Angus Young - dead set legend

Rock’n'roll icons AC/DC returned to the city that spawned them at a bombastic concert in front of 70,000 odd fans at Sydney’s ANZ stadium last night.

I was shooting for Time Out Sydney, whose cover this month is adorned by Angus Young with a feature on the A to Z of AC/DC. Read the review.

As a photographer it was a dream come true to photograph them. They’re worldwide music legends, and to shoot them in full flight in their and my hometown was pretty special.

I had to use a faster shutter speed than usual, not because it was dark (the light was excellent), but because my hands were literally shaking with nervous excitement.

Angus Young from every angle is so iconic; the strut, the mouth open face of concentration, the cap, the shorts, the Gibson SG.

Photographers only got to see three songs, but that included Back in Black, so i was happy.

It was also a pleasant change in the way photographers were treated by the tour staff at the show. Often at gigs photographers are treated as if we’re a burden, like naughty children who need to be rudely disciplined to be kept in line. The attitude sometimes seems to be that we’re paparazzi leeching off the performers – and that we’ll break the rules at any opportunity.

But as we were being handed our accreditation, AC/DC’s American tour manager gave a little speech saying something along the lines of,

“We get to travel the world putting on these great shows and that’s in part due to the support of you guys (the media), so thanks for coming and thanks for your support.”

I felt like applauding – finally someone acknowledging the work of photographers and media is supporting the artists, not swindling them.

That attitude of mutual respect was also reflected in the fact that there was no photo contract. Happy days.

(more…)