The company I work for and a law firm in town each sponsor a band for competition annually in a “battle of the bands”, designed to be a fund-raiser for Our Little Haven, which provides care for children who’ve been abused, neglected or affected by drugs. It’s a great cause, and these two bands have been duking it out for a few years now.

The bands canvass their workplaces and friends for weeks leading up to the event, and on the night of the event, each band encourages folks to vote for their favorite band by stuffing boxes with cash and checks. I’m proud to say that the E-Rockers won the battle last night by almost a two-to-one margin. The big winner was Our Little Haven though, and that’s the important piece to the night.

So since we knew the lead singer of the band real well, I started asking around about doing a little shooting of the show. I’ve never shot a concert before, and knew it would be a neat opportunity to play, and maybe to learn something along the way. For just shy of three hours, I shot, enjoyed some really good live music, and was hoarse and deaf by the time the thing was over. I had a great time! 🙂

So what did I learn from the shoot? Well, faster lenses are a must. I shot most of the show with the 50/1.8, although I tried the 28-135 once or twice, but it’s just too slow for a barely lit stage. The other thing I had problems with was the lights on the stage. Most things showed up in this funky yellow glow, although some of the purples showed through nicely. I’m sure there’s a filter solution to help with this — of course, a big ol’ flash would’ve helped too!

It was a great time, and I feel pretty confident I’ll be back again next year, and once again trying to shoot, enjoy the music, and help out a great cause.