Some legitimate Hallowe’en fear. Slipknot at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
Canon EOS 450D (XSi) · Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
19 mm · 1/160 s · f/10 · ISO 1600
I feared for my safety last Friday.
It started when I got out of my car and realized I could hear the opening band from the street. Quadra Street. Almost two blocks away.
It heightened as I was being escorted, with the other photographers, to “the pit,” being jostled by jumping, screaming Slipknot fans and stepping over various beverage & protein spills.
And it capped when our contact left, wishing us luck with an enunciated “Be. Fricking. Careful.” And no, he didn’t say “fricking.”
Then, I started to shoot Slipknot.
Canon EOS 450D (XSi) · Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
19 mm · 1/160 s · f/10 · ISO 1600
As you may have guessed, my life was spared and all of my limbs and equipment left the show intact, thanks mostly to the ridiculously nice security folks and, well, the hundreds of pounds of reinforced steel barrier fencing holding back the mosh pit (which included a cousin of mine, who would later report having the crap kicked out of her in there).
Having done some research beforehand watching bootlegged live footage, I was somewhat prepared for a few key moments in the show, such as the previous shot of #8, Corey Taylor.
However, the majority of my time was spent firing like a madman. =)
I’ve found that live shows can be a shoot-like-crazy-and-hope-for-the-best situation, except in rare situations like the Blue Man Group, whose show I pretty much know front to back.
So, there’s not a lot of planning and predicting I can do but . . . early on, I started to get a sense of how some of The Nine would behave depending on the music, and then began to wait for moments where I figured a lot of headbanging or metal horn throwing would take place.
Canon EOS 450D (XSi) · Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
15 mm · 1/200 s · f/5 · ISO 1600
This shot is the result of equal parts of “that sense” (the hair) and sheer dumb luck (lip ring).
Finally, Slipknot, photographers, security and fans at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Gotta love the ultrawide lens:
Canon EOS 450D (XSi) · Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
10 mm · 1/60 s · f/5 · ISO 800
Left to right, #8 (Corey), #7 (Mick), Jen, Darren, Anne-Marie, Sharon, security, and everyone else.
=)