Kyle Gustafson Photography -

Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center

Posted on November 11, 2012

Last week I got the chance to shoot Justin Bieber. I can still hear the girls screaming. The show was an arena-sized spectacle, with Biebs making his entrance suspended in air on a pair of prop wings. After he landed, it was a lot of dancing and, again, screaming girls. We were positioned on the right side of the floor (stage left) against the floor railing. It was a unique perspective to shoot from (usually we are…

Concerts

David Byrne & St. Vincent @ Strathmore

Posted on November 1, 2012

David Byrne and St. Vincent on the same stage playing some of their new material along with some of their better known work from their respective careers? Yeah, this was an easy assignment to say yes to. Shooting at Strathmore is always a challenge. Shooting conditions generally depend on the crowd. If they stand up down in front, we’re allowed to shoot from the aisles. The audience didn’t do that at this show, so were stuck up…

Concerts

Peter Gabriel @ Patriot Center

Posted on October 24, 2012

Peter Gabriel Performs at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA

Keeping with my recent streak of photographing superstars from the 1980’s, I had the pleasure of shooting Peter Gabriel a few weeks ago out in Fairfax, VA. Gabriel was touring behind the 25th anniversary of his landmark album, So. The show was paced weirdly, with an acoustic set, followed by an electric set and finally the So performance, from the beginning of the album to the end. We were allowed to shoot songs 6-8. Of course he…

Arenas & Sheds Concerts Merriweather Post Pavilion

Bon Iver @ Merriweather

Posted on October 14, 2012

I’m no fan of Bon Iver, but I did enjoy shooting late last year at the 9:30 Club. There was great light and and good sight lines, neither of which are a given at America’s best rock club. Sadly, conditions were much worse at Merriweather, where you have to try very hard to have bad lighting. The stage was cluttered with a bunch of lights they barely used during our shooting time, so there were only a…

Arenas & Sheds Concerts featured Verizon Center

Madonna @ Verizon Center

Posted on October 14, 2012

Madonna skipped D.C. on her last world tour so I had never even had the chance to shoot her in concert until a few weeks ago. Obviously I was very excited about the announcement. Especially coming just a few days after shooitng another 80’s icon, Bruce Springsteen. Not bad for a 7 day stretch. Madonna made us photogs wait until songs 8 and 9 to shoot her, but she made everyone wait until 10:30 before she even started the…

Blog featured

Complex Magazine’s Best Photographers List

Posted on October 9, 2012

A few friends alerted me to this today: I was as surprised as anyone. I don’t recall ever speaking to anyone at Complex Magazine so I had no idea I was even on their radar. I’m humbled that they would like my work enough to recognize me along with so many other talented photographers. I like to think I’m one of the best, if not THE best, concert photographer in the D.C. area, but since I’m not…

Arenas & Sheds Concerts featured

Bruce Springsteen @ Nationals Park

Posted on September 27, 2012

It’s hard to pass up a chance to shoot a legend like Bruce Springsteen, especially in a unique venue like Nationals Park, so I made sure I had a photo pass with my name on it when the Boss came through town. I shot him once back in 2009 and felt like I could have done better so I wa glad to get that chance. Overall the experience was not what I had hoped it would be.…

Blog

Camera Bag Review: Crumpler Enthusiast

Posted on September 19, 2012

A few weeks I found a spare moment to send an email to my favorite camera bag manufacturer, Crumpler, to tell them a few of the things I didn’t like about my otherwise awesome 7 Million Dollar Home bag. So as to not to digress too far before I even get started here, I will save that for another blog post. Crumpler responded fairly quickly and basically said, “OK smart guy, if you know so much about…

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