Leave Your Camera At Home?

Image from Jonsi.com

Last week my wife Belinda and I went to a concert, Jonsi. My typical first thoughts are usually, "I wonder if I can bring a camera?" and "I hope I can get a good place to shoot from." Most of the time, you can't bring a DSLR into a concert, but that's OK. It's nice to use a point and shoot once in a while to challenge your skills and creativity. Would I rather bring my DSLR? Sure I would, but I know that it's just not going to happen.

I hadn't ever been to a concert at the venue where Jonsi was playing, so I checked the venue web page to see their camera policy. Of course, the second thing mentioned on the homepage was "No cameras of any type allowed." Darn. Of course, it's not hard to stick a camera in your pocket. Security isn't ever so tight that you can't just walk in with it. If you don't use flash and aren't obnoxious with it, no one will really care. The photos aren't going to be good enough to use for anything except remembering the night. Still, I decided not to take the camera. I had been looking forward to this concert for a while and didn't want to take any chances of getting kicked out.

We got to the show and there were lots of people there with cameras. I started to feel a little regret that I didn't bring anything. Then I saw a guy with a huge white lens (70-200 f/2.8 I'm sure)! He was working the event, but it still made me really start to wish I had a camera with me.

Once the show started, though, it was almost liberating to not have a camera with me. Usually, I'm looking for a great chance to take a photo, which takes my attention away from the concert. Then I have to mess with the camera settings and try to get a decent photo, which really distracts me. For this concert, I could allow myself to sit back and enjoy the show. No worries about taking photos, no regrets that I missed a good shot.

I quickly realized that this concert was something special. It was amazing to watch and even more amazing to hear. It was more than a concert, more than a show, more than an event... it was an experience. The audience became emotionally invested in the show. It absorbed everyone's attention and we all realized that we were a part of something bigger than we had planned on. Experiences like that might only happen a few times during a lifetime. Trying to capture it in a photo is pointless.

If I could go see Jonsi again and was able to bring a camera along, even my DSLR, I don't think I'd change anything. I'd leave my camera at home and just enjoy the show. Sometimes it's nice to just go have a good time with someone you care about and leave with just your good memories.