Wadstock 2ish

'Wadstock 2ish' was a private party/music festival organised by Daryl of The Invaders.  I had no real idea what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the venue, just outside a Nottinghamshire village.  In addition to a decent sized camping area, there was a compact stage, sound desk, and hay bales for seating (not that I got to sit down much) - a real festival atmosphere on an intimate scale.

Although it had rained on Friday night, when a couple of bands played to an audience sheltering under a tarpaulin, the weather for Saturday and Sunday was great.  In fact, it was too good at times.  Clear skies and the low sun later on in the afternoon made shooting a couple of the bands quite tricky.

As it got dark on Saturday evening, a red spotlight on stage-right caused a few problems.  Apart from the usual red light issues (hence some black and white images), it was too close to the guitarists.  Light reflecting off shiny guitars caused some over-exposed images.

Story of the weekend came from Empire 35.  Their transport had broken down, so they came on the train from Derby.  Then, although they had a tent, someone had forgotten the tent poles.  Cue a creative use of a cymbal stand and a horse jump.  And, they didn't have enough sleeping bags...

I hadn't originally expected to hang around too long on Sunday, but I'm glad Daryl talking me into staying.  There was some great acoustic entertainment and a chilled-out atmosphere.  And, it finished off with Daryl swapping his bass to play some blues guitar.

Thea Brooks
135mm f/2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/1250s

Empire 35
135mm f/2 @ ISO3200, f2.0, 400s

Blue Murder
135mm f/2 @ ISO640, f4.5, 320s