MOONTRICKS
April 4, 2024
Review & Photos: David Simchock
Venue: Salvage Station - Asheville, North Carolina
If I had to use one word to describe the Moontricks show at the Salvage Station on April 4th, it would have to be "fun", with "authentic" being a close-second.
These two Canadian fellas, Nathan Gurley and Sean Rodman, were genuinely enjoying themselves on stage from start to finish, and it was infectious. The crowd loved them. The venue staff loved them. And, yes, the house photographer (that would be me) also loved them.
And, for only two people, not only did they deliver a diverse and exciting range of "electro-folk" compositions, but they also gave me, the photographer, plenty to point my Nikons at. Quite often, if I'm shooting a solo act or duo, the photographic angles and options can be limited, but that wasn't the case this evening. There was plenty of variation, and both Gurley, who often stepped out from behind his keyboard and computer to lay down some bluesy harmonica, and Rodman (guitar) weren't shy about putting themselves front and center on the stage.
And, to make things even ore interesting for me, I had my main man on the lighting board, Jamie Hester (house LD at the Salvage Station), giving me a lot to work with (he's got the new inside stage set-up dialed in!), with visual support on the jumbotron-esque screens (lining the back of the stage) by Production Manager - Josh Ater (see lead photo for an example of the slick stage backdrop).
And, if the high-energy performance by the Moontricks duo wasn't enough, Will Evans, who opened for them, joined in for a collaboration while also ticking off "crowd surfing" from his personal bucket list (see photo below).
To cap off these few words about the show, I'd like to give a shout-out to the band's tour photographer, Louis Bockner. Louie was a pleasure to work with (i,.e., it wasn't his first rodeo, and he was very courteous, respectful, and personable). You can see his work and following him on Instagram on @louisbocknerphoto .
The story behind the lead photo...
As any music photographer knows, stage lighting can make or break how visually dynamic their photos can turn out. There's nothing like shooting at a venue that has state-of-the-art lighting, and a LD (lighting designer / director) who knows how to use them (and I'm fortunate to work with some top-notch professionals).
That said, what's visually appealing to the crowd may be a visual nightmare for the photographers, especially when shooting directly into bright lights. Sometimes, just a minor tweak to your position with respect to such lights can be the difference-maker for an image. As house photographer at the Salvage Station, for example, I know for the most part when I can and cannot get the effect you see in the lead photo of guitarist, Sean Rodman.
There are times when I need to move slightly to the left or right (not easy when on my knees in a tight photo pit!), or wait for the artist to move the neck / headstock of their guitar, or move themselves, to block some of the light and to avoid a total wash-out of the shot from lens flare. Getting this right, in conjunction with other compositional factors, comes with experience when shooting, and when culling the "deletion" shots during post-processing.
I'll also add that knowing how to get the most out of your post-processing software can be an image-saver. when it comes to wash-out from bright lights and lens flare. In my view, the "Dehaze" slider that was introduced in Adobe Lightroom about five years ago was a game-changer. That said, like any control / slider in software, it can be abused. Like many things, the trick is to strike a balance between recovering detail in an image and keeping it real.
LEAD IMAGE EXIF DATA:
Camera: Nikon D5
Lens: 24-70 f/2.8 @ 52mm
ISO: 5000
Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR INFO:
Cameras: Two Nikon D5 bodies (DSLR)
Lenses: Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8; 24-70 f/2.8; 70-200 f/2.8
Processing: RAW files processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic on an iMac
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Photos © Copyright David Simchock (Do not copy or publish without permission.)
