Let's give this black & white thing a go... + Lynchmada album launch

In previous posts, I have mentioned my distaste for concert photography done solely in black and white. I consider it somewhat lazy to not bother fiddling with the white balance. That said, I have made a few of my photos b&w. This isn't because they look horrible in colour (well, not all of them...) it's mostly because sometimes a photo can just look better in b&w. Especially on a stage surrounded by other people, equipment and junk - a b&w of a singer leaning into the mic stand can really pop more if colour is removed.



Anyway so I thought I'd do a short series of b&w shots from a recent concert I photographed at the Hi Fi in West End, Brisbane. There was 4 or 5 bands on that night; The Construct, Down Royale, Tyrants!, and A Breach of Silence....finally ending with Lynchmada. All of the bands were heavy-ish, one was particularly head-bangingly so (with the long hair and everything!) so b&w suits the genre, one could say. It was a great gig. Tonnes of energy from the stage, a few sloppy moments amongst a couple of the supports but no one minded as long as they flicked their hair and shredded their guitars, heh. I went home wearing roughly a litre's worth of various alcoholic beverages....but I wasn't too phased.

 

Both of those shots look good in colour. Particularly the bottom two (the middle on is in colour on my Flickr page)

After doing those, I started thinking about past photos I've taken, made b&w but never shared (my whole b&w = cheating mindset)  Here's an oldie....from Easterfest 2009;

Almost no light, incredible amounts of noise...but the expression on Sam Walker's face plus Jeremy's hand gesture in the background makes this shot stand out to me. The band is New Empire, however Sam is no longer in it. Last seen as a roadie on Amy Meredith/Tonight Alive tour.

Edited to add; two more b&ws. Both from Soundwave Counter Revolution. Both members of Alesana.