Aerosmith / ZZ Top @ Cricket Pavilion

Pretty much any show at Cricket Pavilion is a big deal... but last night was a pretty special classic rock show. Aerosmith and ZZ Top. I'm not a particularly huge fan of either, but I'll rock out to some Aerosmith when its on the radio! And who didn't own their "Get A Grip" album? Come on!

ZZ Top opened the show with their many classic songs to an appreciative, if tame, crowd... still building in numbers as they played. Billy Gibbons, vocals and guitar, appeared to be having a great time on stage... he would occasionally pose and smile real big at the crowd.

The three-man band really created a nice full sound. I was actually surprised how big it sounded at times. But maybe having large beards and chrome semi-truck exhaust pipes for mic stands make up for a lot of the possible emptiness. The "show" CAN fill in the gaps. I had a good time watching them.

After our allotted 3 song partition of ZZ Top, we photographers are escorted back to a very warm trailer. Myself and another photog chose not to hang out in there. There's something odd about a room full of photographers... they start to complain uncontrollably. You'd think this beats a desk job? But soon, the hour break between ZZ Top and Aerosmith was up, and it was time to walk down to shoot again.

So, there was 11 photogs present at this show. Large numbers always makes it interesting, but at this show in particular our shooting position inside the barricade was very small. Let me tell you this, photographers can be cutthroat, especially when their already in a bad mood... because of their job, where they are a photographer. But we all finally picked our spots, this time limited to one side of the stage of the other, no shifting. Aerosmith started their set behind a large black curtain with a blisteringly loud rendition of "Eat the Rich". The crowd went nuts.

Seeing Steven Tyler prance around on stage in person was something interesting to behold. These guys who become icons of their field and even parodies of themselves sometimes get overlooked for how good they really are. There's not a single singer out today who can match his level of camp and exuberance. There's something to be said for really just putting it all out there and giving the people a show. Whether that means starting the show in a gigantic ladies hat or not. :)

I had a great time shooting Aerosmith, but I will say this: this show was a lot of work. The lights were changing a lot, and Tyler and Joe Perry tended to hang out on the opposite side of the stage... plus, there were photographers and videographers everywhere. But it was a great game of shooting what you can manage. Camera settings were constantly changing on the fly. I had my 20D and my 5D MkII... which was pretty at home around ISO3200 for this shoot.

I'm very happy with what I got from the whole show. I absolutely love what I got of Steven Tyler, I only wish I could have got a few nice shots of Joe Perry. But a great time all around... save for the ridiculous heat maybe.

Tool @ US Airways Center

I was very excited to shoot Tool. I just knew it would be an awesome show, and I was bummed because I wouldn't be able to actually watch and enjoy it. But the other thing I knew was that Maynard doesn't like to be photographed live. I really don't know what the deal is. Maybe he just wants his privacy? Doesn't want everyone to know what he looks like? Who knows? Who cares? I've heard stories in the past about him singing behind a curtain for the first few songs... emerging after the photogs have left. You know... whatever. If you don't want the press, just don't let us in.





All that aside... They did put on a great show. Their fans look on them like gods. Not completely unjustifiably so. Tool really has created some epic albums. They've reached a multitude of fans across genres. Their very actual "melodic" metal/rock mixed with Maynard's unassuming kind voice makes it very accessible and easy to like. They definitely try to give back too, their shows are legendary... tons of lights, geometric shapes, and bizarre imagery. It really makes for an intense experience all around.





Sadly, very little of what I could tell would be an amazing lighting spectacle was photographed. We photogs were only allotted one song to shoot. Granted, that meant 8 - 10 minutes by Tool standards... but it really wasn't enough time. The lights were very subdued compared to what I know was coming. I could see lasers and mirrors set up at the front of the stage... this would have been awesome to shoot. But I take what I can get.

For the entirety of the first song, Maynard was at the very back of the stage, in what seemed like the only completely dark spot on the whole stage. Thankfully, he was standing in front of a video screen, so I could at least make out a silhouette. At the last second of the end of the song, a little bit of light graced his face and I was able to snap one or two quick pics.

On a technical note, the new 5D MkII performed exceptionally well! In fact, I think I would have been up a creek without it. While there were lots of lights ON, they were fairly dim. I did crank up my ISO to get a lot of the shots... and at the end I switched my 17-40mm out for a 100-400mm to be able to get a pic of Maynard, and had to max out the ISO to its full, unexpanded range of 6400. The photos aren't as amazing as I thought they could have been, but you take what you can get at a show like this. I'm just glad I didn't leave empty-handed.

Canon 5D MkII

Friday my whole game changed. I got my 5D MkII in the mail. As soon as I took it out of the box I slapped my 17-40mm lens on it, and before I even put the battery in, I looked through the viewfinder and all I could do was laugh and say "Holy CRAP!" Having never used a full-frame camera before, I was finally in that total and completely warranted awe of what a 17mm lens does for you. It is amazing. Nothing short. I'm already 10,000% sure that this was the right purchase for me, and I hadn't even stuck the battery in yet. For those reading this blog who don't know what "full-frame" means, basically, if its not full-frame, the camera has a smaller, or "cropped" sensor. Meaning, you get LESS picture from your lens. Its like having a small piece of film with a regular sized lens. However, with digital you don't have film, you have a sensor. See below for the ACTUAL difference. Both were taken at 17mm from the same spot in the room. (you'll also notice the 5D picked up a rogue wolf that was wondering in the room, where the 20D did not)



In this blog I will be comparing my 5D MkII to my 20D. Its not a fair comparison, but its what I HAVE. So it would be helpful for people thinking about making the change to full-frame. (For reference, the 20D is a 1.6x crop... meaning my 17mm is actually a 27.2mm) More information here.

So, for me to go into heavy detail would be pointless, there are other places to read that sort of review, I just want to give you the real-world benefits that I personally see and find valuable. I'll tell you the stuff that is important, and excites me personally. The 5D MkII is a 21 megapixel sensor, my 20D is 8 megapixels for example.

Some of the most amazing things about this camera are how Canon has just made every function a little (or a lot) better. The ISO settings range from 50 - 25,600, for a total of 22 different settings. (the 20D, ISO 100 - 3200 in only 6 stops) 2 things are amazing here, the fact that the ISO goes so high, and also that ISO settings are so clean and noise free up to a certain point. This type of thing makes shooting in low light possible without a lot of digital noise. A real world example would be shooting inside your house with no real bright lights on, or a flash... sounds simple enough, but low light is were digital cameras either excel or fail. See below for an example from the 5D at 1/40 sec, ISO5000, F4.



Another neat option Canon stuck in on the new 5D is the ability to have different RAW file sizes. A RAW file is just how it sounds, raw... no effects put on the picture, and no compression used to make the file smaller. It is the cleanest and largest picture your camera can take. It also makes it easier for exposure recovery, and fixes to the image, without loosing quality. Now, however, Canon has made a way for you to take RAW files, but at 3 different sizes. For a real world scenario, take me... I shoot concerts, but the majority of my work ends up being smashed down to a 400px wide file... but I still want the benefits of RAW. The 5D takes a 21 mega bite RAW image, and it's 5616 px wide. That is a bit large. Now I can shoot a RAW file as small as 3861px wide, or even 2784px!



Some other neat additional features... the self cleaning sensor. It keeps dust off the sensor by vibrating at high frequency. This just makes sure no specs show up on your image. Cool!

The large 3 inch LCD screen with optional live mode shooting, while awesome on it's own, it also has its own light sensor, and adjusts it's brightness automatically... so if you are outside, it gets brighter, and when you're in a dark room, the screen wont blind you when it turns on. Neat.



One last neat little gadget worth mentioning... auto rotate, which I actually hate... because the picture become tall on a wide screen... so your image is tiny when you try to review it on your camera. The upgrade makes it possible to auto rotate AND has a feature where it will auto rotate the FILE itself for transfer onto a computer, but it keeps it WIDE when you look at it on the camera's LCD screen. Clever.



Ok, lets get to the really ridiculous feature... full 1080 HD video!! Yes. It IS amazing. It's not super 'user friendly', it's very much set up like a "real" HD camera, where you really should use the focus ring and not auto focus. Two things about the video feature... the sound is not great (BUT it does come with a mic input)... and the actual sounds of the lens focusing and zooming are picked up by the internal mic. Not a huge deal. Especially if you plan to create something worthy of 1080 HD... you would just use a nice external mic anyways. (see the quick example movie I threw together below.)

Lastly, lets get serious... the image quality is amazing! It's got basically the same CMOS sensor that the $7000 1Ds MkIII has. The images this thing will produce are now only held back by your lens quality, and your own abilities. (I will post more photos later to show off the camera's abilities... I actually haven't had a lot of chances to shoot with it yet. Tonight I'm shooting Tool, so I should have some nice examples tomorrow!)

I find this camera very easy to use. Having used my 20D for so long, it was basically a quick assimilation. Only the live view and video functions take a few minutes to get the hang of. But just overall, the fact that this camera has so many features to help YOU and help the IMAGE quality... it just makes shooting easier. It feels like what it should be like... less of a 'challenge', more of an art. The camera is just a tool, and now it's just easier to use.

Now to quote Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Killswitch Engage backstage @ Cricket Pavilion

Friday was the Rockstar Mayhem Fest at Cricket Pavilion. I didn't end up shooting it for the New Times, but my pal at the AZ Republic, Jim Louvau asked me along to assist on a few backstage band photo shoots. These are just a few pics from the 10 minutes we had with Killswitch Engage.

Things were a little hectic. There really wasn't anywhere to set up the lights that I brought, so the shoots ended up being really quick and chaotic. We had a lot less time with each band than we thought. We actually ended up shooting All That Remains also, but it happened so fast that I didn't even get my camera out.

The Killswitch Engage shoot was just in their dressing room. We just threw them up against the most interesting looking wall and snapped a few off. They were cool with it, and did whatever we asked them to. I basically just documented the happenings. Check out the rock star food. Neat.

One of these buses was Slayer. Rock.

The Fray @ Dodge Theatre

I'll admit this right up front, I requested to shoot this concert because my sister Emily listens to this band. I know OF the band, but going into the show, I didn't know any of their songs. Which was slightly surprising, because as I walked down to the stage to get into position, I thought; "Holy cow, THAT'S a lot of lighting!" It was.





This was a proper big time show, just shrank down to fit in a medium sized venue. I was actually really excited to SEE this band. As I was studying the lighting set up, I realized a lot of "indie" or "homemade" lights mixed in with the big stuff. The sort of thing my band liked to do. The sort of thing where you wrap a couple rope lights around keyboard stands and what not. But I was again surprised at even how much thought went into THAT. They had all this low-fi equipment set up, then right next to it, or even inside of it, there would be the expensive strobes, or large glowing bulbs. I was pretty upset that we only got to see 2 songs. I knew this would have been fun to watch. Below is a photo of the stage before the band came on.

So when the first song started it was just the singer standing in a spot light. I thought, "Oh great, they are going to tease the photogs with all this lighting equipment and NOT use it while we are shooting." But then the song picked up and the lights came on... and I even recognized the song! Imagine that. The band was good! The songs weren't bloody annoying, and the singer was in key. It is, I must say, very easy listening, and easily performed, but hey, they did it right. I cant fault them. They fit a niche, and the crowd was happy. Lots of "Oh my god, I love you" screams were roaring over my shoulders during the shoot.

On a side note, Jacks Mannequin opened the show. Again, it was a pretty easy fit. Round block in a round hole, but they were ok. One thing that 'bothers' me... well, that's a strong word... one thing that makes me wonder, is why bands see the need to put tape over the names on their guitars and amps. Is it because they don't want to be labeled? Because they already are. Is it because they don't want to be viewed as a band who follows trends? Because they already are. Or is it maybe because they've asked for those companies for endorsement money and were denied? Hmm.

Insane for Vox.

So yea. I admit that I am rediculously obsessive. I'm writing new music now, and I have my 2 Vox AC30s sitting out in my studio room... I just think they are so gosh darn amazing. I had to take a glamour shot. So this is my current wallpaper. Enjoy.

This was taken with a Canon 20d, 17-40mm f4, with just the light from the lamp in the corner of my room. Shutter was 1/20 sec, ISO1600. Got to hold REAL still for 1/20!

Jay-Z @ Dodge Theatre

Jay-Z is arguably one of the most successful rappers around today... as demonstrated tonight by filling the Dodge Theatre. I don't know what it is about rap shows, but they always start late. Nearly an hour after he was supposed to go on. But hey, all in good fun. Or something.

One thing rappers understand is the connection to their audience. Rappers always make it a point to actually reach out and physically touch their fans. A hand shake or a fist pound. But it gives each performance that personal touch for the fans. Jay-Z has the bank roll to take it that one step bigger... humongous video screens. I am a fan of screens... it just ads something to the show. It changes is up. Makes it more interesting. But, it also lets the chump in the back row still be able to have a good time.

While I can't follow every lyric, Jay-Z made it a point to say that he does not use "auto-tune" vocal software. He also pointed out that he can't sing on key, then demonstrated it by just not even trying. But hey, it's "real" right?

This was another show with photo restrictions. We were only allowed to shoot the first 2 songs, and we shot from the sound board. But this time, at the Dodge, the sound board was actually above the level of the stage. This made for some cool angles, and gave me the chance to get some shots of the fans in the pics with Jay-Z. But, the other thing about rap shows, everyone has to be hard. So just before the end of the second song, one of Jay-Z's "posse" came out and smacked me on the back and said "YOU'RE DONE!" To which I said, "Yep. That was the plan." Anyways, all in all, it was a pretty easy shoot, just wish I was up closer.