Lacey Mosley and Sameer Bhattacharya (left) of Flyleaf perform to a sold-out crowd at Gramercy Theater, NYC. November 18, 2009. (photo by Chris Owyoung)
That Flyleaf’s new album “Memento Mori” debuted at No. 8 on The Billboard 200 charts was certainly no surprise to the sold-out crowd at Gramercy Theater. For those of you not at the show, I’ll tell you that if playing your ass off city after city counts for anything, the band’s success is certainly well deserved.
The full set of photos from the show and shots from the VIP cake cutting after the jump.
Pat Seals of Flyleaf performs at Gramercy Theater, NYC. November 18, 2009. (photo by Chris Owyoung)
Having only three songs to photograph Flyleaf is a downright crime; considering the low-key lighting they prefer, 10 minutes is simply not enough to do such a hard working and dynamic band any sort of justice. While I’m not entirely displeased with the photos in this set, I am painfully aware that there was potential for so much more.
During the first three songs, Lacey Mosley (vocals) and Pat Seals (bass) are the “easy” targets thanks to the flattering combination of lighting design and their prominent stage position. The most difficult part of photographing the two of them is tracking their almost constant motion. Sameer Bhattacharya (lead guitar), Jared Hartmann (rhythm guitar) and James Culpepper (drums) are far more elusive subjects primarily due to the tour’s lighting design and their comparatively downstage positions during the first three.
My exposure for this set varied from roughly 1/60 at f/4 and ISO2000 when using on-camera fill flash to 1/200 at f/2.8 and ISO 3200 during songs two and three without flash. While in the pit, I shot almost entirely with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens. The 70-200mm f/2.8 VR was reserved for shots from the back of the house after the first three.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Music Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Chris Owyoung is a New York City based music photographer specializing in concert photography and band portraits.
Click here to contact Chris for assignment of commission, or call him at +1.917.572.4499.
Chris Owyoung is a freelance photographer based in New York City. His work has appeared in numerous publications including: Rolling Stone, SPIN, VIBE, Billboard, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Symphony, Domino, Time, and The Village Voice. Chris is available for editorial and corporate assignments in the New York area and abroad.
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Photo Gallery: Flyleaf performs at Gramercy Theater — http://bit.ly/92OiNh
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