California-based group Operator brought a dose of hard rock to the Pageant in support of Avenged Sevenfold. Led by singer and sometimes actor Johnny Strong with guitarwork by former Puddle of Mudd member Paul Phillips, Operator was a tough shoot, the lighting of which foreshadowed the setup to come.
Just like Avenged Sevenfold, underlighting dominated the stage effects as cyan, magenta, and white light mixed in dramatic fashion.
As always, you can peep the full set over at my Flickr.
Shooting Notes:
Overall, this was a tough shoot mostly due to the fact that frontman Johnny Strong was a moving target. Combined with the fact that he was also the most well-lit, a catch 22 situation arose.
Add to these factors a level of braggadocio and physical performance usually reserved MCs without a backing band and Johnny Strong made for an interesting, very shirtless subject during Operator’s first three songs.
Lighting:
Much like the lighting for Avenged Sevenfold, though not as richly executed, lighting was a mix of strong underlighting mixed with more ambient effects, which created a two-tone look for many of the images.
While most of the light was placed on singer Strong, guitarist Paul Phillips also received a little more generous treatment from the lighting department toward the end of the alloted time.
Lenses:
The Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 ruled this set, especially the wide end. 17mm came into play heavily for the sweeping gestures of Johnny Strong, though the longer focal lengths also helped secure tighter shots of the performers. I’m continually impressed by how nicely this lens fits with concert photography.
When I move to the Nikon D3, I’m interested in how the newly announced Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 will replaced the 3.2x DX zoom.
This entry was posted on Friday, November 9th, 2007 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2007, avenged sevenfold, band, concert photography, images pictures, johnny strong, live, Music Photography, openers, operator, paul phillips, photographer, photos, pic, puddle of mudd, rock, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
[...] as a primary light source. Other examples include recent performances by Avenged Sevenfold, Operator, and Bleeding Through, all of which utilized similar lighting [...]
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My name is Todd, and I love the rock show. My work has appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, the New York Times, Alternative Press, Metal Hammer, Entertainment Weekly, and Billboard Magazine. I'm available for worldwide travel for editorial and commercial assignments.
Great shots!
Metal, hard rock pictures are the best.
Lots to capture,the mood is very powerful, my favourite.
If I was a live music photographer it would be my choice but I know it’s not an easy task. They are far to active on stage.
Amazing photos Todd.
Hey Solange: Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed the shots. This band had plenty of intensity, especially the lead singer, Johhny Strong.
Metal bands can be really tough to photograph, since the guitarists are always doing hair whips!
Hey Will: Thanks for having a look, I appreciate the feedback.