1. The Challenge
Concert photography is probably the most difficult type of photography I have ever done. Add to that my love and focus on heavy metal music and the challenges that produces, you’ve got a pretty challenging type of photography.
The lighting is crazy, or it doesn’t hardly exist. Small bars have such little lighting that nothing but a fast prime lens will do. The larger clubs have more light, but also a great deal more LED lighting, strobes and all sorts of things that make it difficult for a correct exposure.
2. The Rush
Having only 3 songs to shoot in crazy lighting conditions make shooting these shows quite the adrenaline rush. While my mind is quickly thinking about f-stops, composition and lighting I’m also dodging crowd surfers, fake blood spray, security and everything in between. The amps are literally rattling my teeth, i’m breathing in the fog machine…and man oh man is it great.
3. The Veil
Its what I call it anyway. Shooting concerts, and being in the pit feels like I’m standing in the world I live in and am looking through a thin veil into another world entirely. Its the world where musicians are traveling together in the van, shooting show after show, working their way to the top. Or its a world where they have found success and fame and fortune and are standing their right in front of me, just beyond the veil. Its such an amazing and fascinating world in which they live, and for a few songs, I have a front row seat.
4. The Image
To a photographer, the image is the final result of the hard work. All the gear, and training and practice all comes down to channeling everything we know and everything we are into an image. The final results of those images is what I work for. Heavy metal in particular gives you a visual buffet of imagery on which to feast. The emotion that goes into the music, the lights, the fog, the flying hair and amazing “rock moves” make that final image all kinds of awesome.
5. The Music
Photographing heavy metal was a passion that had been staring me in the face for a long time. Why not combine two things that I loved? My love of heavy metal and photography is a natural pairing for me that allows me to appreciate each of them even more. Not only do I get to hear some great music, but I get to photograph the artists doing what they love.
