The Glamour of the Road

Being a band photographer would be absolutely awesome. A huge piece of me would love to have that job. I would get to see the world and meet all sorts of people from all different places and I would get paid to do it, sounds like a dream and I'm sure there are a lot of people that would agree with me on that. Most of those people that would agree with me (including myself to a certain degree) probably don't realize how difficult of a job it can prove to be though.

Adam Elmakias is one of my favorite band photographers, he takes really awesome pictures and he seems like a cool guy. Sometimes when he is on tour he dresses up in an angry birds costume and crowd surfs in a blow up raft; clearly he pretty badass. As well as being awesome Adam also is really good about telling his fan base what he is up to and the kinds of experiences he is having on tour. He has a YouTube channel and writes a blog which is linked to his personal website: adamelmakias.com.

One of the blogs he wrote was about his experience working at Warped Tour 2010. For anyone who doesn't know what warped tour is its a huge concert/festival that happens during the summer in the US and now in Canada. This summer will be the 20 year anniversary! Anyways, its awesome and it's a fun time and there are typically about 50 touring bands, also local bands which change depending upon location. But its a three month long tour in the summer so its hot and its crowded and the bands have to be on location setting up for their performances at 830 am rather than at 2 pm which is the standard time to arrive at a location for a show that starts at 6 or 7 pm. Its not an easy life: life on the road, its grueling. I think that is one of the things that Adam tries to point out in his 5 part blog series describing his Warped Tour experience, while its a great time and something that he loves to do, something that he lives for, its also really really hard.

One of the things he touches upon in the first entry is how precious a simple shower is. When you're on the road there isn't a lot of time to shower or a lot of opportunities to shower. Depending upon the venues they are playing at there may only be 4 to 6 showers  for everyone to use. That is not a lot considering that on average there are: at least 5 people to a band plus each band has a crew that sells merchandise, sets up stage gear, does sound checks, manages the bands, run social networking sites, and so on. Adam talks about what they call a solar shower. when there aren't any actual showers they take a trash bag and fill it with water and leave it on the sidewalk in the sun to get warm then they hang the bag on one of the bus side mirrors and cut a hole in the bottom of the bag so it is like a really ghetto shower. He says its better than trying to take a bird bath in a sink.

Also there isn't a lot of space on the buses, so you have to travel light. He has a ton of camera equipment too so he has even less space to bring personal belongings like clothes. Also he ends up bouncing around the buses for different dates so the less stuff you have the easier it is to travel from bus to bus.

On their days off the tour members get the luxury of being able to stay in a hotel instead of being trapped on the bus. Adam talks about when the tour stopped in AZ for their day off and at night they all participated in a charity bowling tournament and then after they went to Walmart to get basic supplies and they accidentally left him at Walmart and had to turn back for him.

So in the end tour life isn't easy but it definitely sounds like fun if you can handle it. You get to make some money, see some sites, and meet some really rad people and do some really ridiculous stuff with them.

this is Adam circa 2010
 

here are the guys at the T.J. Martell Foundation charity bowling tournament, AZ 2010


source for blog and photos: http://adamelmakias.com/photoshoots/warped-tour-stories-part-1-days-0-10/

Concert Etiquette for Photographers and Fans

Many people really enjoy going to concerts, I am among those people. However many people also don't really know what is the proper way to behave while attending a concert. This goes for both people attending concerts and photographers working at them.

As far as the photographers are concerned, a lot of really big tours have hired band photographers that work for the label that the band in signed under. They are paid to tour with the bands and take pictures of them all along the way so generally they know whats up, they know how to act because they are present for every show and they are typically pretty close with all the band members they are photographing. Free lance photographers that go to one, maybe two shows in one tour tend to be a little more cut throat because they need to get their shots and be on their way to their next job because that is how they earn a living.

While that is all understandable there are certain common courtesies that can and really should be practiced. When there are free lance photographers involved they are usually a few different people working for different companies so the competition to get the best photo can get a little dirty. I've seen professional photographers nudging each other out of the way to get the shot they are both aiming for. When that happens its not only distracting to a fan trying to enjoy the concert that they have paid to attend but it also (I imagine) is distracting to the person or people preforming. Don't fight over a shot, its rude and while you were fighting over one great shot you probably missed two or three other ones because you were too preoccupied with your chest match. Plus you don't want to have pictures that are almost exactly like the other photographer's, then its not special.

I also have witnessed a photographer, at the most recent concert I attended, standing off to the side of the stage between performances talking about how they didn't like the bands that were playing or the music they were playing. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion it is rather uncool and unprofessional to be talking about your dislike of the subject you're shooting while on the job. I, personally, would not want to sit through a One Direction concert but if I'm getting paid to take pictures at their concert I'm not going to walk around talking smack about them. Reason one being I wouldn't want to upset the crazy "directioners" for fear that they may kill me for speaking ill of the boys they idolize, and reason two being that its rude and unprofessional, when you are on the job be on the job.

It is understandable that when you are working at a show you are there to work, but there are people there that have paid to go and have a good time. Meaning that if a fan bumps into you or has gotten in your way it doesn't give you the right to be rude. If someone is in your way you can always go the normal person route and politely ask them to move. If someone bumps into you and causes you to miss a shot because your arm moved there is no need to turn and yell at them (also something I have seen happen.) The fact that people pay to attend the shows you are shooting at is the reason you are going to be paid for the photos you take. While I understand that fans can be annoying and get in the way they do help pay your salary or rate or whatever type of pay you are receiving for the photos you are taking.

Speaking of annoying fans these are some tips for people who enjoy attending concerts; by heeding these words of advice you, and everyone else in attendance, will probably have a better time are less likely to piss the people around you off (including the photographers).
-If you plan on crowd surfing don't wear boots. I have seen a kid get knocked out because some idiot decided to crowd surf while wearing work boots and this poor kid took a boot right in the temple and he went down. Wear sneakers or something light that won't fall off your feet. Also if you have a back pack with you leave it with someone who is not going to go crowd surfing. No one wants to be hit in the face by your back pack just like no one wants a boot in their face.
- If you are really tall stand in the back. No one can see over you and that's rude, I paid to see this concert I'd like to actually see it.
-If you start getting over heated because you are down on the floor and you feel there are too many people then just politely ask the people behind you to let you get out. They will be more than happy to take your spot. Don't ask the security people to pick you up and lift you out unless it is an emergency. They are hot and tired too. You have legs if you can use them then use them.
- Personally when I go to concerts I take a ton of pictures. It is understandable to want to have documented proof you went and pictures to reference for memory but please don't have your phone in the air the whole time you are there. Your arms and phones get in the way of the short people who already can't see because some six foot tall person is standing right in front of them (literally me every time I go to a show.)
-Don't aggressively shove people for no reason when you're on the floor. You are all packed in there like sardines, no one is going to be able to move forward so trying to force your way to the front isn't going to work. Also you could hurt someone, concert going is dangerous enough as it is no need to add to it with your impatience.

Nikon vs Canon

As the saying goes; "A picture is worth a thousand words." The other saying is "a craftsman is only as good as his tools." In the world of professional photography the main argument for higher quality is between Nikon and Canon, but which one is actually better? The most important things when taking professional grade pictures are: lens quality, compatibility of lenses for quick lens change to get different ranges of shots, and the quality of the focus for clear photos even when your subject is moving around a lot.

Nikon, as well as making cameras, also makes professional grade lenses for laboratory microscopes. This should be a good indicator that their lenses are top notch. However, Canon also makes giant lenses for HDTV and for movie cameras so their lenses must be pretty good too, right? I think that makes this round a draw.

Nikon makes their camera bodies and lenses all compatible with each other if their manufacturing dates are within a time span of practically 2 decades meaning that you can take a camera body from the late 90s and fit a brand new lens that you just bought onto it. Canon, however, changed the way they built their camera bodies once they introduced the auto focus system so any lens or body built for a manual focus will not be compatible with a lens or body built with an auto focus design. This round goes to Nikon. Score is now 1-0.

In the newer models of each brand of camera their auto focus features have their advantages and disadvantages. Canon has a newer auto focus system that uses 19 focusing points and they are all "cross type" sensors which allow for quick and accurate focusing in both still images and in videos. Nikon has a 51 point system but only 15 of them are "cross type." Looks like Canon wins this round, current score is 1-1.

In professional photography there are two things that are needed to create a great picture; creative vision and skill, and a good camera. On the subject of which is better I think Ken Rockwell said it best: "Anyone who tries to tell you one or the other is garbage isn't paying attention... Nikon and Canon compete so heavily against each other that if one really were better or worse they would have gone out of business long ago." Both camera brands have excellent products but when it comes down to it, like most technologies used today, its pretty much all based on personal preferences.

Links:
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/07/05/canon-eos-70d-vs-nikon-d7100-15-things-you-really-need-to-know/

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/nikon-vs-canon.htm