If there were a course on concert photography, Kyle Gustafson (aka leafblower) would be a likely candidate to teach it. His photos, mostly taken at our beloved 9:30 Club and Black Cat, are awesome examples of this unique breed of photography. It’s one thing to setup a tripod in front of the White House, but once you get inside a dark concert venue you’d better put that tripod away and hope you’ve got a fast lens and a good set of earplugs. A camera that has low noise levels at high ISO settings is key too. In other words, no, that camera phone isn’t going to cut it so just put it away right now.
I met Kyle a few months ago and was immediately jealous of the access he has to these clubs as well as to any Wizards or United game he wants to go to. Being a senior editor at DCist really pays off! Evidently he contacted the Wizards’ front office, said he wrote for a prominent blog, and they gave him a press pass. How sweet is that? As my dad always say, “You never know until you ask.”
Be sure to check out Kyle’s Flickr portfolio. He’s covered bands and musicians ranging from Snow Patrol to Pete Townsend to Scissor Sisters to Gnarls Barkley. I can’t think of a better gig! Well, unless you’ve got Hugh Hefner’s job. That’s pretty hard to beat.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
