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Interview with a concert photographer: Jon Behm
11.01.09
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Name:
Jon Behm
Location:
Proud to live in South Minneapolis
Website:
flickr.com/photos/jcbehm and culturebully.com
Occupation:
Non Profit Project Mgr
When you grow up you want to be:
Something exciting! How about National Geographic photographer or a photojournalist for crisis areas? Can I be James Nachtwey when he is ready to retire?
How long have you been takin' photos?
I really started getting serious about it about four years ago.
Besides concert photography, most favorite thing to shoot:
I love to travel and actually enjoy travel photography (or sociological/historical photography you could call it) even more than music photography. Music is just more convenient.
5 albums on rotation on your ipod:
BruteHeart - Brass Beads, Cryptacize - Mythomania, Ty Segall - S/T, Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca, The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa
First concert you ever went to:
Ugh, this is embarrassing. We didn't have a lot of touring bands where I grew up in Iowa so my first "real" concert was at the Iowa State Fair and featured such nineties' luminaries as Sugar Ray, Fastball, and the Goo Goo Dolls. Incidentelly it was probably the worst concert I ever saw too.
First band you ever met:
I don't actually get to meet many bands, other than to say "hey, nice show" and stuff. It's not like I usually get to go backstage and hang out or anything. I did have one memorable meeting years ago though when a friend drug me to the 400 bar to see Damien Rice play (whom I had never heard of at the time). Not knowing the music, I chatted up a dude before the show to find out what kind of music it was going to be. The guy had nothing good to say about Rice at all - told me he was a no-talent hack and a total bastard. Well, I later found out that it was actually Rice that I was talking to, and he was just having some fun with me.
How many shows do you go to a week?
I average around 3 - 4, but it varies
How do you get in to shoot a show, does it take the hand of God?
Most places I just get a guest listing and photopass from the band's management and it is usually pretty easy. First Ave though... I could have a signed afadavit from God himself and I think that First Avenue would still give me a hard time.
What's the craziest thing that's happened to you while shooting?
Dan Deacon once made me and (another music photographer) Jon Gilbert form a human pyramid while he got the whole crowd at the Triple Rock to chant "The Pyramid of Jon!" over and over. That was pretty crazy.
What's the craziest thing you've done to get a shot?
I wandered into some pretty unruly crowds to shoot before - Man Man and Gogol Bordello crowds are probably the worst as far as being dangerous to equipment. I once had a stage diver land squarely on top of me at a Fucked Up show, but at least the Punk community seems to have some basic decency - when you fall down they help you up. People probably imagine punk shows to be the craziest or most violent, but in reality the most terrifying situations are when you are surrounded by drunk college kids.
Finish this sentence: "When I'm not shooting I'm ..."
...probably converting RAW files to JPEG. Haha, that is pretty lame isn't it? It's often times that or I also watch a lot of movies. Don't I sound fun?
The gearwonks out there want to hear all about your camera + lenses. What's in your bag, baby?
I shoot primarily with my beloved Nikon D300. Most often you will find me using a 50mm 1.4 AF with it but I also always have my Tokina 12-24mm, Nikon 55-200mm VR, and a 10.5mm Nikon fisheye. I also tote a SB600 flash but it doesn't get used a ton.
Any pro-photog secrets?
Ha - I wouldn't exactly call myself a pro. I am a self-taught photographer and as far a technical know-how I am still very much a novice. My camera's manual is like 300 pages long. The D300 can probably fly and shoot lazers but I wouldn't know because I have never read the damn thing. My biggest tip I guess for concert photography would be to get as close to the artist as you can and try and capture some personality rather than just documenting the show from a safe distance.
What's your favorite photo (that you've taken)?
Tough question - I am sort of fickle about my own shots so most of my favorites end up being other people's photos. This one is one of the first concert shots I ever took though so it will always have a special place for me. As far as popularity goes though it is probably this one.
# of pix you take in a typical evening:
Usually somewhere between 100 - 300
Who are your rock concert photog crushes?
First off, the Twin Cities probably has more great concert photographers per capita than just about anywhere - locally I love what fellow Culture Bully photographer Adam Bubolz does with slow sync flash shots. Then you have Leslie Plesser, Steve Cohen, Stacy Schwartz, Tony Nelson, Alexa Jones ...too many to list them all. Sara Montour was one of the best too, but we just lost her recently to Seattle or Portland or somewhere in the NW.
Ok. I'm granting you the wish of being able to photograph any band, anywhere. Who and where, and can I be your assistant?
How about David Bowie playing Ziggy Stardust from start to finish from an improvised stage in my backyward? While I am dreaming, let's have Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Sharon Jones open the show. Oh yeah, and Surly can sponsor it and give out free beer. Sound good?
I'm in love with this photo. Do you sell prints?
Absolutely, the price would just depend on what size you wanted and what kind of paper? (Metallic vs. Kodak E-Surface. )
What's next for jcbehm?
Keep on keepin' on. I hope to start doing more band portraits as opposed to just live stuff. I still have a lot to learn about studio photography though.
Your very first concert has to be Jan & Dean at the Minnesota State Fair back in the 1980s or it could have been the Beach Boys at the Mn State Fair another year back then. One of the Beach Boys was drunk. . .
My first concert was Jimi Hendrix in 1969 right here in Iowa. . .so there have been some excellent concerts here.
Mom
November 2, 2009 4:12 PM
Over Rated.
November 5, 2009 8:34 AM
Just Kidding. Jon is the best photographer in MPLS, no question.
November 5, 2009 10:48 PM