July Talk @ The Coca Cola Covert Concert

Every year Coca Cola has a show prior to the Calgary Stampede to announce the lineup for the Coca Cola Concert Series. This year was now different. Openers for this years covert concert were none other than Toronto's July Talk. July Talk is a rock and fronted by Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay. The pair if you have not seen them, are a fantastic combination. They play off each other on stage, in almost a seductive tug of war. 

Leah Fay was on fire this particular night. She stole the show, hearts, and even a fan's cowboy hat, in good old Stampede style. 

You will have a change to see these guys soon, when the band returns to take the Coca Cola Stage, on July 10th. 

Make sure you get out there if you have the chance, as July Talk not only sound fantastic, but are just as fun act to watch.

Dan Mangan

Vancouver baed and Juno Award winning Dan Mangan, graved the stage of the Jack Singer Concert Hall. This is probably one of the most challanging shows I have had to photograph in a long time.

Photography unfortunately is heavily dependent on light. For those of you who have shot concert photography know that, it is a challenge to shoot due to the large dynamic range. Manual is the only way to shoot, and getting your camera dialled in quickly is important with a three song limit in many cases.

The challenge here was the minimalistic lighting. To me it felt almost black. After the opening acts, to be honest it took me by surprise. I remember thinking to myself, they will get brighter as the music builds. They didn't.

Even wide open at 2.8 and 10,000 ISO it was still dark. But this is the challenge I love about this kind of shooting. I will be the first to admit, that I walked out of there thinking, that I might not have one shot that is even remotely usable. Some people might think it is crazy for me to admit that, but it is the truth. That fear tells me that I care about what I produce, and if you don't care about your output, in my opinion it is time for a change. Also it is a great opportunity for me to push my limits and grow a little more. Again the whole reason I love photography, and mores love concert photography.

But lets get back to Dan. Dan was phenomenal, smoke and minimalistic lighting matched the heavy tones. Which sounded phenomenal in the Jack Singer which is probably one of the best places to hear musicians live. I can't wait to get the opportunity to photograph Dan again, and revisit the Jack Singer Concert Hall.