Skillet took the headliner spot this year on WinterJam 2012.. and the audience was ready to have their face’s melted off.. and melt they did!

Skillet photo set after the jump

Yep… Skillet melted my face off too! Some seriously heavy rock, pyro, smoke & the works..great stuff. This was only the second time I have seen them and both times I was relegated to shoot outside the pit… sigh.. oh well.. third time’s a charm right.

Yes they we’re great, but the thing that impresses me most about Skillet is their commitment to the gospel and how strong they hold to their beliefs. They never seem to take that for granted.. and they openly talk about it.. not just in their songs, but in their everyday lives.. I just am so impressed by that.. I hope they stick around for a long time!

This was last set of the evening and truthfully.. I was kinda glad. My legs were killing me from running to and fro outside the pit area to get the shots, my arms and shoulders ached from hauling all my gear and I still had a 2+ hr drive to get home.. ok, so I’m getting old..alright.. I’m getting to the age where I’m allowed to complain about my aches and pains..hehe
I am so glad I went though..it was a great night all around!

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

Skillet is John Cooper, Korey Cooper, Jen Ledger, Seth Morrison (Jonathan Chu: violin,  Tate Olsen: cello)

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Sanctus Real followed up Peter Furlers set. I’ve always enjoyed seeing them live with their mix of worshipful ballads and home run hitters such as “Lead Me” and “Forgiven”.

Sanctus Real photo set after the jump.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

 Sanctus Real is: Matt Hammitt, Chris Rohman, Pete Prevost, Dan Gartley, Mark Graalman

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Wild-man Peter Furler took command of the stage next. Talk about raw energy! Peter was once upon a time the front man for the Newsboys and has since spun off into a very successful solo career. Peter was joined by Superchick guitarist David Ghazarian and former Newsboys’ bassist, Phil Joel. and wow what a set.

Peter Furler photo set after the jump

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

Peter’s set was so much fun to photograph.. He sang, played guitar and even the drums. His set was so energetic and his band complimented his style and performance it was one of my favorite performances of the night. I have to admit though by this time I was really starting to wipeout. Peter Furler was band 8 out of the 10 bands I had to cover this evening. I gotta tell you at this point my gear was really starting to feel heavy. You might think that 80-200 is no big deal, it only weighs 45oz, but take it from me, when that’s pretty much all your using, that sucker starts to weigh you down. It really is so much easier when you have pit access.

But I was able to to switch to my Tamron 17-50 for a few shots though as Peter spent a descent amount of time at the end of the thrust letting me change my angle of view for a few shots and giving my arms a much needed break.

Make sure if he hit’s you town you don’t miss it!

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Kari Jobe was up next. I just really loved not only her stage presence but also her voice. She came across so gentle and humble and then when she began to sing I could swear I could hear a choir of angels backing her up. Her voice is one of the sweetest I have ever heard.

Kari Jobe photo set after the jump.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

One of the most challenging things about photographing Kari is that she is a lone singer. How do you shoot her set (3 songs) and make various and unique compositions. It’s even more difficult when you have limited shooting access and are basically forced to use the same lens for the whole set.

Sometimes I think a lot of these images look similar. So I ask myself, “ok what do I share?  Which one have various compositions that are worth sharing”.. not an easy question to answer.. and then I think what could I have done differently and keep it in mind for the next time I shoot a single singer.. and only time will tell, right.

Do you have any thoughts? Let me know in the comments below.

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NewSong, the host of WinterJam took to the stage to do a 3 song set. Opening with one of my most favorite songs called “Arise My Love”.  A powerful reminder to the power of God as He raised His son Jesus from the tomb on the third day.

NewSong photos after the jump

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

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Building 429 hit the stage next. Lead singer Jason Roy has one of the most distinctive voices in the industry. Their set was straight up rock worship.

Building 429 photo set after the jump.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

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Group 1 Crew was up next. Ever hear of the Black-eye Peas? Well if you like them, you will LOVE Group 1 Crew. This was my first opportunity to see them and I really enjoyed the amazing vocals and impressive choreography.

Group 1 Crew photo set after the jump.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

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Dara Maclean followed For King and Country on this 10 band WinterJam 2012 tour. This is the second time I have had the opportunity to see her and her music and sound is really growing on me. She sounded like she has been heavily influenced by singers like Adele; her voice was smooth and her songs powerful.

Dara Maclean photo set after the jump

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

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For King and Country was next up on the Winterjam 2012 tour. Billboard Magazine named them 1 of 17 artists to watch for in 2012 and American Songwriter raves they are “Australia’s answer to Coldplay,” which is a great description of their Brit-rock tinged worship said Kevin Davis from NewReleaseTuesday.com.

For King and Country photo set after the jump.

This was the first time I have ever seen For King and Country and I was pretty impressed with both their unique sound and stage presence.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8

I had all of my normal gear I carry for any show, Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50mm f 2.8, Tamron 28-75mm f2.8, and my 50mm f1.8. But for the most part the only lens I shot was my 80-200mm. Mainly due to the fact that I wasn’t permitted to shoot inside the barrier area. The thing that help me the most though, was there was a thrust stage that went out the the middle of the arena and that did give me a chance to get some of the images your seeing here.

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Having covered the Rock&Worship Road Show,  I really wanted to check out WinterJam as well. This year I took the 2.5 hr drive up to Penn State and it was worth every moment on the road.

We As Human opened WinterJam 2012 this year with a vibrant sound and screaming guitar riffs. A great opener.

We As Human photo set after the jump.

Shooters Notebook:

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 80-200mm 2.8, Tamron 17-50 2.8

This was a “No Pit” shoot.. even though there was one, I wasn’t permitted behind the barrier;  rules setup by the venue and not the tour. It was disappointing, but it happens and you make the best of it. So needless to say I shot almost the whole night with my 80-200.

The other challenge was the lighting.  For the earlier bands there were spot’s but not enough to cover the stage. So I spent a bit of time setting up a potential composition and wait (& hope) for someone to hit the mark.. As you can see, using this method I was able to get a few good frames.

This was my first time seeing We As Human but you can bet I’ll be watching for them to come close again as I really want another shot at photographing them.

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