The man - Ohmega Watts - performing at the Oxford Art Factory in Darlinghurst
I was once more invited by James Browning of Niche Productions to shoot one of their gigs - this time US hiphop artist Ohmega Watts, with support from New Zealand’s Ladi6. It was a late gig, not kicking off till 9pm on the night of the Australian election (and by this stage it was an emphatic Labor victory - leading to the leadership crises I speculated on previously). The night had a great vibe, although the Coopers I had with a couple of mates wasn’t quite quality leaving one of our team leaving for his nearby home after a single beer - it looked like mud, though we were duly replaced with fresh beers, didn’t seem to help him.
Support: Ladi6
Randoms
Shot for Niche Productions and In The Mix
Looks like the lighting was a tad on the dark side, hard work for us photogs..
How have you found shooting hip hop? I’ve always found it slightly difficult with all the movement going on, hands going everywhere gesticulating, moving all over the stage in and out of the lights. etc..
Yeah, the lighting wasn’t what one would consider wonderful. It was, in fact, very odd - LED Par58 replacements o.O So the light source wasn’t great at the best of times.
I think I’ve probably shot more hip hop/soul/nu jazz inspired stuff at the moment due to connections with a promotor in Sydney. It is definitely difficult due to the amount of movement, and often shite lighting (they don’t seem to understand the value of a lighting show for a gig :\) - but it doesn’t mean you can’t get a few good shots away (I *really* like the first shot at the top of this post for example, and I’ve a few of True Live that I really like too, and Urthboy too). It’s nothing like shooting to a massive light show, more like when my mates were playing far smaller venues with minimal lighting (Spectrum on Oxford Street is light that too - I shot WA band Streetlight when they were over here).
I’m a big fan of the 2nd shot, love that red silhouette around his hand..