My favorite kind of photography has to be concert photography. When I lived in Orlando I used to shoot concerts at a club called Jani Lane’s Sunset Strip all the time! Concerts (with bands that you really like) are not only fun but they are super challenging as well. This past Sunday night I got the opportunity to photograph Sebastian Bach (Skid Row fame), Dokken and Poison! I’m a huge fan of Sebastian Bach and Dokken and I have to say that I am a much bigger fan of Poison after seeing this show!

It was held at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Tinley Park, Illinois. My job there that evening was to help a 97.9 The Loop radio winner who won a Nikon D60 camera take pictures in the “photo pit”. It is a Nikon promotion called Nikon Live through Live Nation. The Live Nation people were kind enough to get me tickets for Michelle and a friend as well so I had some company there. The camera winner was a real nice lady that had some photo knowledge already and I have to say that she got some great shots!

So, you get to photograph the first three songs of each band and that’s it. It takes the first song to get your exposures correct (thank goodness for digital cameras) and to get to know how the band moves around. The second song you concentrate on trying to get some good stuff of each of the band members if possible. And, the third song is when you can concentrate on the extra stuff or on any of the musicians that seem to be working with the camera real well. It also helps if you know the songs so you can anticipate anything specific that you may want to capture.

I juggled two cameras, one D700 with a 70-200 2.8 lens and a D3 with a 24-70 2.8 lens. I shot about 800 images in a total of nine songs which is about 89 images per song... and equates (if my math is correct) to a picture on average every two seconds. What a way to watch a show! It’s a real adrenaline rush!

So, here are some of my favorites. If you are a fan I hope you enjoy them!

Until next time...