The headlining act on the Harley Davidson stage, Rise Against helped close out the first night of Summerfest in Milwaukee. The Chicago band played to a field full of loud screaming fans, many of whom had camped out at the stage all day just to get a good spot. Luckily, their wait was not in vain, because Rise Against put on a greaty, high energy show.
Shooting Notes
With my love of smallish, indie bands, big arena lights are something I only get to experience a few times a year, when I decide to venture outside of my typical shows. And let me tell you, big arena lights are glorious. White front light, colored back light, spot lights… oh my! Shooting at 400 ISO?! It’s rare that I have to worry about over-exposing my concert pictures, but this was one of those times.
Rise Against was a blast to shoot. Lead singer Tim McIlrath was full of energy, jumping on risers, and moving back and forth on the stage, but always staying close to the front of the massive stage. The rest of the band was a little lower-key, staying a bit farther back onstage for most of the first three songs, but still put on a great show.
I used two 5Ds with the 24-70mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS. If I had more time, and had thought about it, I definitely would have utilized the fisheye for a few shots of Mcllrath.
My exposures were constantly changing, but most of the shots were around the 1/160th, f/2.8, 400ISO range.
