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Recently, I was fortunate enough to be granted the only photo pass for shooting Earth Wind & Fire<\/a> at The Toledo Zoo<\/a> Amphitheatre. This was my first time shooting at the venue and the first time shooting EW&F. <\/p>\n I had a few things working in my favor for this show:<\/p>\n 1. There would be a fair amount of daylight at the beginning of the show, which would help keep my ISO settings a little lower than a typical indoor show, resulting in slightly less grainy\/noisy images.<\/p>\n 2. EW&F travels with a hefty lighting rig, so much of the show would be bright and colorful.<\/p>\n 3. As soon as I arrived at the amphitheatre, I ran into my friend \/ zoo employee \/ sometimes band-mate, Bruce Burkhart, who proceeded to introduce me to the head of security for that night’s show. Bonus.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, I had a couple challenges to deal with that evening:<\/p>\n 1. The artists’ management permitted shooting of the first two songs only. While, this is not uncommon with top-tier artists, it is extremely tough to get used to the stage, the lighting, and the angles and get decent shots in roughly 10 minutes.<\/p>\n 2. These guys never stopped moving! Apart from the drummer and keyboard player (who were seated), pretty much everyone else roamed the stage and the risers almost non-stop for the time I was there. And then there was Verdine White (bassist), who’s constant movement, wild expressions and fringed pants made for a fascinating subject. (Plus, as a bassist myself, I was a little partial.)<\/p>\n 3. Another difficulty was the front edge of the stage – at about 5 feet high, it was lined with floor monitors, front-fill speakers, and lighting instruments, which made finding a good, unobstructed vantage point hard to find. I can’t tell you how many shots I had with the fluorescent green tambourine in the corner of the shot. (See how many you can spot in the full gallery<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Eleven minutes and 458 shots later, this funkified freight train of fun was pulling into the station – or at least the station where I had to disembark for the night. I would love to say the music was great, but quite honestly, I really don’t remember hearing it. I was so acutely “focused” on the visual that all else seemed to float away. What I do remember of the music was rich, full and tighter than the spandex on a 70s disco queen.<\/p>\n Despite the initial disappointment of only shooting two songs, I left the zoo that evening feeling like a Shining Star.<\/p>\n Check out the entire gallery of images from the show here<\/a>, and feel free to browse around all the other galleries as well.<\/p>\n Thanks for looking!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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