This Is Not A Photo Opportunity

Stars + Firekites @ The Zoo

There is a new (although temporary-looking) sign next to The Zoo’s door tonight, repeated up the stairs to the front desk and also in the venue itself; ‘No Flash Photography’. Restrictions at The Zoo used to be fairly non-existent, although that’s all changed thanks to Perth band Birds Of Tokyo getting precious enough about it to complain to the venue and have cameras restricted to photographers who have been given prior permission to photograph. Although this rule is publicised on their website and at the entrance, thankfully The Zoo take a more sensible approach than just a blanket ban for all shows, and paying punters are still able to bring cameras to some gigs to get their evening captured for Web 2.0 posterity.

When Newcastle band Firekites start their support slot it’s to the very uncommon occurrence of The Zoo’s stage being lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree. And after three songs the singer asks for the lights to be turned down. No flash photography, the stage lit up for three songs before being turned down to more comfortable levels for those on the stage – is this a complete stroke of genius from The Zoo, stopping the annoyance of flash throughout the show but providing ample light for a few songs to allow photographers to easily get the photos they need without worrying about image quality at high ISOs or blur at low shutter speeds?

For maybe an hour it is suddenly a very exhilarating feeling to be a photographer in The Zoo. Until, of course, Stars come on and play with the more typical mood lighting that you have grown to expect at The Zoo and all those heady thoughts from the previous hour, of a photographer’s life made more easy, vanish, quite literally, into the dark. And of course, despite all the signs, there are people in the front row flashing away with their P&Ss…

Stars

Firekites

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 9:06 pm. It is filed under Music Photography and tagged with Brisbane, Firekites, Justin Edwards, Rave Magazine, Sony a700, Stars, The Zoo, www.notaphoto.com. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.