Celebrating 20 years since his album “Let Love Rule,” Kravitz’ tour stops through Atlanta’s Tabernacle for a funky evening that revisited some of his greatest material. Photographs from the November 6 show at Atlanta’s Tabernacle are below.

Lighting was a challenge as the first two songs were heavily back-lit making photography a challenge. The first song was riddled with a strange spot/strobe, and the second a heavy red backwash. The third song opened up into some warm, orange-yellow light that was much more even, yielding an opportunity for some simple and clean compositions.

Attitude was a lesson learned for this shoot: owning every frame is essential and taking responsibility for your position in the pit equally important. Unfortunately, I tried to wait for the light instead of really digging down, concentrating, and getting creative with the available light. I spent most of the first three songs watching and making excuses.

This shoot really revealed that it’s time to focus on getting a second body for shooting rock concerts. Kravitz’ dynamic performance and stage coverage demanded switching between wide angle and zoom lenses–switching back and forth on the lone Canon 30D wasn’t cutting it. I sensed this after the U2 show at the Georgia dome, and after a review of my images showed a lack of variety due to lens selection I was convinced.

© Photography by Colin M. Smith, 2009.