Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Tamron 24- 70 f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.8

This show was dark, dark, dark. I believe I have pretty good gear and glass, but it sure didn’t seem to be ready for this show. There were a couple of LED parcans in the front and a few in the back. That was it. Minimal light on the stage..and from my vantage point the lights only covered the artists from about the waist down unless they were on the edge of the stage.

My D7000 handles ISO 3200 pretty well.. so that’s were I started: ISO3200, 2.8, 1/160.. but wasn’t enough to stop these dynamic performers. Fortunately, I always have my 50mm 1.8 with me. Not the best focal length for this show but it got me to ISO 3200, 1.8, 1/200-1/250. Truth is it still not enough. I still needed another 1.5-2 stops. So I ended up resorting to trying to get that extra exposure from Lightroom 4s exposure slider. Hello Noise, Hello minimal frozen action… ah, what you gonna do.

I sure hope I get another opportunity to photograph Love & Death where there is a little more light!

Personal Notes:

I did have alot to think about after this show.. If your interested you can read them on the post I created for Icon For Hire.

Love and Death is: Brian “Head” Welch,  Michael Valentine,  Dan Johnson, JR Bareis

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Icon For Hire melts the faces off of the audience in Pittsburgh.

Icon For Hire photos after the jump.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Tamron 24- 70 f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.8

This show was dark, dark, dark. I believe I have pretty good gear and glass, but it sure didn’t seem to be ready for this show. There were a couple of LED parcans in the front and a few in the back. That was it. Minimal light on the stage..and from my vantage point the lights only covered the artists from about the waist down unless they were on the edge of the stage.

My D7000 handles ISO 3200 pretty well.. so that’s were I started: ISO3200, 2.8, 1/160.. but wasn’t enough to stop these dynamic performers. Fortunately, I always have my 50mm 1.8 with me. Not the best focal length for this show but it got me to ISO 3200, 1.8, 1/200-1/250. Truth is it still not enough. I still needed another 1.5-2 stops. So I ended up resorting to trying to get that extra exposure from Lightroom 4s exposure slider. Hello Noise, Hello minimal frozen action… ah, what you gonna do.

Personal Notes:

I have been hoping to cover some hard-edged bands for a while, but little did I know I was gonna learn at lot more about myself then just how bad my camera gear failed me

On this night I found my world upside down in terms of my narrow Christian views.  Never once did Icon For Hire talk about Jesus from the stage..They came and rawked it, hung out with fans after their set, and said goodnight. It was pretty much the same with Brian “head” and POD .
Having shot tons of other Christian bands, I was used to artists have a time in their set where they share the gospel message. As this didn’t happen it got my curiosity going. I so wish I could’ve had a long conversation with Ariel about this. It would’ve been so cool.

So I started doing some reading on them and their missions. What I leaned blew me away and opened my eyes to something completely new to me.

First, I learned all these bands are strong Christians. I also learned they had come to the Lord through some of the most darkest places anyone could ever venture to. They often play the the raunchiest, dirtiest, darkest clubs and get paid pennies. But that’s is where they really feel God is calling them to. Outside of their sets they get opportunities to share the gospel as they chatting with their fans..and their lyrics are certainly born from the Gospel.

So often, we as Christians have blinders on as we walk though what we think life should be…and God forbid anyone is different from the norm. You know those types..people with mohawks and pink hair..tattoos and wear dreadlocks.. what kind of Christians could they possibly be.. and now my only answer is..people who have been called by God to stand at the gates of hell and rescue as many as they can. We need to be supportive of these bands as they are the youth missionaries of this age. Thanks for opening my eyes guys!

Icon For Hire is: Shawn Jump, Ariel,  Adam Kronshagen, Josh Kincheloe

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Big Daddy Weave closed the evening with compelling vocals, powerful arrangements and stellar musicianship.

Big Daddy Weave photos after the jump

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Tamron 24- 70 f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.8

On this show, my Tamron 24-70 carried the evening. I did pull out the 80-200 though to get a few images from the back of the venue.

Big Daddy Weave is: Mike Weaver, Jay Weaver,  Jeremy Redmon, Jeff Jones, Joe Shirk

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Melding messages of faith with an anthemic sound, MIKESCHAIR followed up Kerrie Roberts on Big Daddy Weaves Love Come To Life tour.

MIKESCHAIR photos after the jump

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Tamron 24- 70 f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.8

On this show, my Tamron 24-70 carried the evening. I did pull out the 80-200 though to get a few images from the back of the venue.

This night I spent most of the evening on my knees. As you can see from the wide image above there was like 3 steps up to the stage. I was trying to be careful not to block the fans too much. For a show like this you gotta shoot and move, shoot and move. Most folks don’t mind if your in-front of them for a few moments, but never camp out in one spot too long. This is also why many of these shots are at an upward angle.

 MIKESCHAIR is: Mike Grayson, Jesse Hale,  Nate Onstott, and Sam Tinnesz

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The amazingly talented Kerrie Roberts opened up Big Daddy Weave’s Love Come To Life tour here in Pittsburgh last weekend.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Tamron 24- 70 f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.8

As usual I had my full bag of tricks with me, but my Tamron 24-70 ended up being the work horse of the night.

This was a church show which can be quite a bit trickier to cover then something in an arena. There is no stage to speak off, the bands played right up on the alter which was 3 small steps and your on the stage. This also meant that you really couldn’t stand and shoot. Unless of course, you wanted to pretty much block any one from actually seeing the artist from the audience. Never a good thing.. so when I stood, I stood off to the side of the stage and when I was up front I was pretty much kneeing the whole time…

You know as I get older I’m finding this kneeling stuff really kills my knees.. I really gotta a find a pair of workable knee pads

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Alan recently posted a wonderful article on his concert photography workflow that is a must read for any concert shooter.

Give the Post Title a click and check it out!

Check it out at: http://alanhessphotography.com

Third Day cranked it up on the first date of their U.S. tour in Wheeling W.V. … tons of smoke, a crazy light show, amazing sound quality and  music. It’s not hard to see why many people have called them one of the hardest working bands in the biz.

Third Day photo’s after the jump

Going into this show I was pretty excited for the opportunity to cover Third Day. This was going to be the first time I was going to have some close up action and I just love covering them. They put on an amazing show, they are my wife’s favorite band. David Carr is her favorite band member, sorry Mac, Mark & Tai.. But she’s a drummer, and he’s been her inspiration for quite some time.

Little did I know this show wasn’t gonna be the piece of cake I thought it would be… Really, I should know better, as no show is. For this show, there was a “Pit” but this pit had 2 rows of chairs set up for VIP ticket holders. There was pretty much no space between the band and the first row of chairs. But what life without a little rain right It’s the challenges that keep us sharp!

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Tamron 24- 70 f2.8

For most of the shoot I was relegated to shoot from either stage right or left, but there were a few moments that I asked some of the fans if I could squeeze in front of them for a shot or two.. Everyone was happy to oblige. I didn’t camp out in those spots though… that’s just rude and unprofessional… you go in, grab a couple shots and get out of the way.

My main lens was primarily my 80-200 with a few shots using my 24-70 when I was able to sneak into the first row. I also encountered a couple other technical issues… there were so many backlights and the fog/smoke was thick as pea soup… even Matt Maher commented on how much fog there was.  I shoot in manual spot meter to try to keep my exposures for the artists skin tones.. but let me tell you, between the lights and the fog… my exposures were everywhere. I was half tempted to switch to Aperture Priority, but you don’t really learn that way. So I got what I got.

Overall the show was just amazing… But it always is when it comes to Third Day.

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Matt Maher followed up Trevor Morgan on the tour. The Canadian (we won’t hold it against him) worship leader played for Pope Benedict XVI, was a guest at (David) Crowder’s Fantastical Church Music Conference, took to the road on the Rock & Worship Roadshow and is now joining the Make Your Move tour.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8

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Trevor Morgan took to the stage to open the first U.S. stop on Third Day’s Make Your Move tour. Trevor has stayed mostly behind the scenes writing and playing outside of the spotlight until recently when he hooked up with Mac Powell and worked on Glory Revealed I and II. I hope Trevor stays in the spotlight for a long time to come.

Trevor Morgan photo set after the jump.

Trevor Morgan took the stage on his own, but with his distinct vocal style and bluesy guitar style no one noticed there was no one to back him up.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8

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The first stop on Third Day’s Make Your Move U.S. tour was in Wheeling W.V. and I was fortunate enough to be on hand to cover it. Here are a few shots from the night with lots more to come. Joining Third Day on this tour is Trevor Morgan and Matt Maher.

Stay tuned for the full sets from each band…