Photos: Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort

Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Love and Light caught in a triptych while performing an opening set for Pretty Lights...

Reno has an electro/dubstep scene.  What, you haven’t heard?  If you have, our hats off to you but if you haven’t perhaps you should attend more of the larger Northern California outdoor summertime festivals.  Get your rage on, yaddamean?  Love and Light represent Reno like no others, with a homegrown blend of chunky, melodic midtempo bangers that embody elements of desert, water, life, love and light.  The music reminds you that you’re alive (the way good music always does) and encourages listeners to partake in the sacred ritual of dance.  Don’t be afraid to let your guard down — and more importantly don’t ever forget why we’re all here — to share love and light with one another!

As per technical camera mumbo-jumbo, I found my favorable go-to settings for aperture (1.8) and shutter speed (1/250th of a second) to be in tandem with an ISO of 1600, which inevitably made for some stunning shots.  Now mind you, that when using the Nikon D7000 an attached Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens allows me to keep up to speed with fast-changing lights, musicians jumping around stage and the occasional ‘unique’ moment that very few of the concertgoers might catch — but will forever share with those near them in that moment — so long as someone is there to curate the memory.

Need an example?  Picture Armando (bottom of page) dancing recklessly with his drink, performing heroic non-spillage inducing dance moves.  He then loses his hat (and shirt) and attempts to jump over the barricade and photo pit onto the stage in-between Ana Sia and Pretty Lights, only to be brought down moments before his victorious stand by security.  Were you there?  Do you remember this taking place?  Here’s the animated GIF which tells the final chapter in Armando’s shared moment with myself and a couple select others … you know who you are.

VIEW THE FULL LOVE AND LIGHT GALLERY HERE

 

Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
These guys sure know how to rock the house...
Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Matt Madonna of Love and Light riding a ten foot wave of bass...
Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Ryan Anderson of Love and Light opening for Pretty Lights...
Love and Light Crowd @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
A bling'd out member of the audience during Love and Light's opening set...
Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
As the buildup rushes to a climax...
Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
The symbol of harmonius love blooming light...
Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
And the crowd goes wild for BASS...

Camera(s) Used:

Nikon D7000

Lens(es) Used:

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D


Go On, Treat Yourself to Something Nice!

Do you buy stuff online? Do you buy camera stuff online? If this post or anything else on ishootreno.com was helpful to you, please consider supporting this site and making your next photo gear, music or general purchase through one of our affiliate links:

Every time our readers buy new gear through our affiliate links, it helps us bring to the table more of that which brought you here in the first place — the ‘money’ shots!

The best part?!  It doesn’t cost our readers anything extra to show their support!

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Super-Happy Fun Bonus Pics!!!

Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Burning Man decompression in full effect...
Love and Light @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Armando was doing all kinds of great drink-balancing flamenco dancing...

Photos: Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort

Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Black, white and red composite of Pretty Lights performing at Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV...

It has only been about a year since I had the happy accident of coming across the music of Denver, Colorado based Pretty LightsDerek Vincent Smith, the man behind the moniker, has seamlessly crafted one of the most unique electronic music hyperniches that I’ve had the pleasure of coming across in my musical exploration known as life.  Take the crate-digging elements of past hip-hop sampling gods a la mid-to-late 90’s DJ Shadow and mix with the likes of A.D.D.-friendly electro mashup groups like The Glitch Mob and sprinkle in a dash of old school Philadelphia soul and you (essentially) have the music of Pretty Lights.  The music however, cannot even begin to describe what takes place at a Pretty Lights show here in late 2011.

The lighting is mindblowing, pure and simple.  For reasons beyond my journalistic prowess, I can only assume that the creators of this interactive organic lighting entertainment system have indulged in multifaceted psychedelia and aim to entrance concertgoers in ways never before achieved.  Photographing this madness was no easy task, but I was able to walk away with several shots that make me proud to hold my Nikon D7000 DSLR.  The attached Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens was fast enough to slow down the mile-a-minute lighting programming, while still communicating the excitement and elemental balance of the man at the helm.

The settings which I did keep static were the aperture and shutter speed at 1.8 and 1/250th of a second, respectively.  The ISO was something that I manually adapted to each stage as the lighting programs were unleashed, successfully utilizing a range of 100-3200 to achieve many favorable captures.  I invite you to view the full Pretty Lights gallery and share your favorites here and with your social networks; and for those of you who haven’t been to a Pretty Lights show in the past month or so — this is all brand-new — so get out there and rage on!

VIEW THE FULL PRETTY LIGHTS GALLERY HERE

Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Pretty Lights taking the stage at GSR...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Slightly reminiscent of Daft Punk's Alive 2007 tour...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
There are few words for how beautiful the interactive lighting was that evening...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
BOOM! Pretty Lights delivers a punch...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Pretty Lights? Check. Lens Flare? Check...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
The man in the mist...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
A wider angle take on the sensational Pretty Lights live performance...
Pretty Lights Crowd @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Silhouette of the raging Burning Man decompression crowd...
Pretty Lights Crowd @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
A spotlight washing over the sold out audience at Grand Sierra Resort...

 

Camera(s) Used:

Nikon D7000

Lens(es) Used:

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D


Go On, Treat Yourself to Something Nice!

Do you buy stuff online? Do you buy camera stuff online? If this post or anything else on ishootreno.com was helpful to you, please consider supporting this site and making your next photo gear, music or general purchase through one of our affiliate links:

Every time our readers buy new gear through our affiliate links, it helps us bring to the table more of that which brought you here in the first place — the ‘money’ shots!

The best part?!  It doesn’t cost our readers anything extra to show their support!

If our readers do pick up some new gear, please drop us a line … we always love to hear about your new additions!

Comments, Praise, Feedback?  We’re all ears!

Please let us know what you thought of this post on ishootreno.com!

Super-Happy Fun Bonus Pics!!!

Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
The happiest man ever...