Shooting Bands

Shooting bands live is always a challenge.   Being between the stage and the crowd is a hard line for photographers to follow.  In the crowd you are faced with blocking issues and being on stage is a distraction.  It is my goal to be both a fly on the wall and an active participant.  Using distance to capture the overall feel and sense of place.  Then getting in as close as I can to illustrate the raw performance in a way that highlights the small details of each performer.  From facial expressions to sweat on a singer’s brow. It is all needed to add depth to an image.

Another challenge when shooting concerts is light.  Some venues mix light with what seems to be no consideration for the people on stage.  An example would be using deep colored gels that work against the skin tones of the performers.  Heavy use of red seems to be one that appears often.  Others will flood the stage in an almost even light never isolating the band from the rest of the stage.

One way to over come this for me is the use of B&W.  By shooting outside of color the light becomes simply a matter of the grey scale.  Leaving the distraction of color behind to illustrate the performers best.  B&W also brings out some of the more subtle aspects of light that may be lost due to color filters and effects.  A light on the back of a singer’s head may not be flattering when it is a heavy blue.  However, when color isn’t part of the photo it becomes a great separation between the performer and the black background.

On a personal level higher contrast images tend to draw my eye in.  Things get lost in the middle grey areas.  By pushing things to black or white allows me to grab a performer and place them in space where by they stand out against the background.  What smaller details get lost in the shadows only enhance the larger ones that are standing in the spotlight.

A good example of what I am talking about are the shots I took of  "The National" when they came to Seattle Washington on their tour for the album "Boxer".  They are based in Brooklyn New York City and have a sound that is melodic yet raw.  Frontman Matt Berninger uses pointed lyrics with his deep bullfrog voice to push stories into your mind. 

These photos were taken at The Showbox Theatre a venue that is perfect for an indie rock band.  It has a wonderful sound and an amazing chandelier.  The crowd turned out and were treated to a great show.

If you have any questions about the images let me know.

Photos From The Show

The National Homepage

Update: Darren Hanlon

I met Darren the night of the 11th. He is a quiet and humble guy. We chatted a bit and then he took the stage for his outstanding show in Seattle Washington USA.

The Sunset Tavern is a small venue filled with a warm red aura and the traces of the Chinese restaurant that it was in days gone by. Complete with lacquer paintings and lanterns. It is a place where one is sitting with the performer rather than distanced by a high stage or stackes of speakers. Perfect for a singer songwriter like Darren.

The performance was top notch.

I met up with Darren the next day to take some pictures of him at a local pinball hall. I was surprised to find out that Darren is really an amazing pinball player too!!

If you ever have the chance see him it is well worthwhile.

Images from the show

Darren Hanlon's Site

Up coming shoot: Darren Hanlon

Darren Hanlon will be singing at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle on September 11 2007. He is a great singer/songwriter from Australia. His lyrics wind and weave through some great stories--All set to great tunes.

It will be an opportunity to get some shots.

Stay tuned for the images.

Darren Hanlon's Site

New Band Photos

I just updated my Band photography. All of my work is film based using B/W to capture the full emotion of the performers as well as the subtlety of the lighting.

Adam Forslund Photogarphy
Concert Photography


The bands that made these images possible are:

La Cha Cha

The Blakes

The Lonely H

Stay tuned to read about more projects and ideas in the near future. The last month as been busy and some good posts are being written.

Talk with you soon. Enjoy what is left of the Summer.

Fashion Shoot

You can see some photos I took of Seattle designer Kim McCormick's clothes at my website.

Link has been disabled.

Film or HD what's the story??

Since moving to Seattle three years ago and jumping head long into the Indie film scene I have noticed that like everywhere else Seattle is split into two camps. Film or Video. This is a war that will wage for a long time. Seattle is a technology hub in the USA thus people are drawn to the latest and greatest. HD has a powerful grip on the minds of many producers and directors. New cameras are small and give amazing results. With a guerrilla crew people can capture stunning images and instantly access/edit/share them around the world potentially reaching millions of people in a matter of hours.

Film can present the story in regal colors that HD just can’t match. An ineffable quality that reaches the audience and pulls them in from the moment they see the sun shining through the leaves. Film also gives the director/producer the street credit that can part the waters in a city where many projects are funded or flounder from the pockets of the maker.

In the next few years as technology grows so will both Film and HD. The question is less about what you shoot but how it is shot. Understanding the aesthetics and limitations of each format is crucial to telling the story powerfully on screen. Knowing that HD doesn’t handle low light as well as people think. Understanding HD like other video formats requires more care in lighting to make sure that detail is captured. When working with film the cinematographer has more room to create lighting plots with more latitude. Film has the ability to reach into both dark and light areas and still maintain an image. This gives the director the freedom to set set the scenes in more dynamic places drawing all of the emotion out of a script.

At the end of the day everything boils down to story. If you are trying to show sweeping vistas in Monument Valley then low grade video will hardly capture the grandeur. On the other hand if the story calls for cramped tight spaces then widescreen Film isn’t going to fit. Many people have this idea that Film speaks best with a narrative story whilst HD is best for a documentary or reality. Neither is true.

The director and cinematographer need to make choices together that works best for the story at hand and what will illustrate it best. As a cinematographer I try to build the imagery of a story and working with the director to make the best choices to further the narrative. When a director approaches me I feel very confident that I can bring an understanding of both film and HD to the table to get the results on screen that will best forward the story.

You can link to this article as published in here: Media Inc Magazine

Photo Show

I'm having an opening to a photo show on May 18th at 6:30pm. It will be at World Cup Espresso and Wine Bar. It would be great to see you there. We can chat, drink some wine and have a good time.

See you soon.

World Cup
http://www.worldcupespressoandwine.com/

Directions:
http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result.php?q1=5200+Roosevelt+Way+Ne+seattle+wa+98105