If you’ve been following my blog, you are well aware that I have been photographing the Big Money Shot competition in Ottawa over the last few years. Earlier this year I was contacted by the folks at LiVE 88.5, who have become aware of my photographs of their competition. They were in the process of putting together Volume 5 of their Live at The Live Lounge series. Volume 5 was to be a Big Money Shot 2010 compilation. They were looking to use some of my photos from the 2010 Finals, 1 for each of the 5 bands that performed that night. The photos were chosen and the cd artwork was put together.

I am happy to say, that my photographs have now been featured in 2 cd packages this year. The first instance, was for Become the Sun’s debut cd.

This past Thursday, The Junction was in town to play the LiVE Lounge. Before their show, I was only familiar with what I had heard on their myspace page. Based on that and their performance I had to pick up their latest release ‘Another Link in the Chain’. I have been listening to it constantly since. Although I didn’t get it until 2011, it is definitely one of my top albums for 2010. Give it a spin when you get the chance, and make sure you check this band out the next time they hit Ottawa!

Also on the bill were Teenage Kicks and The Strain. I hadn’t heard either of these bands before. Teenage Kicks delivered a very energetic set with some great tunes. I was only able to catch the last couple of songs from The Strain, who have just recorded an EP with Bryan Ruckstuhl. If they get their way, you’ll be hearing more of them through Live 88.5’s Big Money Shot competition this year.

This was another show, where the only lens I used was my 50mm 1.8. It has seen a lot of use over the last week. I don’t ever recall using it so much in a short period of time. I am definitely more comfortable with it now, and will probably consider bringing it out more often from now on.

In the end, another great night of music. You can check out more performance photos at www.spotlight.com.

The Junction

Teenage Kicks

I lost count, but they must have surfed the crowd at least 6 times, one of which involved leaping to catch a football. I’ll be better prepared next time with my flash. There was a blender on stage, which was eventually used to blend up a fruit smoothie. Have you ever seen a juice box used to play slide guitar?? I can now say that I have.

Catchy tunes. Great show! I highly recommend catching these guys the next time they’re in town. You won’t be disappointed.

Last Thursday, I was able to catch Champion & His G-Strings at Live 88.5’s LiVE Lounge. What a great show! I had heard good things about them, and they definitely didn’t disappoint.

Lighting isn’t great at the Lounge, especially for photography. That means high ISO’s and fast lenses. Due to the placement of everyone on stage, it seemed everyone was just out of the bright spots. My auto focus was going nuts, and I spent a lot of the show in manual focus. Next time out, I think I might try a faster prime lense than the fast zooms that I am accustomed to using for my concert photography.

I hope they come back to Ottawa soon. I’d love to catch another show!

This past Thursday I was able to catch a special performance by k-os at Live 88.5’s LiVE Lounge. I was thrilled to be able to photograph this show, as k-os has been one of my favorite artists, ever since I heard Superstarr Pt. Zero, back in 2002.

I have seen k-os perform live a few times now, and he has always had an awesome band with him on stage. The setup for this show was stripped down, and I was a little nervous about the energy the show would have, when it became obvious during the setup that he didn’t have a full band with him this time around. Joining him on stage was his dj and guitarist. Those fears were quickly put to rest by the time he let loose with his second tune. This show did indeed have all the energy I have come to expect from a k-os performance.

I left the show wanting more, and I can’t wait to see him perform again!

This past Friday, I caught Die Mannequin at Live 88.5’s Live Lounge. What a great performance! If you get the chance to catch Die Mannequin live, do it!

I shot this show with Canon’s 16-35mm 2.8 lens. Having grabbed myself a seat on the edge of the stage, this lens was perfect for letting me capture all the action taking place in front of me. As the light was very low, I was shooting at ISO 3200. This introduces a little more noise than I would normally like to see in my concert images, but I think the extra noise fits well with Die Mannequin’s alternative/punk style and high energy performance. Lead singer Care Failure had energy to burn! Twice she hopped off the stage and made her way to the back of the bar to sing and wail on her guitar.

I was fortunate enough to be lying on the right side of the stage for the band’s grand finale. While lying on the stage herself, Care Failure caught sight of my camera and started rolling and crawling towards me, letting me capture some cool shots. I can’t wait for them to make their return to Ottawa!