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Rock and Roll
December 14, 2006Assignments at the newspaper can vary wildly one day to the next.
Sometimes people ask me if all I shoot is sports...and I always say no. "We pretty much shoot whatever they throw at us."
Everything from concerts to hamster ball races.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger comes to the front of the stage at the Kay Yeager Coliseum Thursday night.
I gotta be honest, concerts are a hassle for me. Being at a concert is fun...working at a concert is not so much.
Here are the general rules for shooting a "big-time" concert at the KYC:
1. I can only shoot the first three songs. (Sometimes only two songs...and sometimes, only the 2nd and 3rd songs..thanks Rascal Flats)
2. I can usually only stand in one particular area (center stage or the sides)
3. As a general rule...the security staff, tour promoter and band media person has to bother me while I'm trying to work.
I'm not sure why that last rule is in place...but it pretty much happens every time. Oh well, I make it work somehow.
The Nickleback concert was no exception to the rule and probably the most frustrating of all the concerts I've ever shot. I knew the rules...and I knew that I'd probably have to stand some place in particular, but nobody seemed to know where that was.
Well....it all got figured out eventually, and the headlining band took the stage and I was just hoping that they would come to the front and do something cool.
They did....and I got the shot. Same lens as always...17-35mm f2.8 (I love that thing)
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A white and brown hamster rolls his way to the finish line during the 1st annual Hamster Ball races at Petco Saturday afternoon. The event drew 21 hamsters and dozens of owners and parents.
If any of you follow my blog at all, you've seen this photo once already.
It still cracks me up.
Nothing says "random assignment" like the 2006 Petco Hamster Ball Championships.
I was literally laying on the ground in the store to get this shot. I'm not sure if all the parents were laughing at the hamsters....or me. But I don't care.
Sometimes...we have to put ourselves in awkward positions or stances to get the shot. This was not the first time I've laid down on the job and surely won't be the last either.
Okay...well, that's all for today. Tune in tomorrow.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Comments
I love hearing about the trials and tribulations you endure as a photog. Interesting about the concerts and the "rules?" And the hampsters....no words are needed! The picture tells the story.
