Photos from Toronto show

[WrathChld]

Just wanted to let you guys that I've posted my photos from the Amon Amarth show in Toronto on April 8. It was an awesome concert, my first time ever seeing the band, and I had a lot of fun. Watching Johan work the crowd was an absolute joy. There was an insane mosh pit, unfortunately, so I couldn't get a good spot on the floor to take pictures. Instead, I managed to sneak onto the stage when security guards weren't looking, and spent almost the entire show there. (for anyone there, I was the guy with the bandana and big black camera)

Anyway, you can see the entire photo gallery on my website:

http://www.jollyrogerinc.com/photo/2003/amonamarth-oh.html

And here are a few teasers...

 

[AAarrival]

Great pix man!

 

[Squeak]

Dude, I so envy you for having a huuuuuuuuge stage and kick-ass lights to work with! I wish the clubs the bands played here were like that sometimes. It makes for much cooler photo shoots. You rule for posting those kick-ass pics!!! Of course, you already know that I like your work.

 

[Squeak]

Question about the black and whites of Fredrik. Were you able to stand up on something to get the "above and over" shots of him? It's so much cooler to be able to get on the stage to do drummer shots. Do you make it a point to try to GET drummer shots? Or do you just do it if there's an opportunity? You know why I ask these questions since you saw the Opeth Lopez pics I took. I find it very interesting to see what other photographers think/do. I may try to do some black and whites on the Metal Gods thing, if I do end up being able to go to more than two shows. That way I have a mix of color and black and white. Do you normally take both as well? Or did you take the color out of the color ones to make them black and white?

 

[Belgar]

Man that's some great pics and boy I feel ashamed to be in Tampa, the so-called death metal capital, the venue AA had to play in looks like a bum joint compared to the stage AA had in some other cities.
Oh well, welcome to the great south ......... hiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[Squeak]

I agree Belgar. The place they played here holds 450 people and the stage is about barely two feet off the ground, plus they had NO room. The stage is very small and they had to set up their drumset in FRONT of the other drumset, so there was maybe two feet of room for Johan H to run around in front of. And the guys were all of a foot away from my face, so there's NO room to scoot back to get out of the way or take decent pics. And you can't move anywhere to do photos of Johan S, who was on the other side. BUT, at least they got to play here! The club is not bad, it's just VERY tiny. Most clubs here are like that. Seems like Canada is cooler in that respect. If only it weren't such a problem for bands to PLAY in Canada!

 

[TexunNYC]

Your work *does* rule . . . great photos and I really appreciate someone able to get good drum shots!!

Thanks for posting those and I'll make it a point to check your site regularly now!

 

[Squeak]

He has a lot of other great shots, especially of Opeth.

 

[forest of october]

I was at the show in montreal, the stage was like 5 feet in the air I think. Something like that. It didn't look as nice as the Opera House, but it was a great spot for them.

 

[wildfyr]

WrathChld: Wow! Those look great. Thanks for sharing them.

Squeak: Ugh. I know what you mean about dumpy venues. Bleh.

TexunNYC: I usually try to get drummer shots, but my camera ran out of battery power during the Amon Amarth set. :\

 

[North Sea Stormrider]

They played the Opera House! Oh man! I wanted to go but I had work the day after. I would have loved to go!

 

[WrathChld]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments... really appreciate it.

Squeak: it's pretty much luck of the draw as far as venues go. The last time that Amon Amarth played Toronto, the show was in a 300-person "club" that was more like a crypt than anything. Luckily, most bigger shows are held at the Opera House (1000-person capacity) and the local promoter is opening up his own place soon, which I trust will be pretty good.

As for the pictures of Fredrik, I was not standing on anything - actually, I was lower than him. I just framed those photos in the bottom half to shift the perspective. I always make an effort to get drummer pictures, although some turn out better than others. This time was particularly lucky, because security didn't catch me sneaking onto the stage, and the lighting was good (when Opeth played here, on the other hand, my photos of Lopez were terrible.)

Regarding film, I usually stick to digital. I did take some film photos at the show, but since my film camera (Leica M2) is completely manual, it's pretty tough. It doesn't even have a built-in light meter On the digital, I intentionally under-expose a lot of stuff, then push it back up in the black & white conversion. Since I never use my flash at shows, this is pretty much the only way to get balanced exposures. Of course, since you shoot film, you could always just get some crazy high-speed black & white stuff (ie. 3200 Tmax) and get the exact same effect. Especially with all the weird colored lighting in some venues, I find that black & white is usually the best way to go.

 

[GoddessHecate]

Great Photos dude!

At least on their next tour they will be playing bigger/better venues with bigger /better stages, lighting and sound systems! I had to see this last tour at Lamour in NY and that place sucks balls. This time around it will be BB Kings in NY and The Trocadero in Philly! WooHoo, this tour is going to RAWK!

 

[Aggressor]

Really nice shots mate