For those who like Biffy Clryo...

Soldato
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recently they have been doing That Golden Rule to start the show, I also remember Living Is A Problem being near the start, from that last few gigs ive been to.

Yeah - that was the last tour as I checked it out beforehand, seems they've changed it for this one.

I was looking forward to LISAP as well, thought the lights would be great at the intro..
 
Soldato
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OMG! It was such an exciting night!
Holy State was ok, Futureheads were awesome and Biffy Clyro was sublime!

Absolute fantastic night, got the press pass, which equates to 3 songs per band and during Biffy Clyro's performance, I sneaked into the standing audience to shoot from the 'crowd point of view'; I was suppose to get standing tickets but Hull being Hull, had an old women at the front desk with no idea about anything and everything insisted me and my guest were to 'sit' in a sitting block. Thank god my friend didn't mind sitting, whilst I moshed around for shots...

Here's a big handful before I pop to bed: (Judges, please refrain from commenting as I might use 1 for this months theme, cheers!)
1)
IMG_4546.jpg

2)
IMG_4564.jpg

3)
IMG_4988.jpg

4)
IMG_4588.jpg

5)
IMG_5061.jpg


More photos can be found on my facebook page. I'll process more and upload the supporting acts later this week. Goodnight guys!

Edit: Facebook album is here http://www.facebook.com/album.php/?aid=41040&id=108426472509749
 
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Associate
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Nice pics! You've done well to use your access and get some unique angles.

I like 2,3 and 4 the best, great sense of scale on the 4th shot!

You've certainly made the most of a great opportunity, looking forward to seeing the rest of the set. :)

In other news: I now 'like' you on facebook :D
 
Soldato
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Good shots dude, did you have much hassle getting the photo pass as I've not heard back from Tom in the email so wasn't sure where I asked/got it from!

How close was the pit to the stage? Was a 50mm on a Crop Body good enough or do you need to be wider?

Fave is no.3 in your album!

(Glad to hear you can shoot the supports too, gives some songs to nail all the settings and find some angles!)

Oh and what were the 3 songs :p ?
 
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Soldato
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I've just checked through all my shots and my favourite focal length is definitely 18mm, 30mm and 85mm. Definitely want a Sigma 30mm f1.4 now! (Either that or save like a mad man for a Canon 16-35mm?!)

Anyway, the pit is easy to navigate, there's is a little extension down the middle for the odd occasion when Simon / James come forward, the best spot in my opinion is the left side of that extension. Close to simon, good distance to shoot James at full body. VERY hard to shoot Ben through, his drum kit just blocks everything! The lighting on his is very bright, easily over expose his face, e.g:
IMG_4980.jpg


In my opinion, the 50mm will be somewhere in between the 30 and 85mm of my preference. Shoot at f2.0, ISO800, vary your shutter speed between 1/320 to 1/80 depending on lighting. It's bright. Tom did mention on his email that the lighting will be MEGA, and I concur. Often the light change from super bright to single spot light, have to change and go with the music flow, I'm sure you've got good experience with that :)

You'll have fun! Depending on your venue, you might have incompetent box office staff who refuse me entry as she don't have a guest list, insisted that me and the other guest wait outside in the snow and when the list arrived, did not inform anyone till we approach her at the box office again as I saw the standing queue started moving.

The press pass should give you access to first 3 songs to each band performing, know where the entry point is and if the venue gets hissy about shooting around the venue other than the pit, sneak around and branding the press pass on your chest gives you such an authoritative feel! (I'll become a power hungry nut if I ever get power!!!)

Looking forward to your shots now Bucket!
 
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Soldato
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Nice shots, certainly looks like you had a good time!

It's fun, it's addictive and it's great when you come home and see shots that actually worked! First time shooting 100% Manual through and through, made mistakes here and there but learnt a lot from this. Can't do that for a wedding yet as the constant indoors and outdoors will mess up settings if I'm in a hurry.

On another note, there were 2 other photogs too. One pro (he had a double blackrapid strap with 2 Nikon D3s, one with a fish eye / super wide of some kind and the other a prime 85mm AFAIK), the other a protog too that had access backstage too! :eek:
 
Soldato
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Thanks for all the info dude!

Drummer shots are ALWAYS an absolute nightmare, it's been very rare for me to get one at a gig that I haven't ran myself - IE. I can't get on the stage and stand next to the drummer shot!

Have you got an example of what was taken on 30mm & what was taken on 85mm - Just so I can gauge it?

I hope there isn't too many red lights, I absolutely hate red light for gigs and the such - it's dreadful :(

Getting nervous now, hopefully the support acts will get me in the groove!

When you exit the pit did you get to stand side stage or anything :p?
 
Soldato
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Number 3 and 5 above were shot at 85mm (Note: 136mm equiv)
Number 4 was shot in the middle of the crowd, a good 8m away from stage?

Most of my tight shots are 85mm, overhead shots are 30-35mm when I'm in the crowd and tighter crowd shots are again, 85mm. When I exit, I entered straight into the standing crowd before any event directors spot me, apparently in Hull Arena I'm not allowed to shoot with my camera other than when I'm in the pit, event with a press pass. Be sly and quick worked for me.

Edit: Here's a very crap sketch of what I mean:
Bandstagesketch.jpg
 
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Soldato
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nice pictures - helping me remember what i think i saw on saturday night at SECC!!!!

They were excellent at Glasgow SECC and man i was drunk!!! What a cracking gig mind u!!
 
Soldato
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Number 3 and 5 above were shot at 85mm (Note: 136mm equiv)
Number 4 was shot in the middle of the crowd, a good 8m away from stage?

Most of my tight shots are 85mm, overhead shots are 30-35mm when I'm in the crowd and tighter crowd shots are again, 85mm. When I exit, I entered straight into the standing crowd before any event directors spot me, apparently in Hull Arena I'm not allowed to shoot with my camera other than when I'm in the pit, event with a press pass. Be sly and quick worked for me.

Edit: Here's a very crap sketch of what I mean:
Bandstagesketch.jpg

Ahhh thanks very much for the sketch, if there's that extension tomorrow night and a good enough gap to get back if I need to with the 50mm to get more in the frame then I feel a lot more at ease!

I guess when he walked out onto the extenion that how you got shot 1) with the 85mm then?
 
Soldato
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My turn tonight - Ordered some extra memory cards that haven't arrived this morning so looks like I'm going to have to pop into town and get rinsed by a lovely (horrible) high street store :(

Might pick up a new bag whilst I'm at it to fit two bodies in, although I'm not sure I'll need another but you never know.
 

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My turn tonight - Ordered some extra memory cards that haven't arrived this morning so looks like I'm going to have to pop into town and get rinsed by a lovely (horrible) high street store :(

Might pick up a new bag whilst I'm at it to fit two bodies in, although I'm not sure I'll need another but you never know.

Best of luck mate, I'm sure it will be an awesome experience!
 
Soldato
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Had tons of problems with the venue and the security tonight, being threatened to be kicked out twice as well.

Wasn't allowed to take any shots from the arena floor, and I wasn't allowed to take shots during the support acts in the pit either.

Doesn't surprise me from the venue as they are usually utter tripe.

It's meant there's a fair bit where I was trying to get used to the lighting etc. I'm just doing some editing on tons now, mixture of styles and some are a bit OTT probably for some people but not for others. I'll post a Flickr link when I'm done - possibly very early this morning or at some point tomorrow..
 
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