Probably one of the more entertaining pop rock bands to see live are Imagine Dragons. While around since 2008 or so, they really started to make waves in 2012 and other than appearing at Osheaga in 2013, they have only played arenas here since. Gives you a good indication to Imagine Dragons popularity in town, but also the longevity in playing arenas for almost a decade.
Their latest tour was in town for 2 days and the Bell Centre was pretty packed for both! They played their typical high energy show, but this time they added in some confetti and cryo bursts for some extra punch to the already fun show.
Lead singer Dan Reynolds is still very generous with his crowd interactions. Taking letters written for him, shaking hands and high fives in between running up and down the catwalk.
You can see my images of their 2014 set HERE and of their 2017 set HERE. Not only showing the progress of their look and style, but also of my own. 🙂
Probably due to a mix of the extra visuals and a touch of covid, our shooting positions were limited to choosing a side of the stage and staying near the corner for all 3 songs. Huge props to their video guy who was super accomodating and respectful, and less props to their security guy who wasn’t as accomodating. I guess we all have our jobs to do. 😉
Gear Talk
I had picked up 2x Canon R6 mirrorless cameras a year ago during the pandemic. I find it important to keep up with technology. Many photographers ask me if the eye and face tracking is accurate. This is my 14th show (in 40 days) using the eye and face tracking and my keeper rate of in focus images is near the 95% rate. And this is for arena and club shows, good and not so good light, fast moving (like Imagine Dragons) and slow moving subjects.
Using new technology means that I can concentrate on hearing the music and anticipating a moment, working composition and story telling over getting the focus where I need. A huge boon when things move so fast. Not everyone aims to tell a story, some look for portraits to make, others are just hoping to get a clear photo. But for me, the new mirrorless R system that Canon has developped fits my style of photography (concerts and corporate) like a glove.
Imagine Dragons images were shot for iHeartRadio.ca and Virgin Radio Montreal.
