Glastonbury

Flying giraffe

Flying giraffe

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Neil
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Lucky enough to be going to Glastonbury again this year, but now i have a nice dslr camera, i have the dilema of wether it is worth the risk taking it, is it worth it for the great shots i would hope to get over losing or damaging it, would love to hear advice from those who have taken theirs and wether they regretted or not doing so.
 
Depends what you want to snap. IMO, trying to get pix of the big bands is hopeless without a 300mm or more. You're likely to be too far away from the stage and a big lens is going to be vulnerable and a pain to carry around for a week. I'd go for shots of atmosphere - the people, the street theatre, and stuff in Arcadia and similar. If you take a load of kit, you'll spend the whole time worrying about it, and while thefts are rare, they do happen. Make use of the free lock-up facilities (marked on your map). If you plan to take much expensive stuff, it may make sense to try to get a pitch close to a lock-up. And leaving all your valuables in the lock-up is a massive no brainer anyway.

I'd go for a single mid-range zoom - say a 24-105 or thereabouts. Plus plenty of spare battery power as charging can be a problem although Festival Information points will have some chargers (mostly for phones, but if you take an adaptor you should be OK). And lots of memory, natch. And a big waterproof bag.

If you do go into the info points, do say hi - I'll be working in one of them.
 
I was at two Glastonburies back in the nineties (the two really wet ones) with the BBC and there were reports of tents being cut open with Stanley knives and robbed while the occupants slept.
 
Stratman said:
I was at two Glastonburies back in the nineties (the two really wet ones) with the BBC and there were reports of tents being cut open with Stanley knives and robbed while the occupants slept.
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Yes, there is some crime. But Glasto is in effect a city of 180,000 (roughly the same as Milton Keynes) so what do you expect?

Crime levels have been dropping, and if you take care, you should be OK.
 
thanks, i was thinking more of the smaller stages tbh where you can get really close, and a nice one near the stone circle too, got a nice 10-22 that would get it all in nicely, i think if i do, it would be in a lock up over night.
 
I always take my gear with me as there are so many photo opportunities. I never bother trying to photograph the bands so I don’t bother with a big zoom.
This year I will take my 14-24, 24-70, and probably a 50mm for when my strength has waned.
As already mentioned use the lockups I always camp in Big Ground not far from the lockups (and flushing toilets :clap:) so I can easily put my gear in there each night when I'm off for a few drinks and just pick it up again the next morning.
Remember never leave anything in your tent you can’t afford to lose the lockups are great so make sure any valuables go in them.
 
stormcrow said:
I always take my gear with me as there are so many photo opportunities. I never bother trying to photograph the bands so I don’t bother with a big zoom.
This year I will take my 14-24, 24-70, and probably a 50mm for when my strength has waned.
As already mentioned use the lockups I always camp in Big Ground not far from the lockups (and flushing toilets :clap:) so I can easily put my gear in there each night when I'm off for a few drinks and just pick it up again the next morning.
Remember never leave anything in your tent you can’t afford to lose the lockups are great so make sure any valuables go in them.
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good advice, i have a 50mm, 10-22, 17-70, and a 55-250, but only 2 will fit in my bag, decisions decisions, have you uploaded any i can get some ideas from?
 
Flying giraffe said:
good advice, i have a 50mm, 10-22, 17-70, and a 55-250, but only 2 will fit in my bag, decisions decisions, have you uploaded any i can get some ideas from?
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Get a new bag and take them all :)
There is a small selection of my Glastonbury photos on my flickr page or on my web site (site is work in progress).

http://www.dalesphotography.co.uk/gallery.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormcrowuk/

if you want ideas for photos have a look at this thread on the Glastonbury forum there are some excellent photos on there much better than my efforts.

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=136701
 
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stormcrow said:
Get a new bag and take them all :)
There is a small selection of my Glastonbury photos on my flickr page or on my web site (site is work in progress).

http://www.dalesphotography.co.uk/gallery.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormcrowuk/

if you want ideas for photos have a look at this thread on the Glastonbury forum there are some excellent photos on there much better than my efforts.

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=136701
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ive seen some of the ones on the forum, thats what made me thing about taking it, so many thing to photograph, should be a great few days
 
Flying giraffe said:
Lucky enough to be going to Glastonbury again this year, but now i have a nice dslr camera, i have the dilema of wether it is worth the risk taking it, is it worth it for the great shots i would hope to get over losing or damaging it, would love to hear advice from those who have taken theirs and wether they regretted or not doing so.
Click to expand...

I went last year but didn't take my camera. Do I regret it? I took an old Powershot so I've got photos however they're obviously nothing great. Had I took my camera in all honesty I don't think I would of enjoyed myself as much as I'd of been worrying about looking after the camera. There is no way I would of gone down the rabbit hole with my 7D!

In my case I was in a party of 4 blokes who were all Glasto virgins that don't get allowed to do music festivals very often so we really made a weekend of it!:D

Hopefully in the future I'll go again and maybe I'll take my camera but it will all depend on the party I go with and the weather.
 
I've been to two Glastonburys and this year will be my 3rd (we're getting a Tipi). If you are thinking of taking your camera get some insurance! I was there in 2007 and when it is wet it is REALLY wet. I wouldn't like to take mine there as pretty much everything of mine got wet to some degree.

I am going to take a waterproof camera this year for 'snaps' but if there is even the slightest hint of rain I am not going to take any other camera gear. It's just not worth it. There is a lot going on you can take pictures of, but I'd rather being part of it rather than worrying about the taking photos!

Have fun!
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Before they had security lockups, one of the best ways to protect valuables was to remove a foot square of grass, dig a hole under it...place your stuff inside, in a very waterproof bag...replace foot of square grass, then stick your tent over the top.
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I'm sure it was, and really handy for getting at everythng too!;)
 
or8it said:
I went last year but didn't take my camera. Do I regret it? I took an old Powershot so I've got photos however they're obviously nothing great. Had I took my camera in all honesty I don't think I would of enjoyed myself as much as I'd of been worrying about looking after the camera. There is no way I would of gone down the rabbit hole with my 7D!

In my case I was in a party of 4 blokes who were all Glasto virgins that don't get allowed to do music festivals very often so we really made a weekend of it!:D

Hopefully in the future I'll go again and maybe I'll take my camera but it will all depend on the party I go with and the weather.
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thanks for the reply, been thinking of the same things myself, i think it depends on the weather really, so prob will play it by ear i guess
 
Bit of a resurrection as was just looking around to see if there were any general photo tips for Glastonbury and found this.

I've been to most Glastonburys since 2000 (missed 04 and 07).

This is the first time I'll be taking a dSLR. Previous years I've taken my LX3 and a FZ18 bridge camera, though pretty much stick with the LX3 as I'm happy to keep it in my pocket most of the times and the 24mm end of the f2 lens lets you encompass a fair bit of what's going on.

My plan is to get some kind of 'messenger' style bag and keep my cameras in there. Will leave it in a lock up when not being used. I'll probably go for a wander a few times on my own with the camera with the intention to take pictures - so I'm not holding my mates up etc. Definitely have to make it up to Arcadia/Shangrila one night with the dSLR as there's so much impressive stuff going on.

Personally I won't be making a big effort to take pictures of performers on main stages - there's usually a load of people being paid who get much better angles and don't have to worry about getting their kit through an enthusiastic crowd unmolested.

If I was to keep stuff in my tent (I have to admit I've been lucky so far) I'd either stuff it down to the foot area of my sleeping bag or consider having some kind of 'rape alarm' connected to your pillow etc, so if it gets pulled out you know pretty sharpish and hopefully scare them off!
 
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