Willie Nile @ Joe’s Pub, NYC – 4.3.13

You can’t call yourself a concert photographer until you shoot a Willie Nile show! I’ve seen Willie once before in 2004, when he opened for the Saw Doctors, which I used to have photos on this site but I need to re-scan them. Yeah I said scan, meaning I shot those with film! Anyway, This was my first show at Joe’s Pub and loved this venue besides…well besides the wait staff getting in the way of my shots haha.

I did a quick review of the show over at ReadJunk.com if you wanted to check that out.

I had a seat in a great spot and had a nice vantage point of the stage. I sat in my seat for the majority of the set, but towards the end I was standing up a little ways from my seat so I can get some different shots. Plus there was people dancing so they were in my way. I used my telephoto lens for most of this set as well, but used the 24-70mm f2.8 lens as well. Ever since I got the D800, I’ve been switching between FX and DX modes so I could get some extra zoom in the shots. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes it’s too much crop involved.

Here’s a good example of why I should probably shoot with two camera bodies. I was sitting down taking pictures at my table with the telephoto lens, then Willie comes over to rock out right near me. He kicks one of the empty chairs at my table, sits down and is playing. This entire time I’m fumbling with my camera trying to get the lens changed. I didn’t get the shot but thankfully got Willie in the crowd later on.

I loved shooting at Joe’s Pub because the lighting was nice. Colorful and bright and I liked the background padding thing that’s on stage. It’s a very photographer friendly club because everyone was shooting the show. People even had tripods there! That’s just unheard of! I also love shooting Willie Nile shows because he’s a perfect subject. He’s got that rocker look, and gives out those rocker faces and poses. Matt Hogan was the same as well but I didn’t get a chance to take as many shots of him as I would have liked. Those pesky mic stands in the way!

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Tags: Alex Alexander, American Ride, Concert Photography, Joe's Pub, Johnny Pisano, jumpshot, live photography, Matt Hogan, music photography, new york city, Nikon D800, nyc, rock, Willie Nile