21.4.12: Twin Atlantic, Lower than Atlantis, ME

I photographed my first gig last week! Considering it was something I'd never done before there was a lot of nerves before hand which was not helped when I made it to the venue and my name was not on the list for a photopass. Momentary panic ensued, but luckily the people at the venue and the people who work with the band were awesome and got me one anyway (after I showed them the email I got from Sound Norfolk etc.)

I'm still not sure if I was supposed to be photographing during the first band, ME, but the security let me out in front of the stage and the lighting was way easier to work with (considering it was just the first support band) so I wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

As it went, they were the easiest band to photograph, of the three. I don't kid myself that "I'm just a natural". I know it was because the lighting was easier to work with but it really did boost my confidence for the rest of the night which was something that I really, really needed before hand. Especially when I found things a little bit more difficult later on in the night, I knew that I still had the confidence from the photos this band.

The second band, Lower than Atlantis, I got hardly any decent photos of. The lighting was really strange and there was a whole lot of strobe lighting going on and it made me panic, and on top of that the confusion and panic I kept getting the manual settings wrong, sending shutter speeds the wrong way and not doing myself any favours. On top of that there was a second photographer there that time, which again, poor excuse, but it was another reason for me to feel uncomfortable and I kept distracting myself and being hyper aware of the fact that I could have been in his way. Which was completely ridiculous because there was actually a pretty mutual appreciation for space. I just need to man up. Hopefully next time I get a chance to photograph a gig I can keep my cool.

Twin Atlantic went a lot better. None of the photos came out totally sharp, which was a little annoying, but I really like the way I composed them and it gives me hope for the next time, which hopefully won't be far off. I don't really have a lot more to say about that though, because it was the first time that I finally managed to focus myself, and let my mind go totally blank just so I wouldn't let myself get distracted by lights or other photographers, or even the crowd behind me (at 5'1, I've never, ever felt like a giant before!!) 

At this point, I'm just really, really grateful to have gotten the opportunity. This is something I've wanted to do since I decided to get into photography and to finally have gotten the chance is really, really exciting. I'm really looking forward to, hopefully, having a future in it and getting the chance to improve and improve. 

I'm also really looking forward to seeing my photos on the Sound Norfolk website. Seeing my photos on the internet, on a website other than one that I've set up is something that I'm very much looking forward to (if we can figure out why the website isn't letting me upload them to the site). 

 [Flickr set of my best images from the night]