Sometimes, the venue isn't the best for photographing but you manage. Sometimes, it's so awful that you just want to cry. Last night I photographed Sunrise Avenue at Virgin Oil, FIN. I've never been there so it was quite hard to figure out the layout of the place when it was sold out and the place was packed! It took me several minutes to push myself through the people to get upstairs (I'm lucky that no one didn't accidentally pour their drink on my equipment).
There was no safety fence in front of the stage, so overall I had three different angles to shoot from. I haven't photographed gigs in a while, so it was weird getting used to the high speed again. When I thought I was adjusting my ISO, I had changed my photo quality to RAW+Basic. A useful tip (that I've found useful) to everyone who wants to photograph gigs: learn how to use your camera in the dark. If I buy a new body and haven't get accustomed to it yet, I take the old one with me just in case working with the new one doesn't work out that great. + Do learn how to change your lenses fast in the dark!
But all in all, the night was amazing. I love the thrill and excitement and how I forget to work ergonomically! Rarely I have time to concentrate on the music, so again, I've got only little idea what was going on last night ;) Every now and then I try to sing along to get myself focused on the music, too. Anyhow, this gig was a reminder for me that despite all the shit and crap that might land on me, I love this! Usually I'd just give up, but it's amazing how it feels to push aside all the crap and just focus on the doing.
I'm forever grateful to Samu and the guys for letting me hang around and lurk in the corners at their gigs.
Here's an overview of Virgin Oil for those who couldn't make it!
