Festival lens

glastogibbo

glastogibbo

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Dale
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:help:Has anyone any advice on taking festival photos.
I'm off to the Glastonbury festival in a few weeks and will be taking my 30D
and a single lens, at the moment I have a Canon 28-105 but was wondering whether to invest in another lens or to take this one. most of the time I'll be under the influence so don't want to take anything too expensive, but I'd love to capture lots of people shots as well as the landscape.

Any advice welcome.
 
I may be going to Glastonbury as we found out that my OH is going to be DJing there :)

I keep trying to decide whether I should take my Canon 40d with me and risk it. Having been there before I have no idea if they have lockers or anything there. I k now there are going to be so many great photo opps that I don't want to miss out on them but then I'm a little apprehensive about taking my decent camera too.
 
If your gonna be drinking lots, and if your camping for the weekend, I would not risk it. Only if it was fully insured then possibly
 
It's not a problem as long as you have somewhere reasonably dry to administer yourselves.
I don't know what facilities are there for performers and artists, but I imagine decent toilets, trailers and good tentage are the norm, whereas the proles make do with whatever they bring with them. Pick a site higher-up that's not likely to flood and slightly off the main paths otherwise you'll get trampled...

I took two F3 bodies and four lenses with me to Glastonbury back in the 80's and even then there were loads of people with lots of camera kit walking round...

I spent the majority of time under the influence also - very much so...
At one point I became, shall we say, 'incapable' due to some very nice mushrooms and keeled over with all my camera-kit lying beside me. My mate and the Welsh Lesbian he was trying to pull disappeared off to see The Smiths and left me there by myself.
Fully aware, but totally unable to move, I heard a voice saying "look at all that camera kit lying there"...Nothing I could do about it - nothing at all...a bit of scurrying and all my kit was gone.

When I came-to, I discovered the very 'nice' group of Hell's Angels (real ones, not just wannabe outlaw-bikers) nearby had carefully bagged-up all my kit and put it in the back of their van for safekeeping. As I woke up, one of them came over to me immediately and told me where everything was and made me a nice cuppa to revive me a bit more...
I've had a different kind of respect for those guys ever since...

Glastonbury used to be one of those places that you felt 'safe' - where people automatically looked out for each other...it might be different now, but then again, in those days we only paid £21 for a weekend ticket...lol
 
Arkady said:
Glastonbury used to be one of those places that you felt 'safe' - where people automatically looked out for each other...it might be different now, but then again, in those days we only paid £21 for a weekend ticket...lol
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Great story about the Hell's Angels. That is Glastonbury at its best.

I found it got to feeling a bit unsafe in the late 90s, when lots of people were jumping the fence intending to kit themselves out for the weekend by robbing tents. I remember overhearing more than one conversation passing by when it was clear that this was what happening. I started knowing far too many people who'd come back to find their tents had entirely disappeared.

For me the nadir was '97 (a very wet year) when I had someone sneak into my tent and steal my wallet from beside my head while I was sleeping. I woke up just in time to see a backside disappearing out into the 6" sea of mud outside, with me dressed in little more than boxers and a t-shirt. I was still enjoying the after-effects of some extremely good Welsh grass that had accompanied watching The Prodigy, mind you.

Amazingly, Somerset Police did return my wallet a few weeks later after it had been found in a ditch, sans cash.

The moral is to keep your valuables very close to you, preferably strapped to you. :) The bottom of your sleeping bag at your feet is not a safe place as I've heard stories of people slitting them open with a knife.

Things did seem to improve in the early noughties, to be fair. I've not been since 2005 due to the apparent impossibility of getting a ticket and then the arrival of a baby.
 
Great stories.

If I go I will be intending on remaining quite compus mentus while we are there, though the amount of times I've said that before and it hasn't happened may not make that statement overly reliable :lol:

I think we will probably camping in the artists enclosure although we are still awaiting the complete details. The main thing that makes me consider taking my camera is that we should be able to get backstage with our passes which is a situation that I am probably not going to find myself in again in a hurry.

Just looking at the map and trying to work out the areas which we would possibly be able to camp. There are a couple that look to be in quite good places up on the hills (at the outer edge of the map). I suppose if push comes to shove I could always stick the body in the lockers.

The only alternative I have is my Canon Ixus 80 which is ok but obviously I would get better results from my 40d.
 
Just carry it with you at all times - you'll not be the only one...
 
I'm trying to sort out which lenses not to take with me!!!
There is no problem taking a camera there, if your going to get wasted just put your gear into the lockups they are free and manned 24 hours so secure as well.
I carry my camera gear around most of the day then put it away at night so I can relax a bit more. Of course I always see something I'd love to photograph but never mind I don't just go there to take photos its just a small part of the experience.
 
Glastonbury, Pah!!! Babies' stuff. You should all have gone to Stonehenge.
 
Excellent stories, I've never had a bad experience with people looting
from my tent. My biggest problem is myself! A couple of years ago I'd been
overdoing it with the what you find at Glasto and feel asleep outside the toilets near the main stage, only to wake up with a nice policeman feeling for my pulse!

They sent me on my way when I proved I was ok, trouble was my point and shoot camera and phone were both waterlogged and knackered.

I'm not too worried about my camera as it's fully insured, but I will be taking out the flashcard for safe keeping, last thing I'd want is for all my photos to go missing.

Roll on Glasto! I can't wait.
 
Get a Lowepro fastpack 100 backpack or something, when you go to sleep hook your arm through it. a 70-200 lens would be a good choice.
 
Personally I don't like to be worrying about what I've got slung round my neck and just enjoy the weekend.....so I take my old Nikon EM which is a nice compact, sturdy and damn near automatic 35mm SLR, with a 50 1.8 on the front. Coupled with a few rolls of various film and I'm set :)
 
Photography at festivals - I took a Nikkormat with the 20mm f3.5 to one of the early The Elephant Fayre's and know I was going to get some great shots. It would be like the Mardi Gras sequence in Easy Rider or the shots of the Stones at Altaermont.

Unfortunately, and rather like Arkady, er 'circumstances' overcame reality and once developed the pictures were badly exposed meaningless blurs or shots of feet and hedges... :D
 
It's a nice idea having a camera with you as there will be some amazing shots to be had especially at Glasto. However, the reality, in my own experience, is that you will find yourself wandering around off your head for most of the festivities and you probably won't have the ability to open your camera bag let alone use the camera within!! Defo take some kind of P&S though
 
chrisforshaw said:
It's a nice idea having a camera with you as there will be some amazing shots to be had especially at Glasto. However, the reality, in my own experience, is that you will find yourself wandering around off your head for most of the festivities and you probably won't have the ability to open your camera bag let alone use the camera within!! Defo take some kind of P&S though
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Took a point and shoot last year and thought about a dslr to improve on what I took then.
I have a panasonic TZ7 and although it takes lovely pictures and HD video
it really doesn't allow much creativity with manual settings etc.
Might be worth investing in another p&s to allow for that.
3 weeks aint a long time to make my mind up what to do!:shrug:
 
Last year I took my D40 and a 35mm f1.8. Worked out great.
This year I'm taking a D90, Tamron 17-50 and I've just bought a Nikon 55-200 for the occasion as I can't be bothered lugging my 70-300VR.
Also invested in an Alpkit Gourdon to keep everything waterproof - you never know!:)
And I'm going to be drinking for Scotland (obviously)!!

PS Been going there since '82. It got a bit lairy during the mid to late 90s but I think it is safe as houses now. And as someone else said, you can always use a lock-up - just make a (indelible) note of which one!:)
 
Im a photographer who will be working at glasto this year for a Somerset magazine and ill be taking most of my kit (eos5dmk2, 30d, speedlite, 700-200 f2.8, 24-105 f4 and 17-40 f4) as long as you are careful with it and keep it in a decent bag you will be fine. There are several lock ups around the site where volunteers look after your bags in a secure tent. Just at night get your bag out of the lock up and put it at the bottom of your sleeping bag, there is no way anyone can get it then! Roll on glasto! Happy days!!
 
IanLewis said:
Im a photographer who will be working at glasto this year for a Somerset magazine and ill be taking most of my kit (eos5dmk2, 30d, speedlite, 700-200 f2.8, 24-105 f4 and 17-40 f4) as long as you are careful with it and keep it in a decent bag you will be fine. There are several lock ups around the site where volunteers look after your bags in a secure tent. Just at night get your bag out of the lock up and put it at the bottom of your sleeping bag, there is no way anyone can get it then! Roll on glasto! Happy days!!
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Dream job!!
 
A buddy of mine works for the sound company rigging up glasto this year, im awaiting the success of his blagging me a photo pass.

Shooting Glasto is one of the photo dreams for me, if im lucky enough to make it i'll be packing most of what i own lol.

Without photo accreditation what are they like for wandering the site with an slr at glasto? Leeds fest last year were very strict.

I'm at the frustrating point now where if I can't shoot at an event I find it ruins my day, wander around framing stuff, eyeing shot etc. To the point where ill probably buy a G11 to ease the sans-camera anxiety!
 
kluen said:
A buddy of mine works for the sound company rigging up glasto this year, im awaiting the success of his blagging me a photo pass.

Shooting Glasto is one of the photo dreams for me, if im lucky enough to make it i'll be packing most of what i own lol.

Without photo accreditation what are they like for wandering the site with an slr at glasto? Leeds fest last year were very strict.

I'm at the frustrating point now where if I can't shoot at an event I find it ruins my day, wander around framing stuff, eyeing shot etc. To the point where ill probably buy a G11 to ease the sans-camera anxiety!
Click to expand...

Nowt strict about Glasto, I've seen many people wandering the site snapping away, everybody gets into the spirit of it and love taking part in the shots.
I think that's the reason I was planning to attempt to take a good camera along this year. Good luck with your pass.
 
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