PP7 In Review - Official Photographs

The Fiddler

The Fiddler

Just Do It.
Nov 27, 2002
2,835
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Heaven and Hell
A HUGE thanks to Glenn Harveston of BOS (Balls of Steel) Productions for inviting me down again this year to document the festival for him! :worship:

You can find the galleries for all 14 bands here:

http://www.vpdigital.net/musicians/PPVII.html

And a special thank you to Rick Ward (lighting engineer) of Spyder Studios (Houston) for putting on the best light show ProgPower USA has seen yet. :) Rick has also played drums for Azrael's Bane and Distant Thunder.

My principal gear: Two Canon 5D Digital SLR bodies. Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L, EF 35mm f/1.2L, and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lenses. Sandisk CF memory. All photos shot in Camera Raw format and processed in Adobe Camera Raw for conversion to JPG, TIF, etc,. The depth of field you see is achieved by the very small aperture on the lenses. No Photoshop work was done to blur the backgrounds. Any colorization was done directly using the Adobe Camera Raw plugin (v3.3). Exposure settings vary with the lens, but on average, I was shooting manually at f/2 at 1/160 sec and ISO 800.

Remember that the musicians and lighting engineer create the performance/art. I just cut out pieces of their canvas that I like by pushing a button on a big black "brick".
 
Excellent job Todd :worship:


I still regret i wasn't there this year, especially with the good light conditions. Hopefully next year and with un upgraded camera. In these circumstances its important to have the right gear, you've proven it again.
 
The Fiddler said:
Remember that the musicians and lighting engineer create the performance/art. I just cut out pieces of their canvas that I like by pushing a button on a big black "brick".
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Bullshit! What you do is as much art as what they do. Those are fuckin' amazing images.

I especially like these:
Circle2Circle_008.jpg

Epica_043.jpg

FreakKitchen_042.jpg

SavageCircus_030.jpg
 
Excellent work Todd, probably the best of your PP coverage yet. I agree the lighting was much better this year than in the past (although the lighting for Evergrey was still a bit problematic). I think we probably have the DVD crew to thank for that.


Fuckin' A, I have to get me one of those cameras!
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While you're at it get one of those guitars so you can play just like Tom Engund. :rolleyes: Having the right equipment is useful, but there's a little more to it than that. Todd deserves the credit for these great pictures, not Canon.
 
jkohn said:
I agree the lighting was much better this year than in the past (although the lighting for Evergrey was still a bit problematic). I think we probably have the DVD crew to thank for that.
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It might be even different than that. I had the same experience last year at the Dynamo warming up gig. The two first bands that night had excellent (front)light and Evergrey was almost playing in the dark. I talked/complained about it with Tom after their gig and he said he was to blaim. He just doesn't like the frontlight shining in his face while performing so they just used a complete different set of lights that night.


For those who just want the same camera, just grab a louzy $3.000 out of your pocket and you'll have one. The body that is, now start saving for some decent lenses. :) Without that it's very hard to get a good result, even with the best skills.
 
Havermout said:
It might be even different than that. I had the same experience last year at the Dynamo warming up gig. The two first bands that night had excellent (front)light and Evergrey was almost playing in the dark. I talked/complained about it with Tom after their gig and he said he was to blaim. He just doesn't like the frontlight shining in his face while performing so they just used a complete different set of lights that night..
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Yep, Tom had requested the same thing from our lighting engineer. Dark and moody without the blazing lights. The presentation of the performance according to the band's wishes is always paramount. As a photographer, you just go with it and try to capture that mood. I had no idea I would be taking engagement pictures though! ;)
 
Fabulous work! Those pictures are fantasic works of art in their own right. If it was as simple as "pushing a button", everyone would have pictures like this.

While those stage lights may have blinded us now and then, they did make for some great photographs.

I do wish the full size pictures on the site were a little bigger.

Is any of your work for sale?
Edit - I found the ordering information.
 
Havermout said:
It might be even different than that. I had the same experience last year at the Dynamo warming up gig. The two first bands that night had excellent (front)light and Evergrey was almost playing in the dark. I talked/complained about it with Tom after their gig and he said he was to blaim. He just doesn't like the frontlight shining in his face while performing so they just used a complete different set of lights that night.
Click to expand...
I didn't mean to imply that it was a problem with the lighting crew, it's always been the case that lighting varies somewhat for some of the bands. Some bands want a darker, moodier look and in the case of someone like Evergrey I think it works for them. It's just a bit tougher to photograph.


For those who just want the same camera, just grab a louzy $3.000 out of your pocket and you'll have one. The body that is, now start saving for some decent lenses. :) Without that it's very hard to get a good result, even with the best skills.
Click to expand...
Concert photography does have some special requirements due to the low lighting levels. Fast glass is your friend, and since you're going to be shooting at high ISO, SLR's will have much better noise characteristics than the point-n-shoots (the 5D even moreso with it's full-frame sensor). But none of that guarantees interesting pictures, that part is still up to the photographer.
 
Force10 said:
Is any of your work for sale?
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Thanks much for you comments! Unfortunately none of the concert photos can be sold due to legal issues. I don't have any contract with the musicians to sell photographs with their likenesses in them. I can only make them available to media outlets such as magazines, webzines, etc., for editorial (news reporting) use. Of course, any of the musicians photographed or their management are free to contact me to obtain copies of the photos for their personal scrapbook or band promotion.

Sorting/processing all of the photos and handing media and band/management requests is a big part of my crew assignment that goes on after the show is over. It keeps me busy for weeks. I spend as much or more time doing that as I actually do taking photos at the festival.
 
My principal gear: Two Canon 5D Digital SLR bodies. Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L said:
Incredible shots, as usual Todd. I also appreciate you posting your camera specs. I remember last year when you were using the 1D but interested in getting the 5D. Im curious to know your thoughts regarding each and why the 5D was your camera of choice this year. We have the 1Ds Mark II and love it (in part, due to one of your recommendations :) but are looking for a quality back-up/additional main camera that can hang with the 1D's quality. It seems many Canon users are really liking the 5D...

Anyway, AMAZING job. I would say these are easliy some of the best concert shots I have ever seen. You really managed to capture these characters in their element. It's one thing to be technically proficient. It's another thing entirely to have the eye to match. You clearly have both.

Cheers!
Joel
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