Arenas & Sheds Concerts

Elton John @ Verizon Center

Posted on December 2, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC - November 14, 2013 - Sir Elton John performs at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. John's set featured songs from his newest album, The Diving Board, as well as a host of hits from his vast back catalogue. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post)

I don’t have many people left on my “Must Shoot” list but Elton John was a name that I hadn’t crossed off until a few weeks ago. The man is a legend and it was a great thrill to shoot him in front of a capacity crowd at the Verizon Center. Elton’s in his mid-60’s now, so he can’t hit the high notes like he used to, but he still sounds great and puts on a great show.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 14, 2013 - Sir Elton John performs at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. John's set featured songs from his newest album, The Diving Board, as well as a host of hits from his vast back catalogue. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post)

WASHINGTON, DC - November 14, 2013 - Sir Elton John performs at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. John's set featured songs from his newest album, The Diving Board, as well as a host of hits from his vast back catalogue. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post)

WASHINGTON, DC - November 14, 2013 - Sir Elton John performs at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. John's set featured songs from his newest album, The Diving Board, as well as a host of hits from his vast back catalogue. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post)

SHOOTING NOTES: Elton gives you the first two songs, and they re both very, very long. We shot the first song right at the stage lip and the second from the crowd. There is no “photo pit” for this show, but there is ample room in the space between the front row and the stage. Obviously, he sits behind a piano the entire time, so shooting angles are limited. Shooting the second song from the crowd is a bit of a clusterfuck since there was no designated space for us to shoot from, so we were standing in front of someone no matter what we did. The crowd didn’t like that and neither did I. I only got a few usable shots from the second spot, but got plenty of stuff in the first song.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 14, 2013 - Sir Elton John performs at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. John's set featured songs from his newest album, The Diving Board, as well as a host of hits from his vast back catalogue. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post)

WASHINGTON, DC - November 14, 2013 - Sir Elton John performs at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. John's set featured songs from his newest album, The Diving Board, as well as a host of hits from his vast back catalogue. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post)

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Elton John @ Verizon Center – Images by Kyle Gustafson

Kyle Gustafson is a freelance photographer based in Washington, D.C. His work appears weekly in The Washington Post. Complex Magazine named him one of the 50 Greatest Concert Photographers Right Now.

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