Miss Lauryn Hill does it for the fans, not the media (Concert Photos)
Miss Lauryn Hill w special guest, Nas, 16 Feb 2019, Spark Arena (Concert Photos)
No reviewers were welcome at the Lauryn Hill show, presumably on the strength of some pretty dreadful reviews of her Australian shows last week. I was advised that photographers were welcome and I would be able to shoot her from the pit. But I had sneaky feeling that wasn’t going to happen and I’d better pack my 2x extender (for extra zoom) just in case.
Sure enough, while we were allowed into the pit to shoot Nas, when it came time to shoot Lauryn Hill, we were barred and told we would not be allowed to shoot at all. Fortunately the promoter was able to sort something and we were allowed to shoot from ‘front of house’ which is actually the sound board, all the way at the back of the arena. So no lovely close-ups. Sigh…
Spark Arena was pretty close to being sold out – a packed house that absolutely adored Lauryn Hill – all ages, cultures, colours, genders. And everyone standing on the floor was directly in front of me. I braced myself and my ridiculously heavy camera for the show to start. Hill appeared in silhouette – in an enormous wide-brimmed black hat. And when the stage lights came on her face was in complete darkness, that hat blocked every last bit of light from above. She struggled to keep it on her head, as the numerous (electric) fans on the edge of the stage threatened to blow it off.
TBH, I was feeling pretty grumpy at this point, no close-ups, no face, not much light. Fortunately a couple of lights planted on the floor began to flash every so often, almost strobe-like. My only chance of getting a shot of her face was to just keep shooting. And I did – over 400 shots in three songs. And then I went home…
…And began to cull. Those 400+ shots came down to about 50 usable photos. And as I began processing, they told an unexpected story. Instead of a diva pulling a star-turn (at my expense) I saw a rather unwell woman, with puffy eyes and a swollen, tired face, clutching a handkerchief in her left hand to keep her runny nose in check. And she didn’t need photographers in her face, capturing every detail of her nose-wiping and puffiness, or critics, ready to call her out for a less than perfect performance. She was there for the fans – a whole arena full of them – and I’m pretty sure they went home happy, which, of course, was the whole point…
Veronica McLaughlin
Click any image below to view galleries of both Lauryn Hill and Nas.
Miss Lauryn Hill
Nas
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February 17, 2019 @ 9:22 am
Great photos amazing camera to get 400s shutter speed what ISO setting 3200? Was that 400 mm lens with 2x adapter to double lens to 800mm?
February 17, 2019 @ 10:19 am
Thanks! It was my trusty 70-200 with a 2x extender. So 400mm. Hand-held. The images are cropped so it might look like 800mm, but you really need a tripod to manage that – LOL! Not in Vector with 10,000 concert-goers in the mix! And yeah, the 5DM4 is pretty close to magic. If only it was like – 1kg lighter!