I bought a high end camera this year, and now am able to take reasonable pictures in low light conditions. At first I shot indoor rock climbing, but I just tried to shoot an indoor rock concert, and the results were mixed.

Not only are the light levels very low at times, but the light is not white, but rather colored. As a result, some pictures lack contrast, and many of them have [intentionally] weird lighting. The occasional bright white light was a welcome relief from the dim reds.

What follows often includes two or even three versions of the same photo. The first one is the original, followed by my attempts to increase contrast or pull the colors back towards normal. Thankfully, the musicians all wore white jump suits, so a color reference was at hand. Some of the revised images are too harsh or contrasty. You can pick the ones that you like the most.

I am always drawn to dramatic or unusual poses, or engaging facial expressions. That is one reason there are so many pictures of the bass player.

The band is from San Diego and is called EMG. They perform cover performances for Pink Floyd's full albums (Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall) while cartoon movies (Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz) play behind them, silently. One of my friends said "If you closed your eyes, it was just like being at a live Pink Floyd performance." Another said "It brought back acid flashbacks from when I was a teenager." So. Good stuff!


All photographs are copyright by Jon Bondy.

If you want larger versions of a particular shot, please get in touch with me (jon at jonbondy dot com).