Sanjay Suchak (@sanjaysuchak) serves as a tour photographer for several bands, including the iconic Dave Matthews Band (DMB). When DMB recently graced the stage at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” Madison Square Garden, Suchak had the chance to capture the live music action from the pit with the new Sony Alpha 9 III. “DMB always closes our year with two sold out shows at Madison Square Garden,” he says. “They're chock-full of guests, surprises and just generally a thing we really look forward to at the end of the year.” We sat down with Suchak to learn more about how he used the exciting features of the new camera to capture the exciting moments happening on stage. Keep reading below and learn even more about the new Sony Alpha 9 III HERE.

Photo by Sanjay Suchak. Sony Alpha 9 III. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/500-sec., f/3.5, ISO 500

Dave Matthews Band tour photographer Sanjay Suchak took the new Sony Alpha 9 III to “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” to put it to the test for DMB concert action.

Fast Drummer, Faster Shutter

During a concert at Madison Square Garden, you can expect a lot of lights and action – a challenging atmosphere to successfully photograph. Suchak has used many different cameras for concert photography in the past, and before he has never been able to use the electronic shutter. “You can use it, but it presents problems with the lights,” he explains. “Or if you have a drummer that moves really fast, the drumsticks won’t be straight, they will appear bent. I’ve always gone back through the menu and turned off the electronic shutter in any of my previous cameras.”

Photo by Sanjay Suchak. Sony Alpha 9 III. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/500-sec., f/3.5, ISO 3200

He says the Sony Alpha 9 III was a massive game changer for him because he could actually use the camera’s electronic global shutter. “I used it at full 120 frames per second - which was insane. I eventually settled on 20, 30, or 60 FPS. As I used it, I was never able to get it to band. There was no flickering. The refresh rate of the light, I never quite caught it. Looking through the viewfinder I could see it refreshing like crazy, but not in the actual photos. That was a game changer.”

Between The Strums: Freezing Peak Music Moments

Previously when shooting with a mechanical shutter, Suchak was limited to whatever shutter the frame rate was. He says that by using the global shutter of the Sony Alpha 9 III, he was able to catch nuances in the band’s playing that he hadn’t seen before. “The hand of Stefan, the bass player, or Dave, moves up and down the fretboard of their instrument,” he explains. “With this camera being able to freeze it, I was able to see that there was much more wrist movement in how they were playing. It caused me to rethink, ‘What is a good photo of them?’

Photo by Sanjay Suchak. Sony Alpha 9 III. Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/500-sec., f/3.5, ISO 1250

He continues, “If you've ever photographed sports or anything else where there's technique involved, you're only trying to show the person using good technique because otherwise it looks sloppy. But with this high frame rate and focus, I was able to see nuances because it slowed down their playing for me in ways that the human eye can't see. The way the bass player angles his wrist out before he hits the note – that is a much better shot for showing good technique and it’s also more interesting. I had never caught that before with other cameras.”

“This camera helps me get the shot, period and done.”

When using a new camera, Suchak says instead of running your typical reviewer tests, he looks at whether or not it helps him get the shot he couldn’t get before. He explains that it was far more than just the global shutter that helped him capture those little moments he otherwise would have missed. “For me, this camera is a great technological advancement in terms of digital cameras helping me get the shot. It was almost too easy. I don't know if we should say that, but it was almost too easy. The pre-record feature is huge. I just don’t think I realized I would miss things until I went back and looked at the photos.”

Photo by Sanjay Suchak. Sony Alpha 9 III. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/500-sec., f/4, ISO 3200

He continues, “A human brain reacts slowly to things. Even if you think you're pressing the shutter, you might catch a guitarist doing a solo and making a facial expression or wildly gesticulating their arms. It’s hard to get that at its first moment, I've always caught it the second time around as I raise my camera to focus. But with this pre-capture feature, after I pressed the button and it was already focusing, many of those shots I got the first time around where it's an even more radical face or movement that they make - a shot I wouldn’t have had before.”

Suchak looked through every shot he took after using the Sony Alpha 9 III for an entire night at Madison Square Garden – and says he didn’t have a single miss. “The results were far and beyond better than anything I've ever gotten. This camera helps me get the shot, period and done.”

Photo by Sanjay Suchak. Sony Alpha 9 III. Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/500-sec., f/3.5, ISO 800

See more of Sanjay Suchak’s work on Instagram @sanjaysuchak.

Read more on Alpha Universe featuring Sanjay Suchak in A Day In The Life Of A Music Photographer On Tour and Cover Shoots & Live Shows – See How This Photographer Finds Focus In It All.

Learn more about the new Sony Alpha 9 III HERE.