Todays Shoot - Murderdolls

So because I wasnt able to do this shoot the first day due to heat and lack of a place to shoot - we scheduled this shoot for the next day at mayhem fest. And because this was for the cover of a magazine - I wasnt able to share the images until it printed :)

So being that it was a really important shoot, even though it was hot, I had to make sure I get this band outside...

For the first shot, We did the loading docks which was very heavy traffic, and was the biggest nightmare of the entire shoot... I basically did this shot because I know itd be darker and indoors, prior to moving them into brighter, and outdoor locations.

This was shot with two umbrellas at 45 degree angles pointed toward the center - shot at F16 with the 24-70

















After shooting indoors I took them to a spot underneath an overhang - and used a boomed beauty dish - I figured this wasnt in sunlight - though warm - it wouldnt melt them - I shot these at F18


































After that set I did a few natural shots by a fence behind Korns tour bus at 2.8 at a 60th - and then ended up shooting against an adjacent wall while Jon Davis rolled by on a segway a few times. The shots against the brick wall are with two bare bulb rims and a straight foward beauty dish shot at F16































































For the set I wanted to get - I got them out into the open and shot them against the sky with a boomed dish and a single rim bare bulb behind them (this shot is what made the cover) - this was shot at F16 as well































































for the last few shots I went for some natural light shots in the same overhang area we shot earlier - Joey had to jet to get ready for Rob Zombies set - so i finished up with some solos of Wednesday 13
















































































All in all - it was a quick but VERY effective shoot - we got everything we needed and the final spread ended up AWESOME in the new issue of outburn!

Todays Shoot - Mayhem Fest - day 2 Ma

Today was the day of my big shoot... So I knew my priority was for that shoot, and that I would probably shoot less live stuff, which was absolutely true.

I only shot 3 second stage bands, and 3 main stage bands, due to the photo shoots I was doing in between. and setting up for. And again - I will do separate posts for all the shoots i had during the day - and havent decided if im going to post the big shoot now, or wait for it to print first... but anyway - onto the photos!

I was shooting at a more shallow depth for these - it was a bit darker than the CT date - so I was shooting at 4.0-2.8 at a 160th-250th ISO100 - canon 40D 16-35 2.8 - I tried to catch bands I didnt shoot at the CT show like Norma Jean, but ended up only shooting them - in this moment and shadows fall - which are actually three bands i did shoots with, so it made sense to catch them before doing my shoot.




















































































After shooting second stage I went and did my big shoot with the Murderdolls - which took up some of the second stage as well as FFDP and LOG on mainstage - which i missed in CT as well, bummersville! But I knew Avenged Sevenfold was playing this ONE date of Mayhem, and didnt want to miss that! especially since they were playing with Portnoy, who I shot earlier in the year with Hail! - so I ran to mainstage in time for A7X

A7X had ALOT of pyro, it ruled!!! but the front lighting was a bit weak, so it was somewhat difficult to blend the back lighting with the front lighting. I was shooting at 2.8 ISO800 (as it was getting dark out) and using the 16-35 2.8 lens - shooting at a 160th-500th (when the pyro was hitting)
































































































I went over and did a shoot with In This Moment, then waited for a possible shoot that did not happen - so I ran over the main stage to shoot zombie again, and the lighting was all red or green... again... SEE!
















































Korn had incredible lighting, lots of whites and spot lighting, and the stage was a bit lower at this venue so I got better shots, and from seeing the show before, I sort of knew where things were going to happen and when - and therefor got better shots - shooting 2.8 ISO800 at a 125th
















































Day 2 was pretty sweet because it wasnt as hot, and the shoots got done - but I really wish I got to do all shoots one day - and all my live stuff the other so I wouldnt miss anyone. I didnt get to shoot Hatebreed, Lamb of God, or FFDP, which kinda sucks, I wanted to catch them, but thats how this job goes some days...

Todays Shoot - Mayhem Fest - day 1 CT

Day one of Mayhem Fest was supposed to be the day of a very big photo shoot, as well as a secondary photo shoot - but just like warped tour - my day of trying to shoot mostly sessions - turned into my day of live work - and vice versa... sorta!

I had a very big shoot planned for Ct but it was SUPER hot out - so the band decided to push it to the MA date - which is fine - there are better spots in MA to shoot then at the CT venue

So I'm going to do this post as the live stuff then do separate posts for each shoot, as I did with Warped Tour

Anyway - So heres what I have for live stuff..

Due to coordinating my shoots - or non-shoots - I missed a few bands, but I started off with the two second stages - which has VERY different lighting - one had more of an overhang which blocked the sun a bit more - the other was open.

ok so - Here are the 2nd stage bands - I was going for more of a wider focus rather then selective - So I was shooting at 5.6-6.7 ISO400 - at a 160th and above. I shot with the 40D and the 16-35 2.8 lens which is absolutely the best lens to shoot concerts with.




































































































































I missed the first two main stage bands (ffdp and lamb of god) due to photo shoots, the only other bands playing were Rob Zombie and Korn. - keep in mind it was about 100 degrees and super humid out... both bands had pyro (fire) - Rob Zombie had NON STOP PYRO! ugh - so it was like shooting in a swimming pool of wet air.

OK! so for Zombie, he comes out of a giant robot and stands behind a giant mic stand that is a skeleton with 6 arms - the entire first song - so trying to get shots of him the first song - NOPE! - maybe very strong angled ones - but - not really. The rest of the set is riddled with extremely red and green lighting, no white light at all... SWWWEEEEEETTT. So basically the show looks awesome, with amazing pyro, great stage set up - tons of monitors, buts its completely lost in photos due to the strong colored lighting... heyyyy desaturation! but yeah. heres what i got - shooting ISO800 - 2.8 and a 350th
















































Korn however was a different story - their lighting was perfect - lots of white lighting - spot lights - couldnt have asked for anything better - and by far - they were the best sounding band of the entire tour - they blew me the fuuuuuck away with how good they were. Anyway - for the shots I was at 2.8 at a 125th - 100th which was tricky because i didnt want to jump about ISO800 - and I didnt wanna shoot too slow - but it was super dark, soooo whatever - shots look solid up close - didnt get any ghosting even at a 45th - my advice to everyone who shoots - practice stability - itll save your shots sometimes




































all in all the day was awesome - i really wish when i do two days of a fest, i could sort out all the live stuff one day - and session stuff the other so i dont miss anything, but i never have that luck. *Shrug* - welcome to festival photography - YOU WILL MISS SOMETHING!