JonathanBourke.Com » Concert

Repost – Duke Special @ Dolans

jbourke — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:28:22 +0000

The eccentric Duke Special now features as a new gallery on JonathanBourke.Com. This is a repost of an earlier Flickr based Gallery as I slowly migrate my portfolio content to my own website. In this gallery, I try to capture the eccentricity, the motion, and the colour of Dukes’ performance at Dolans that night. Some of the images could be perceived as being blurred… but for me this accurately reflects the feeling of the gig.

Back when I originally posted this I said:

Duke Special wowed the midweek crowds at Dolans Warehouse in Limerick on Tuesday 9th of December. This time he had his band with him, and the percussionist, “Temperance Society”, entranced people with clattering, banging, shaking, twisting, roaring, scraping, and more. He was brilliant. It was a poignant night for Mary and I, as it will be our last concert in Dolans for some time…

In some ways, “Temperance Society” stole the show, using everything from pots and pans, assorted sticks and whatnot to create an eclectic sound. From Wikipedia:

He is most often accompanied by percussionist “Temperance Society” Chip Bailey, who plays cheese graters and egg whisks, a Stumpf fiddle and a Shirdi drone box, as well as the more typical drums and cymbals.

Jack L @ Dolans Warehouse in Limerick

jbourke — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:48:57 +0000

Jack L @ Dolans Warehouse in Limerick

In the continuing voyage of discovery that is sorting my photo collection comes another gallery. This time it is Jack L performing at Dolans Warehouse in Limerick on various dates in 2008.

Jack Lukeman (or Jack L) is pretty much unique amongst the artists I have seen perform… he can hold a venue on the power of his voice alone. I must have seen him perform 10 times now; he certainly ranks as one of my favorites. Check out his music at www.jacklukeman.com.

Repost – Mundy @ Dolans Warehouse

jbourke — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:54:59 +0000

Mundy in Profile @ Dolans Warehouse in Limerick

I know that I posted this gallery previously, but I am taking the liberty of reposting it as it is now the first collection within my Gallery on JonathanBourke.Com. Please feel free to check it out!

Apart from loving the music, and Dolans Warehouse for that matter, I love concert photography. It is by far and away one of the most challenging genres within photography. One second you are dealing with extremely low light levels, and the next, you are blinded by light. And all the time, the artist is jumping around stage like someone possessed. Compact cameras will not cut it in this environment. They are just too slow.

Digital SLRs with standard lenses might manage one or two lucky shots. Image Stabilised lenses are not going to help either… you might be able to hand hold the lens in the low light, but the rapid movement on stage will still be a blur.

High ISO’s and Fast Lenses are your friends. Most of my concert shots are taken with a Canon EOS 20D at ISO 1600, and a Canon 50mm F1.4. Even then, I am happy if I have 10 shots out of a hundred which are acceptable. My settings are pretty much:

Aperature Priority, set to something like F2.8 max, sometimes right down to F1.4
ISO set to 1600, 800 if I can get away with it
Focus mode set to AI Servo… i.e. will attempt to track moving objects
Centre Focus point selected
Metering normally set to Evaluative, but I sometimes use Partial
Drive mode set to continuous

And here is the kicker, White Balance set to Auto. this is an issue which is often discussed in relation to concert photography; i.e. how do you get accurate colours with all those crazy lights? My response to this is “Who cares?” In my mind, the crazy colours add to the drama and excitement of the event. I would never want to subdue them…

Mundy, introducing a little feedback!

New Gallery – Duke Special @ Dolans Warehouse 9th Dec

jbourke — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:22:33 +0000

Duke Special @ Dolans Warehouse

Duke Special wowed the midweek crowds at Dolans Warehouse in Limerick on Tuesday 9th of December. This time he had his band with him, and the percussionist, “Temperance Society”, entranced people with clattering, banging, shaking, twisting, roaring, scraping, and more. He was brilliant. It was a poignant night for Mary and I, as it will be our last concert in Dolans for some time…

No, nothing wrong with Dolans, rather the weather, and the self imposed gloomy atmosphere that abounds. We are of to Oz! January 6th, we will be on an Etihad Airways flight to Sydney. Enough about that for now. Click more for shots from Duke Special @ Dolans…

New Gallery – Jack L Returns To Dolans

jbourke — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:21:08 +0000

Jack L @ Dolans

On October 17th, Jack L made a triumphant return with his new album “Burn On” to Dolans Warehouse in Limerick. Of course I was there to grab a few shots…

While I took over 100 shots, I have whittled them down to a more manageable 20 or so. I particularly like the deep, low key, blue man shots. Again, all shots were taken with a Canon EOS 20D with 50mm F1.4, mostly at either 800 or 1600 ISO. Check them out on Flickr, or click on the thumbnails below:

A great concert as always, all the more so when you see how much the band are enjoying themselves. They looked to be getting a real buzz from the crowd. That said, could the muppets who talk and make noise and show disrespect please fuck off! Why do ye bother going… at least ye eventually shut up when Jack came out on his own at the end to play “Rooftop Lullaby”.

Also, Jack, consider this a standing request for:

The Man Who Couldn’t Cry
So Far Gone
Don’t Fall In Love

New gallery – Mundy @ Dolans

jbourke — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:43:24 +0000

I just posted some new shots on Flickr from a concert by Mundy at Dolans Warehouse in Limerick. Enjoy!

Yet again, this is the place to be for intimate live music. All shots taken with a Canon EOS 20D using a 50mm F1.4 lens.

Feel free to comment on these here, or on Flickr.

Always "Shoot" the Support!

jbourke — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:32:18 +0000

Who is this world wide No. 1 artist playing support at Dolans?

Dolans Warehouse is one of my favourite places on this earth. It’s a small, cosy, concert venue on the Dock Road in Limerick and it puts on some great acts. The mere mention of Jack L, The 4 of Us, The Walls, Mundy, The Stunning, The Hothouse Flowers, or Duke Special playing there, and you will find me in the front row!

Unfortunately, it is often the case that the support acts get little respect as people get the drinks in before the main event. But perhaps we should pay a little more attention…

This artist just happens to be Duffy, who has had a worldwide No. 1 song with “Mercy” and No. 1 Album with “Rockferry”, and has won 2 MOJO awards… Not too shabby! Here are some other shots of the shoot:

BTW: Shot with a Canon 20D and 50mm F1.4. Magic!