Fear Factory (Photo By John Raptis)

Fear Factory Live @ The Hifi Bar, Melbourne, Australia

Fear Is The Mind Killer

You prepare hard for a photo shoot at any given music venue. No two venues are the same and now that I have been doing the Rock photography for several years, you begin to know the intricacies of each venue and pretty much know what you will expect from the get-go.

Having said that, Melbourne’s Hifi Bar is always a venue I have struggled in. The lighting is the worst you will have to deal with so it is a given, it will be a hard, frustrating shoot almost always. In the rare case the ‘lighting’ guy actually uses the front lights and (shock, horror) lights the stage, it can be a fun venue to shoot in. But those instances seem to be few and far between.

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Soulfly (photo by John Raptis)

Soulfly, City Of Fire Live @ Billboard, Melbourne, Australia

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.

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© 2012 Visceral Industry Photography - John Raptis