Touring for the first time since 2007, the RCHP descend on Atlanta during their 2012 tour in support of their tenth studio album “I’m With You”. The sold out tour features a unique setlist each night with the band pulling from its catalog of hits spanning their 25+ year career.

Photography Notes:

Lighting was vibrant and brilliant for the set with photography limited to the first three songs from the pit. Varied in intensity from 1/400 F3.2 ISO1250 to 1/250 F2.8 ISO3200 the consistent changes in lighting treatment were a challenge but not as much as the bands consistent frantic movements during the high energy performance.

Award winning composer and instrumentalist Dixie Duncan regularly performs over 300 shows per year. Fans came out on force to support the release of his anticipated 2012 release “Lost in the Shadow of a Dream”.

Shooting Notes:

A bit of a tough shoot as the pit was not enforced and left open to facilitate a more intimate interaction with the home town fans. The artist remained relatively static in positioning in performing an acoustical selection of songs throughout his career. Lighting overall was atmospheric in nature with exposures falling about 1/125 F2.8 ISO4000.

Jamey Johnson performs in direct support of Hank Williams Jr’s “Taking Back America” 2012 tour at the Gwinnett Arena in Duluth, Ga.

Photography Notes:

Shooting restrictions were imposed to cover the first 3 from the pit at Mr. Johnson’s customary house left and house right positions. We could cross the stage front between songs. Photographers were pulled at artist request right before the end of the second song. Exposures dialed in at a very manageable 1/200 F2.8 ISO2500 on the artist with the band falling to a more challenging 1/160 F2.8 ISO5000 if angles were available given our shooting positions.

As fans wait in anticipation of the his forthcoming acoustic self titled release “John Corabi Unplugged” one of modern rock’s best vocalists/songwriters stops in at Atlanta’s Wild Bills to deliver an exceptional live preview.

Photography Notes

With no shooting restrictions in terms of allotted time, this shoot was handled at a leisurely pace splitting time between capturing moments and thoroughly enjoying one of my personal favorite artists. The lack of an enforced pit meant packing it in with the fans in attendance making leisurely passes amongst the crowd across stage front. Production for the set in terms of sound and lighting were fantastic with John delivering one of his finest acoustic performances to date. Lighting fell at a manageable and rather constant 1/200 F2.8 ISO4000 +/- about a stop.

.38 Special kick of a night of classic southern rock and outlaw country delivering inspired and engaging performances of the groups most notable hits including “Rocking into the Night”, “Hold On Loosely”, “Caught up in you”, “Chain Lightning”, and “Wild Eyed Southern” boys with equally impeccable production that was a pleasure to capture.

Photography Notes

Photography for the group was limited to the first three from the pit with shooting positions limited to house left and house right though crossing sides was allowed between songs. The production was glorious with perfectly balanced stage lights and house follow spots. The group themselves were energetic and engaging with exposures falling at a very comfortable 1/320 F3.2 ISO3200 as always admirably handled by the Nikon 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8′s mounted to twin Nikon D700′s.

Singer, songwriter, and singer Santigold delivers a diverse performance showcasing the artists influences in jazz, pop, and reggae.

Photography Notes:

Shooting the opener was restricted to the first 3 from the pit. Lighting for the set was surprisingly plentiful with exposures dialing in at 1/400 F3.2 ISO1600 on the Nikon D700′s with glass duties handled by the 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.

Honoring the life of Rock n’ Roll’s most influential guitarist is no small feat. Yet, The Experience Hendrix Tour consistently executes an annual tribute to the late Jimi Hendrix through interpretations of the artist’s masterful compositions by virtuosos in their own right.

The 2012 North American tour featured jaw dropping performances by Billy Cox, Buddy Guy, Keb’ Mo’, Jonny Lang, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dweezil Zappa, Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, The Slide Brothers, Chris Layton of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Eric Gales, Mato Nanji of Indigenous, and Grammy nominated recording artist Janelle Monae.

Photography Notes

Shooting restrictions for the performance were liberal given the variety of artists performing. Restrictions were effectively run of the show floor with guidance to not obscure fan visibility. Photographers where allowed to shoot the first song of any artist’s first stage appearance or any unseen combination of artists. Given the appearances and combinations of artists on stage changed every 2-3 songs we were effectively allowed to cover the entire performance. This is unheard of in concert photography and truly a wonderful benefit of this tour. As such, challenges were quite minimal with the exception of fixed vertical shooting angles front of stage (low to the floor from the crowd front). Lighting was consistent throughout the night with exposures dialing in from 1/200 F2.8 ISO3200 to 1/160 F2.8 ISO5000. Capture duties fell to the Nikon D700′s coupled to the Nikon 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.

Performing to the sold out crowd at The Fabulous Fox Theater, Kelly Clarkson delivers a night of celebrated hits spanning her musical career while touring in support of her 5th studio album “Stronger”.

Photography Notes:

Originally stated as a Soundboard shoot for the first three, touring publicity pulled our daily shooter Robb Cohen and I into the center isle near stage front for the first three – a reminder that being courteous, professional, and nice at all times truly matters. Lighting for the tour coupled with the exceptional house lighting at the theater fell at an easy pace of 1/400 F3.2 ISO2500 with the higher shutter speed (and VR enabled) chosen due to our placement over the orchestra pit which consistently bounced to the rhythm of the celebrating fans by around 1/4″. Capture duties fell to the Nikon 24-70 2.8 and Nikon 70-200 2.8 glass.

Bay Area thrash veterans Death Angel kick off a night of classic thrash metal with Testament and Anthrax at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Ga.

Photography Notes:

Shooting was the standard first three in the ever challenging presentation of thrash metal acts. The formula seems rather consistent – High Energy, High ISO, Highly backlit. Exposures fell in the neighborhood of 1/200 F2.8 ISO5000 in an effort to moderately stop the frenzied stage action. Shooting duties fell to the Nikon D700′s paired with the Nikon 24-70 2.8 and Nikon 70-200 2.8.

American Heavy Metal artists Trivium perform in direct support of labelmates Dream Theater on their 2012 North American tour.

Photography Notes:

A quick first three from the pit with a lighting presentation largely in red with a few quick flares of white and yellow. Exposures fell in the extreme range for the fast paced metal show dialing in at around 1/250 F2.8 ISO5000 and underexposed by a stop or more in the deep red washes.

American Singer/Songwriter Matt Nathanson performs in direct support of Kelly Clarkson to the sold out crowd at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. Crowd reception was exceptional for the well packaged tour and a new fan was made of this music photographer.

Photography Notes:

Shooting for the set was limited to the traditional first three, outside of the pit. Shooting position began in an unfilled seat behind the orchestra seating with the Nikon 24-70 2.8, though I quickly moved to side stage positions shooting exclusively with the Nikon 70-200 2.8. Moving from stage right to left used up about 2 minutes of time in the large 5,000 seat venue though this provided the best shooting angles and variety. Exposures fell at a relatively constant 1/400 F3.2 ISO2500. In these drooling times of the Nikon D4 performance specs, the Nikon D700 twins are showing no signs of being long in the tooth in these shooting conditions.

With 30 years and 10 albums of celebrated New York style Thrash Metal, Anthrax headlines a 2012 tour in support of their 10th studio album “Worship Music” with fellow thrash aficionados Testament and Death Angel.

Photography Notes:

A challenging shoot indeed. Photography was limited to the customary first 3. The band’s over the top energy, a highly backlit presentation, and a crowded pit of media and security made for the traditional challenges of covering the metal show. Scott Ian was the best lit of the set and Joey Belladonna handed me a concert photographer’s dream on a silver platter – Sadly in that 3 second moment every watt of white backlighting in the venue came full force and directly into the crowd. I dropped the exposure as quick as possible from the 1/200 F2.8 ISO 5000ish I was shooting to 1/640 F4.0 ISO1600 as fast as my fingers would let me while kneeling to put a can behind his head and still missed it by about 2 stops. Still a great moment worth sharing! Hey Joey – Let’s do this again at Mayhem 2012 in the follow spots! .

Bay Area Thrash veterans Testament perform to a packed house of metalheads at the Atlanta tour stop of the Anthrax / Testament / Death Angel tour.

Photography Notes:

Shooting for the set came in the form of 2 3/4 songs the hard way from a packed pit of media and security with the addition of the occasional crowd surfer. Lighting for the set was standard house lighting without the follow spots and was largely backlit in nature in washes of red, green, and yellow. Exposures fell in the challenging neighborhood of 1/250 F2.8 ISO6400 well handled by the Nikon D700′s paired with the 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8. Hard to catch drummer Gene Hoglan, but we managed a shot.

Touring in support of her 5th studio album “Stronger” America’s first American Idol Kelly Clarkson performs at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta Georgia.

The artists first tour in 3 years was welcomed by a standing room crowd for which the artist did not disappoint in a nearly 2 hour show spanning her 5 album career. More to come…

Printing some large canvas prints and struggling with this one. Open for group debate. Which is your favorite and why?

The first I like because it shows the artist’s personality. The second as it is a classic BB King performance moment. What are your thoughts and why?

Best,

Allen

Los Angeles based blues/rock artists Rival Sons perform in direct support of Evanescence at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Ga.

Photography Notes:

Shooting the set was limited to the first three from a barricaded pit. They style of the artist lent itself perfectly to my newfound decision to approach a shoot from a black and white perspective which perfectly fit the groups image and musical style. Exposures fell about 1/200 F2.8 ISO4000 with capture duties falling to the Nikon D700′s coupled to the Nikon 14-24 2.8 and 24-70 2.8.

Amy Lee and Evanescence make a triumphant return to Atlanta performing in support of their 3rd self-titled studio album to a sold out crowd at The Tabernacle.

Photography Notes:

Shooting was limited to the first 3 and I counted no less than 8 photographers, a video crew, 4 security staff, and a handful of stage height subwoofers in the pit from touring production. The subs reduced the 3′ fixed pit to 1′ or less at its tightest point mid stage. While most photographers stayed house left I choose to squeeze through center stage to house right mid set. Lighting was minimal consisting of house lighting for the main production with no use of house follow spots augmented by on stage production lighting. While active in presentation, the lighting was largely of the blue wash variety with a few seconds of flair in the form of red, yellow, and white strobe effects. The Nikon D700′s handled the focus well in the flat lighting treatment with the 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 getting the nod for the glass.

Concert photography in 2011 overall provided exceptional opportunities to cover a vast array of live performances spanning many genres and venues with various scales of production. Somewhat surprisingly, the larger tours came with increased restrictions including many rights grabs releases, unfavorable shooting positions, and tour production favoring the low power, color imbalanced, and cost effective LED lighting.

My top 10 of Concert Photography each year involves numerous factors – many of which are not related to the photography produced itself or whether or not there is a fondness of the artist. It includes factors such as production quality, artist performance, shooting restrictions, shooting position, vibe of the show, and of course some degree of personal opinion. That said, I am pleased to present the best concert photography assignments of 2011.

10. Styx/Yes

70′s Prog/Classic Rockers Styx and Yes joined forces for a 22 city co-headling summer tour which provided a bounty of unique photo opportunities paired with impeccable performances.

…More of Styx and Yes

9. Alice Cooper

The still reigning master of live performance continues to inspire and influence generations of fans and artists with the same tenacity and spectacle as he has for over 40 years.

…More of Alice Cooper

8. Vanden Plas

Making their much anticipated return to the PPUSA XII stage since PPUSA IV in 2003, Germany’s Vanden Plas delighted the PPUSA XII attendees with two outstanding performances. The first in a co-headling slot on the PPUSA mainstage during Thursday’s Pre Party show with Co-Headliner Evergrey. The second in an afternoon acoustic performance on the last day of the festival.

…More of Vanden Plas

7. Forbidden

Atlanta’s annual Progpower USA Festival historically delivers at least one performance garnering a top 10 live performance. This year brough two. With the second top ten performance going to one of the “power” performers of Progpower dominating the PPUSA XII stage in the vein of previous year standouts Accept (2010) and Primal Fear (2009). The Bay Area Thrash veterans Forbidden killed it!

… More of Forbidden

6. Sick Puppies

You’ve heard their radio hits and you’ve seen their viral youtube.com videos. While good, they don’t give a Sick Puppies live performance justice. Heavy, energetic, and classic “in your face” rock n’ roll is what this band delivers in spades. If you like them on recording, you’ll love them in person. Kudos to Shimon, Emma, and Mark for a marvelous performance.

… More of Sick Puppies

5. Buddy Guy / BB King

How often do you have the opportunity to cover two living legends in the same spring evening at one of the city’s best outdoor venues? This night of shooting Buddy Guy and BB King offered that opportunity with both artists delivering incredible performances demonstrating their iconic status in the world of rock and blues.

… More of Buddy Guy and BB King

4. Corey Taylor Acoustic and Spoken Word

The talented and outspoken Corey Taylor’s acoustic and spoken word performance gave a look at the artist’s multiple creative facets in an intimate and unique performance combining spoken word, audience Q&A, and acoustic delivery of personal favorites and inspired cover selections. Access to shoot the entire performance was largely available. I choose to spend my time shooting the first 10 mins of the spoken word performance and the first three songs of the acoustic performance before retiring to enjoy the show.

… More of Corey Taylor

3. Tom Jones

Sir Tom Jones. For the sake of full disclosure, I originally accepted this assignment on the novelty factor. Mr. Jones performance however was far from novelty and provided one of the most energetic and photogenic performances of 2011. At 70 years young, Tom Jones simply rocks. He made a new fan and left me eager to cover future performances of the artist.

…More of Tom Jones

2. Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell’s acoustic performance in support of his 2011 Songbook tour in the sold out intimacy of the 1,000 seat Center Stage theater reenforced the artists accolades as one of the top voices in rock. Adding to the exceptional performance, was the receipt of 2 front row center comps to enjoy the unique 2 hour set after shooting songs 4,5,6.

…More of Chris Cornell Acoustic

1. Mother’s Finest Live On Peachtree

Mother’s Finest exceptional performance in the town they call home coupled with perfect sound and light production, legions of hometown fans, the shutting down of Peachtree Street for the first time in the history of the city, and access to shoot the entire performance came together to deliver my top assignment of 2011.

…More of Mother’s Finest

At 63 years young, the often imitated and never duplicated founder, creator, and godfather of all thinks shock and awe in the world of rock and roll brought his 2011 No More Mr. Nice Guy Tour to the capacity crowd at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta Ga. Indeed, there is still only one…and his name is Alice.

Shooting Notes:

Shooting the iconic Alice Cooper is as unique as his performances. The first time I had the pleasure of capturing the artist was my first weekend with the Nikon D700 over 3 years ago. To my delight, the artist allowed the first 4 (as opposed to the standard first 3) while also endorsing flash. One might get the impression (I did) that this was to be a dark and moody show as a result. In practice, this is quite the contrary as Alice Cooper shows are always extremely will lit beyond the typical challenges found in most live music. Overexposure mistakes are easy as one battles the experience and muscle memory hammered into our instincts as concert photographers in low to no light shooting conditions. This show was no different with exposures dialing in at 1/400 F2.8 ISO1600 minus a stop or so at the brightest points of the performance. As is customary at this venue, there was no pit and a much more engaged crowd than is normal for this venue. As such, I took the 70-200 2.8 to the rear of the orchestra seating to capture the entrance and then packed it in behind the front row fans and other photographers with the 24-70 2.8 and 14-24 2.8 for the rest of the shooting interval. Careful timing was required in the limited positioning and amongst the cheering arms and fist pumps.

Shots 7 and 8 of this set are particularly interesting as they were taken about a second apart. Shot 7 is with the 14-24 2.8 at its widest setting. Shot 8 is from the 24-70 2.8 zoomed to about 50mm and one step to my right into the crowd. What a difference minor adjustments in focal length and just a foot or so of repositioning can make.

One of the many great things about the annual Progpower USA festival is the unique performances that often surround the event. Progpower USA XII in 2011 was no different as Germany’s Vanden Plas performed an intimate acoustic set in the afternoon of the festivals final day featuring Vanden Plas originals and some of the bands favorite covers including Locomotive Breath (Jethro Tull), Boat on the river (Styx), Music Was My First Love (John Miles), Father, Far Off Grace, How Many Tears, and Holes in the Sky.

Photography Notes:

The set was performed in “The Loft” portion of the Center Stage complex during the afternoon. The Loft features a minimal stage lighting setup of tungsten cans whose age shows in their significant “warmth” from a color balanced perspective. Outside windows run the length of the room stage left and allowed the sun to compete with the stage lighting. While I normally do not shoot live music in black and white, the uniqueness and mood of the performance commanded it.

Shooting was a challenge as the packed room was without a pit and the acoustic delivery and small stage warranted a more subtle approach to coverage. Given such, I positioned myself largely on stage left and right, just out of audience view and waiting for moments to capture the overall feel of the sets delivery. Shooting duties fell to a single Nikon D700 shared by the Nikon 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8. Exposures came in about 1/40 F2.8 ISO12800.