New Lenses and Country Music

Last night I was granted clearance to photograph Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean at Xcel Center in St. Paul MN. I am not really a country music fan, but I am still shooting under the moniker of TownSquare Media, so I requested to be in the house for them.
This was my first shoot since my ankle injury 16 weeks ago.

With three days left in 2013, I was fortunate to be presented with an opportunity to purchase a variety of Nikon lenses which will facilitate me going after more gigs, for now I have the confidence of equipment ownership. It’s makes having to rent lenses no longer a need.

Even though I have used these lenses before, it was rather fun to go to the new equipment case and look over eight different lenses and decide “What I should shoot with tonight”

Since I knew I would be shooting from the sound board, I choose the 70-200mm f2.8 with a 2x convertor and the 24-70mm f2.8.

It was a difficult shoot. Florida Georgia Line used alot of intense back lighting, which looked good from a distance, but was a bitch to shoot up close. I had a photographer on each side of me from major publications and one was yelling the obscenities I was thinking.

I was able to create, but it was a challenge.

The full set can be view here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/joebielawa/sets/72157639905181523/ 

Jason Aldean’s lighting was alittle more conducive to shooting, but he was still yards away, it’s difficult to get in close.

I am excited by the prospect of having these lenses. They will give me far more accessibility to create even more imagery than I was capable of in the past, and with the events that are on my calendar, it will be an exciting prospect at that.