses for cameras. That does present an interesting challenge.

Counter point- I went to a show for Death Cab for Cutie last year and took in my camera with the big lens. No one stopped me from shooting from seats. So there is a chance either I got lucky, was cautious enough, or they didn't care.

I don't think I will have a problem taking my Canon 30D body in. (No, I am not going to explain how I am going to get my gear in, thats not the point!) I am only going to use the 50mm f/1.8 lens. From the orershtra pit, any other lens will draw too much attention. Would have LOVED to take my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS in, but that would have been obscene and surely gotten me busted. I think the 30D body without the battery grip and a small lens is very non obivious. I think security is trained to look for big lenses. However, I have no direct information to back that up.

Lastly, being as tall as I am has it's advantages for PIT photography. I can easily see over heads of most everyone. The only problem I have encountered is when people throw their hands up. The downside is, I am somewhat more easily spotted.