Skate Park

On Saturday, my fellow photographer Steve Esparza and I decided to hit the local skate park to test out some new equipment and play with HD video.

Steve recently purchased a Steadicam rig for his HD video studio, and this was a good excuse to give it some use. Of course, since we were there, I decided to take some stills as well. I think it's every photographer's fate to photograph skate boarders at some point in their life.

I managed to get a few ok shots, and while I was there I shot some HD video on my Canon 5D MkII while Steve was shooting with his FX-1. Eventually, we will probably merge the 2 video tracks together, but in the meantime, I did a quick rough edit of the footage I captured. Some of it is steadicam by Steve from when we slapped the 5D on his steadicam rig. Enjoy. (Click on the title to view on Vimeo.com in HD)

Thanks to all the kids and their parents for permission to shoot.

Flash test

Over the weekend I was playing with my strobes. Just experimenting with different placements of all the units... since I don't tend to get the chance to use them that often. It started with me photographing my wife... I got some nice results in a short amount of time, and decided to wrap it up. But the next day I had one last idea of putting the strobe up high in the air and turning down the power. I only took one picture before I went inside to look at it.



The reason for the post is actually to showcase a very weird result I got from playing in the RAW photo editor in Photoshop. The above photo is the photo as it came off my camera. Below is the same photo after a few tweaks in the RAW editor.



This last photo is again, the same photo, after experimenting with the luminance sliders. I got something I thought was pretty F'ing crazy... it looks like me... but old! Or me after sitting in the sun for a year. Anyways. I just wanted to share.



And on a side note, I've decided to become less picky with photo jobs... so if anyone out there needs portraits or head shots... or something completely bizarre and ridiculous photographed, (yes please!), email me.

The Love Me Nots @ Martini Ranch

Booked as the premiere of their new music video, the Love Me Nots managed to nearly fill the Martini Ranch on Friday night. I've heard OF this band, and remembered seeing them on the cover of the New Times a while back... but have never actually seen them live. Two people I mentioned the band to both said "Oh, everyone loves the Love Me Nots". To clarify, they are a local Phoenix band that has made good, and scored a deal on one of the smaller labels.





Helmed by a sparkle stocking-clad, dark haired, Farfisa playing, animated female lead singer... the band takes on a fairly unique look outside of today's boring rock fads. All four members add to the 60's throwback aesthetic, and all brought their own entertaining feel to the stage. I was more intrigued by this band than I thought I'd be. The band calls their sound “spy-surf-fuzz-gogo.”





I stayed for most of the set., partially because the lighting made it tricky to get good shots of Nicole Laurenne, lead vocals... lots of back lighting on this stage... so I had to snap photos every chance I got. But I did have a good time listening to the music. It was all very catchy and uppity... even if it did start to get slightly repetitive... but it kept the crowd happy. I don't think you can have much of a lull in the set when drunk Scottsdalieans are involved.





All in all it was a good show. You can really tell the difference between the 86 million local bands that just throw themselves on any stage in this city, and the 5 or 6 who are polished enough to get signed. You can tell the ones who've taken the time to put something special together. Good on you Love Me Nots.

Sonic Youth @ Marquee Theatre

Chairs set up at the Marquee Theatre... that usually means old and broken people will be at the show... or people that just want to chill out and nod along to the songs. Is Sonic Youth THAT old??

From what I saw on stage... no. For a long time, going to concerts as a lad I found it disrespectful for people to sit down at a rock show. Apparently, I still do. This band, however old they may be... were still able to stand up and rock their set, guitars flailing around on stage... we should at least be courteous and stand with them. Be part of the moment.

Ok, enough of that. I never listened to Sonic Youth... but I always had a feeling I'd like them. And this show was no disappointment. Lots of noises and sound effects and feedback. (Done right, it can work) I enjoyed it. They even brought their own lights to the Marquee. Whee!

Unfortunately, slightly, their lights were all behind them. Which, for the audience, looks cool... but for actual photos... it makes getting clear shots difficult. When you're attempting to capture the correct exposure on someone's face or guitar, and a large box of flash bulbs go off behind them, scorching the rest of the photo... it can get frustrating. But that's all part of the game.

Too bad tho... there were a few times when Thurston Moore (guitar) would be right in front of me really playing up to the camera... and most of the time it was just too dark or awkwardly lit for me to get anything worth using. That is sort of my story with the Marquee in general. At the start of this show, I remember thinking "I have very few photos from this venue in my portfolio". I think I may have got one tonight... very top photo of Thurston.

Pretty much all night the 5D was set to ISO6400... and the shutter would jump around from 1/30 - 1/500 depending on the lights.

Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding @ Dodge Theatre

Every year for the past 9 years Alice Cooper has put on his Christmas Pudding concert. I've never actually been to one before last night, but I knew about the idea behind it. Alice puts together a large collection of bands and performers, local and national, and they each take the stage for 10 - 15 minutes or so, and there is an MC that tells jokes and performs magic tricks between the acts.

I enjoyed the quickness and the motion of the idea... it really kept things moving, and kept the audience entertained. However, I do know it's not THE most ideal job for a band or performer, because it is so quick, you maybe can't completely get your vision across... but the experience must be a lot of fun, I'm sure no one would say no to.

The highlights of the show for me were, obviously shooting Alice Cooper... comedian and "Johnny Cash looky-like" Gary Mule Deer, and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. I'd heard a lot about Roger Clyne in the past, being a local boy... he definitely lives up the stories I've heard. Lots of energy and passion in the music.

Also on the bill was Alice's son, Dash. He's unsigned, and playing the music business game. His band was solid, not completely my cup of tea musically, but the crowd was happy to see Alice's spawn rock the house.

Once Alice and his band took the stage, the Dodge really came alive. I swear even, when the opening riff from "School's Out" started, the volume actually doubled in the venue. Alice commanded everyone to sing along and said "If this song hasn't played some part in your juvenile delinquency... well... something's wrong."

For this event, I had the rare privilege of "all access", which included backstage. After Alice's set, I ran backstage... if I had a chance to meet Alice, I had to jump on it. Being a fan of Alice and Wayne's World, I have a long standing pact with my wife that if I ever met Alice Cooper, I would ask him that immortal question: "So, do you come to Milwaukee often?"

While I was back stage I ran into Dash and his mother, Sheryl Cooper... Gary Mule Deer... Roger Clyne and Danny Zelisko. I got some time to chat with them all shortly, and took some photos. I was planning to make my way out when I ran into Alice and his family. I waited for the small crowd of people to disperse before I moved in.

I got a photo of Alice with Roger, shook his hand and asked him to sign my photo pass. The group of people surrounding Alice became a smaller, intimate group of Family and close friends... I would have felt a clot to ask Alice my silly question... so I respectfully just said thank you and passed through. It was a great time. "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!"

From a photogs stand point... my 5D again saved the day. At some points the lights on the stage of the Dodge were not quite sufficient, and backstage there was even less. Sometimes I don't know how I ever survived without it.

Jimmy Eat World @ Modified Arts

So I got a call around 2:30pm on Tuesday night... my editor at the New Times asked if I'd been following the news... that there would be a "secret" Jimmy Eat World show that night. He wanted me to photograph the show. I was happy to hop to.

When he told me they were playing at Modified Arts downtown, I was a little less than thrilled. I mean, it's a wicked idea on J.E.W.'s part... but Modified as a music venue has always failed to impress me. (No lighting, only 'ok' sound) All that aside, I knew this could be something special. I decided to take it one step further, and I pitched the idea of meeting up with Jim Adkins, lead singer, before the band went on for a quick interview... maybe a few Modified stories... as this show would be one of the last shows of live music at the venue, as it will be under new ownership soon.





We weren't able to get directly to Jim's people, so my plans for an elaborate interview on HD video didn't quite pan out. However, I did bring my 5D MkII with me to the show. My editor, Jon, and I got there early and went hunting for Jim... who was happy to oblige a quick interview. So we grabbed a semi-lit corner and I clicked my camera to video. We had only the on board mic to deal with and the mercy of the crowd that was piling through the door. (see below for video)



Needless to say, the show was not very secret... AZ Central had spilled the beans very early on... the show was meant to be secret for as long as possible because of the constraints of the venue, which only safely houses 150-160 people. When I arrived at 6:30pm, the line of people waiting was curled around the back of the building and down to the corner of the street, and nearly back to the door again. 3/4 of the people, if not more were turned away... simply not enough room.





The show itself was a lot of fun, 3 quick acoustic openers, and then a full electric set from Jimmy. I'm not the biggest 'fan' of Jimmy Eat World as it were, but I had a good time listening to the show. You can see how much they stand out from other local acts...

KISS @ Jobing.com Arena

To be honest, I didn't know exactly how to prepare for a Kiss concert. Even up to the last minute before they came on stage I was questioning my lens/camera selections.



Right before the show started I put my 17-40mm on my Canon 5D MkII, and my 100-400mm on my Canon 20d. I felt like I would need that ultra-wide zoom lens on my full frame camera at the start. This was a good choice to start I think... It let me capture some of the incredibly energetic performances at the front of the stage.

I don't want to kill any of the illusion, but as I understand it, only Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are 'original' Kiss members. That said, the fact that they are doing what they are doing, for as long as they've done it, is a feat in itself. The platform boots these guys were wearing were just crazy! The show they put on for the people, and if I'm honest, for the photogs as well, was amazing!

There were a few times throughout the show where I had Paul Stanley, the Star Child, 4 feet from my lens, staring me right in the face. I can't believe some of the pictures I got. I really can't give them enough credit for putting on such a show, and for making it so easy for the photogs. The stage was so well lit, and the performances and poses were so over-the-top that every picture could be great. My 5D was set to 2000ISO and I fluctuated between 1/200 and 1/400 shutter speed.

Gene and Paul both had a microphone off to their respective side of the stage, and in the middle was a short cat walk wide enough for the three axe-wielding mad men to lean over the crowd and rock in unison. Unfortunately for Eric Singer, the drums were SO high up in the air that I couldn't get a shot of his face... but I'm sure his view of the arena was amazing.

Really, the only word I could think of last night was EPIC! Even if you don't know the songs, you know the band... and the show was just as crazy as you could imagine. I'm really glad I got the chance to cover this. It was really a fun time, and it still feels nothing like 'work' to me.