Moonsorrow @ Nosturi 1.4.2011

Although I’m not really a fan of any kind of black metal, the prospect of going to a metal gig after an evening of corporate partying in Helsinki was appealing enough to buy tickets. And I must admit that I’m glad that I went. The gig was good and the lights show was something special – special enough that I was glad that I’d obtained a photo permission.

I’m not familiar enough with Moonsorrow’s music to really comment on the mixing and such, but my friend who suggested the gig to me said it was a really good gig. I’ll take his word for it. I do know that I enjoyed the time I spent there.

Photographically speaking the gig wasn’t exactly the easiest to photograph. During the first three songs that I was shooting from the pit the lighting was either a strong backlight or consisted mostly of green/blue washes. And seeing how the opening act, Draugnim, was lit told me that ISO 3200 was a good selection. I shot the whole gig with my EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS USM.

Shooting the gig was visually interesting. The strong backlights meant that most shots were intentional silhouettes, which I’ve really grown to like. And if I wouldn’t have spent the first seconds of the gig shooting the drummer and keyboard player I really wouldn’t have gotten anything usable of them since the smoke obscured them most of the time.

After shooting in the pit I made my way back towards the mixing table were my friend was and shot some crowd photos. Since it was the first gig that I’ve been to where I’ve noticed a circle pit, I naturally had to try and get it photographed as well.

As always, more photographs of the gig in our photogallery.