January 30th, 2009
Concerts In The “Mass Photography” Age
In a piece about Microsoft’s new Photosynth application that ran earlier this week at Slate, writer Farhad Manjoo makes a point that’s obvious, but certainly still valid and a point of contention with a lot of concertgoers:
There is something vaguely embarrassing—even narcissistic—about our new era of mass photography. Because we’re always carrying cameras, we’re moved to document every moment of our lives—sometimes to the exclusion of actually experiencing that moment. Take a look at this picture of Barack and Michelle Obama at one of the inaugural balls. Everyone in the audience has a hand up with a cell phone pointed at the stage, but nobody is actually looking at what’s going on. The scene is puzzling: If the guy next to you is taking a picture—one that you can be reasonably sure will end up on a photo-sharing site somewhere—why do you need one, too? But we do this often these days. Win Butler, the lead singer of the band Arcade Fire, once told [NPR's] Terry Gross that he and his band mates have stopped going out into the crowd to perform because nobody pays attention to them—everyone’s got their cell phones and cameras in front of their faces.
As someone who makes part of his living as a music photographer, I have mixed feelings about the increased presence of cameras at concerts. I do think it’s a valid journalistic pursuit to document a show — just like any other public event — especially to convey that event in pictures to people who weren’t there. And I follow strict rules both laid out by the bands/venues (must obtain a proper photo pass to shoot the show; first three songs, no flash) and my own ethics (stay as out of the way of the paying public as possible; respect the fans and bands, etc.). And since I’m interested in documenting the show, I can understand why others — even if they’re not professionals — would share the same interest.
But at the same time, I completely sympathize with people who are annoyed by all the cameras in the air, usually right in the way, and all the flashes going off for the duration, sometimes affecting or ruining the vibe of the show. And there definitely is a detachment that occurs when you’re documenting something and not experiencing it — I know when I’m photographing a show, I’m usually more concerned with getting proper exposures and composing shots well and finding good angles and dealing with the lighting changes than really listening to and enjoying the music or truly soaking in the moment. It becomes a struggle for me to photograph my favorite bands — as much as I want to capture good images of them, I know I’ll sacrifice my pure experience of the show to do so. And then if I don’t bring my camera, I watch the show and I’m inevitably distracted by forming photos in my mind, or seeing something particularly amazing happen (a pose, a certain kind of light, etc.) and kick myself for not bringing my camera.
Some people are okay with that detachment, others aren’t, and people certainly vocalize their annoyance at times. I once had a woman at a show lean in and ask me “Don’t you like music?” when she saw me snapping photos. I don’t think she understood that I was there on assignment to photograph the band — a band I really did like, aside from being charged with shooting them — and even though I tried to explain as best I could, I don’t think she got the concept and kept shaking her head at the fact that I wasn’t experiencing the show as a “true fan” (I think to her, I was simply a reprehensible interloper).
Unless venues strictly forbid the use of point-and-shoot cameras, or cell phone cameras (and I don’t see how they could), this “mass photography” trend will remain a fact of life, like it or not. I suppose the questions to you are these: Does the presence of all these cameras ruin shows for you? And if you’re one of the people taking photos, does that take away from the experience of the show or does it add to your enjoyment to come away with photos as “souvenirs,” like someone would grab a set list, guitar pick, or autograph?
