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The Promo Shoot

It is close to three years now since I have been photographing live music bands. All the while, I have been wanting to really sink my teeth into doing some off-stage promotional photography for a band – be it big or small, but the opportunity never arose.

Until now.

Who Let The Trolls Out?

I was looking forward to tonight’s shoot as I finally would be shooting with a lens I have been hanging to get just for gigs. The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 is a lens I have been clamouring to get for so long but due to budget constraints (ie broke) I have been stuck with the 24-105mm f/4(!) for the past couple of years. Yep, all the photos you see on this site, every single one – has been done with the f/4. *gasp*

I won a contest a couple of months ago on the strength of this photo and the prize was free lens rental for the weekend. Seeing as I was scheduled to shoot Finntroll tonight, and Motorhead tomorrow – it all worked out rather well.

Zef!

I had applied for a Die Antwoord photo-pass but knowing my luck, I sure as hell was not expecting to secure one.

Surprisingly, I got the pass and I was eagerly awaiting this gig as I have been a fan of the band for a while and felt that it would be a kick ass opportunity to photograph a band that is going to be HUGE in a couple of years. Mark my words!

Tattoo You!

Under a burning Melbourne sun that seemed to scorch all in its path this weekend, I attended the Rites of Passage Festival at the Royal Exhibition Building.

From the get go, the event was beautifully organised and there was an incredibly vast bill of all sorts of entertainment, fashion, art, culture, characters and of course – a lot of tattoos!

Check out some of the photos from the event.

True Death

To be perfectly honest, as much as Napalm Death are considered a pioneering exponent of the Death Metal movement, I haven’t really bothered checking them out over the course of their career. But I was eager to shoot them tonight and break out of my gig-shooting lethargy which has seen me pretty much take the entire winter off from shooting live bands.

I needed a break and at the end of the day, I had to force myself to go and shoot Napalm tonight.

Rise Of The Fallen

I think it is now official. When it comes to shooting live music in Melbourne, no venue comes close to Billboard. The lighting guys nail it almost every time and it is always a venue I enjoy shooting at. In fact, I really don’t think I’m ever going to bother trying to photograph anyone at the Hifi Bar. The pit is awfully deep, the lighting is almost always utterly abysmal and you spend a long night pushing your camera to the max, only to come home with naff shots.

Option Paralysis

I knew it was going to be a difficult night when before Dillinger Escape Plan hit the stage, there were 10 security goons in the pit and about 8 photogs. Chaos was on the menu tonight and it didn’t surprise me in the slightest when after one song, we were told to vacate the pit. Pronto!

Seems to be a common occurrence at Billboard. There’s one little security dude who pulls the pin at the first sign of an energetic crowd.

Braaaaaaains!

Wow! What an amazing turnout for this year’s annual Melbourne Zombie Shuffle! It was huge – with a veritable feast of zombies terrorizing the streets of Melbourne with blood, gore and an insatiable lust for braaaaains!

Whilst it is a ton of fun seeing so many people dressed as the living dead, I think the real buzz is seeing the reactions of everyday people witness the mayhem before them! You can literally see the shock and amazement written on the faces of innocent bystanders who for the most part, are completely oblivious to the who, what, where and why.

Carving Out The Eyes Of God

It’s always refreshing going to a gig cold, not really expecting too much and then subsequently leaving totally and utterly blown away! Tonight’s Billboard Metalfest featured local act The Amenta opening the gates of hell for Goatwhore, Behemoth and Job For A Cowboy. A veritable feast of Metal goodness that had the Melbourne throng in pure Metal overload!

Having said that, I thought Goatwhore were one out of the box and completely obliterated all in their path.

Got It In Black?

First of all, before we kick things off here, I gotta thank the promoters Blunt, Metal Obsession and Soundwave – for allowing the photographers to stay in the venue after our respective three song allotment for each of the four acts on tonight’s bill: Machine Head, Hatebreed, Bleeding Through and Emmure. You made our lives a helluva lot easier and we didn’t have to endure the stupidity of being escorted out of the venue after the first three songs. (As was the case for the Lamb Of God, Devil Driver, Shadow’s Fall & Hire On Fire gig back in December).

Bumps, grinds, falls, spills, speed and all out gusto!

For quite a while now, I have wanted to attend a Roller Derby bout. For whatever reason, the planets have never quite aligned so I have always missed out when the Victorian Roller Derby League held it’s matches… or bouts as they are called.

Not this time. I bought a couple of tickets for my gal and me a week in advance as I was determined I was not going to miss the opening of the 2010 season. Lucky for me I did get the tickets early, because within days the event had well and truly sold out.

Hevy Devy

It’s kinda hard when you are shooting an act who you really, truly dig! It is sometimes hard to divorce yourself from the sheer magic that is pouring off the stage when a band is pounding through tracks you have played to death many, many times over in the past and concentrating on getting your shots – becomes somewhat difficult.

Tonight was no exception.