A Sound Of Thunder, a band with whom I regularly work, has successfully funded many projects with Kickstarters. In the midst of producing a video inspired by their "The Lesser Key Of Solomon" Kickstarter, I decided it was capable of being a much more significant effort. As such, the remainder of B-roll I had on hand would not suffice.
After showing the rough cut to the band, which features a track called "Udoroth" from the aforementioned album, they decided to debut said track to the world on 4/21/2014, while opening for Iced Earth, so I could grab more footage. It was then that my working relationship began with the band. This video is in my portfolio, as well as another ASOT video that went viral.
I made the last minute decision to see what I could get for stills throughout the rest of the show. These are the choice shots from my my first official concert shoot!
Jesse Keen
This is Jesse Keen. I wasn't sure whether to crop closer in on Jesse when processing this photo. I really liked the effect of lights and smoke surrounding him. He did, too, as he requested to use this as his Facebook profile photo. What more flattering feedback can there be than the artist choosing your shot from among a substantial pool of pro-level photographs taken that night? Inspiring, to say the least.
Nina Osegueda
This is Nina Osegueda. Needless to say.. she knows where the camera is, and she isn't afraid to play right into it. She is very adept at engaging her audience. I hope I captured that here.
Josh Schwartz
This is Josh Schwartz. In addition to playing a mean axe, he handles a lot of things on the business and promotion side for the band.
Chris Haren
This is Chris Haren. I tried to pay special attention to Chris that night, as drummers obviously don't have the best line of sight for as many good photo opps as the rest of the band. Alas.. I am 5'3", and there was no proper press area in which to move around freely. This was among the few reasonably good shots I obtained. I will endeavor to go on stage before or after an upcoming show.
A Few More...
Nina meets & greets fans between bands. On the right is Avi Cohen, a fan who flew in from South Africa to see the show. (Also playing this night were Revamp, Sabaton, and Iced Earth headlined.)
I was instructed not to fix eyeliner nor sweat issues, which is a refreshing request. Why cover up reality, especially when it looks like that. Let's hope my photography skills improve to capture it in a more stylistic fashion. A noble goal for which to aim.
An expression of admiration for Nina's belt buckle on Facebook inspired me to crop a close-up.
Testing the camera prior to the gig at a Chipotle a few miles from the venue. I really like how this came out.
Here is a wider angle on the Jesse photo so as to feature another with Chris Haren.
The reaction of the band and their fans to these photographs on Facebook was an amazing thing for me, and I decided to procure a camera for which to take more concert photos in the future. Progressive metal concerts offer some of the richest and most dramatic scenarios, and I was able to make existing press opportunities even more productive since. It was a desire I had my eye on for awhile!
Indeed, the primary objective of obtaining video footage was also achieved on this night. I had two cameras in play and have since obtained a third video of the band performing "Uderoth" for a nice multi-cam production. Click here to view the video!
