Photo Review: Pond at The Bellwether

A couple weeks back, I got to shoot Pond at The Bellwether for US Rocker Music. It was my third time shooting the band. You can read my article here. 

I figure I'll discuss one of the photos that I took during their set. I don't get to shoot at The Bellwether that often. In fact, this was my first time shooting the venue in 2026. The last time I shot the venue was when I shot the The Dandy Warhols back in Oct 2025. That night was actually a reason why I got this photo of lead singer Nicholas Allbrook. As I was roaming around the venue (after getting to spend the first three songs in the photo pit), it suddenly dawned on me that I had gotten some good photos of The Dandy Warhols from the right side of the stage. There is an ADA area where people can sit and enjoy the concert. It was just outside that area that I had gotten those photos. So off I went to that side of the stage. 

That is where I got this photo. Just a minute or two before, he was off leaping atop the stage monitors and running across the stage. Allbrook is known for his dynamic performances. He made his way to the right side of the stage and took a moment to stretch out on the stage's edge, elbows propping up his head. It is a moment of brief calm that lasted a second. 

The Pond at The Bellwether

I am using an RF 70-200mm lens. I'm at 200mm. I don't totally remember, but I was likely leaning forward from my spot to get ever so close to take this photo. I'm trying my best to center his body in the frame. I'm just ever so off I feel. My camera should have been shifted ever so slightly to the right. There were two constraints when it came to taking the photo. I wanted to just capture Allbrook. To my right was the crowd, pressed against the photo pit barricade as well as the retractable belt barrier that separated the main crowd from those sitting in the ADA section. I didn't want them in the photo. To my left, there was a security guard standing at the edge of the stage. I didn't want him in the photo, as well. 

Other camera / lens info is that this photo is shot at F/2.8, ISO 8000, and a shutter speed of 1/400. Why 1/400 and ISO 8000. Considering that he is rather motionless, I could have slowed things down. However, that is what I had it at when taking the photo. Allbrook runs all over the stage and so I had it at that shutter speed in order to capture those moments. When he took a breather, my settings were what they were at and knowing I only had a moment to capture this shot, I didn't go around fiddling with my settings.