“Romanov Goes Heavy!” was the title on the flyer that popped into my Facebook inbox only about a week in advance. Parakachurdelek Bookings was inviting a couple of bands over to play a free last minute concert in their local bar Romanov. I’m still not sure why they did it on a Monday, but I was visiting my parents over the weekend anyway and the line-up was actually really good as well so I couldn’t miss out on this one. I packed my camera gear along with some extra stuff so I could stay and extra day at my parents and hit up the concert on my way back to Ghent. I couldn’t see everything because I had to catch the last train home, but I ended up seeing Hopes Die Last, who came all the way from Italy, and Now Voyager. Both were new to me, but really impressed me and I think we’ll see more of them very soon!

Romanov is an awesome bar! It opened just after I moved so I’ve only been there a few times since it’s opening about a year ago, but it is easily one of my favourite bars in the country. It is however not a club, so when a band plays there, there is no special lighting nor a stage for them to play. And this is great for the spectators as the band is all over the place and it makes for great ambiance. But as a photographer, it’s awful! Or I should say, a challenge.

Sticking on a speedlite during a concert is something I’d normally never do. A stage is lit in a special way and that is the experience that got created for the spectator. If you want to capture the concert in a truthful way, that is the light you work with and you should never be blasting some of your own light in there. If a room is almost pitch black though and the majority of light your camera is receiving comes from a couple flashing coloured spots directly on top of the band, you have absolutely no choice. I probably blinded a couple of people standing behind and to the side of me while bouncing in some light here and there, but I did my very best to keep the available light as the primary light source and only fill in with the flash.

If a room is almost pitch black though and the majority of light your camera is receiving comes from a couple flashing coloured spots directly on top of the band, you have absolutely no choice.

I started off using ETTL like I mostly do when bouncing, but it gave me pretty inconsistent results due to all the flashing lights during the exposure assessments, so I switched to manual flash for the Now Voyager show. Looking at the results I probably could have done a better job adjusting the flash every time I moved, but think they turned out all right. The exposure is more consistent at least I think.

I only stayed for about an hour and a half, but I really enjoyed myself. The turnout however wasn’t all that great. A lot of college student probably had to pass because of exams and I can imagine for those still in high-school it wasn’t easy to get permission or a lift to go out on a schoolnight. But if you missed it and really wanted to see these guys play, as I can imagine, you are not to worry, both the nice people of the Elijah and Hopes Die Last told me they were definitely playing in Belgium again later this year so keep an eye on their Myspace pages and try to make it then. I for one am looking forward to seeing them return!