Shooting Sugarland’s concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday was a photographer’s dream. Big lights, big stage set up and very energetic subjects.
Country concerts are a funny thing. Not the coolest music in the world, but the performers always work hard to put on a big show and make the concert a big spectacle. Sugarland certainly succeeded. I can’t recall a show at Merriweather as well lit as this one.
The band used every inch of the stage too. There was no photo pit for this show, i was basically shooting from the crowd, but I was able to get the spot in front directly in the middle of the stage which gave me the opportunity to shoot both Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush together in the frame. The video screen at the back of the stage also gave me some interesting visuals when Nettles was alone in front.
Since the stage at Merriweather is so low, I used my 24-70/2.8 on my Nikon D3 and my 70-200/2.8 VR I on my Nikon D700 (usually I switch those lenses for big shows). I kept my ISO at 2000 and was able to get great shutter speeds even when shooting at f4. I’d go shoot Sugarland again any day.
Be sure to read Scott Galupo’s review on Washingtonpost.com. Full photo set below:
Sugarland @ Merriweather – Images by Kyle Gustafson
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