The boys from Florida flew in to Australia for press & thought to put on a one date show in Sydney considering they flew 13+ hours to be here.

Once again they put on a tight set, which has come to be one of their strengths....

Daysend were their supports for the night - this was the first time I had seen them live & I must say they put on a great show...catchy tunes mixed with a great stage presence, I'll definitely have to catch them again in the near future

Come 9:30 Trivium took to the stage to the delight of the near capacity crowd in Enmore Theatre, mixing things up with old & new material from their upcoming album 'Shogun' which is due for release in late September this year.

Towards the end of their set, the sense of humour broke through from the band - playing various covers from bands such as Blink 182, Nirvana, AC/DC & even Tim Fogerty's Midnight Train To Nowhere before ending their set with Anthem & Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr.

Apparently they are due back for their Shogun tour mid 2009, so I'll be keen to shoot them again.

Dan

I'd only heard that they were due to play in Sydney on the day of the show from Dave Youdell & was going to be home alone, so I put in a request to shoot the show through the promoter and got the approval 2minutes later.

The bus on the way took just over an hour instead of the usual 20-25minutes due to amazing amounts of traffic congestion, so I missed out on the support band.

Once Escape The Fate took the stage, the lighting was a little dark considering the lighting rig they had setup for the show...and just to further push our already great night, the security tapped us on the shoulder after 2 songs instead of the industry standard of 3 - and what do ya know, the lighting got a heck of a lot better during the 3rd song!

So we didn't stick around, however I got a few OK'ish shots during the 2 songs

Look out in August for Trivium, Timbaland (if he doesn't cancel) & Underoath live shots

Dan.

UNSW Roundhouse once again seen the boys from Byron Bay tear the venue apart, like a fine wine these guys seem to get better with age, stepping up a few notches since their last major show in Sydney (which was not too long ago I might add)

This time around they were supported by Break Even, Antagonist & Have Heart.

After another show tonight @ UNSW, Parkway Drive will pack up & tour through the US & Europe between July-November.

Last night I had something totally different on the agenda, I was on assignment for Big Australia to shoot a Red Carpet Event - Jack Black in Kung Fu Panda @ The State Theatre on Pitt St, Sydney.

Attendees included: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Rove McManus, Jack Thompson, Damian Walshe, Daniel Amalm, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Hilton Dennis, Julia Morris, Tiffani Wood, Bernard Curry & Ally Pinnock.

While the list of confirmed guests was a lot longer, only a small percentage attended....hopefully this will not be the last Red Carpet Event I shoot, it was enjoyable to be out of my comfort zone!

Dan

I Killed The Prom Queen said farewell to the fans of Sydney with a second Sold Out show @ UNSW Roundhouse on Sat May 31 & they went out with style....leaving the fans wanting more

Jona of IKTPQ & Bleeding Through was cool enough to organise me a VIP pass for their show which included The Ghost Inside, The Red Shore & Bring Me The Horizon.

Dan

www.myspace.com/ikilledthepromqueen  www.myspace.com/bmth

www.myspace.com/theredshore  www.myspace.com/theghostinside

Last night seen a sold out Hordern Pavillion crowd rocking out to the tunes of BFMV, A7X & Atreyu.

This was the second time in a year that I've been able to shoot BFMV & it was great to see them bring a bigger stage production this time...the definitely were the highlight of my night, Atreyu were also good however A7X seemed to lack any punch so after my 3song limit I exited the building.

Hopefully it will not be long before BFMV head back to our shores, the know how to put on a great show...mixed with killer riffs & melodic vocals, you're destined to enjoy

As for upcoming shows, Rogue Traders is a maybe for next week + Jona from IKTPQ is giving me an AAA pass to cover their sold out farewell tour show @ UNSW Roundhouse, look forward to some killer shots there.

Dan.

Korn - they were the band that convinced me to convert from rap to metal, so I was eager to get the chance to shoot them before they decided to call it a day.

I arrived at about 6pm to find that my pass has not been organised properly, after several calls/messages to KMW & a print out of my confirmation email an hour passes & box office give me the photo pass, however Bloodsimple had already been and gone by this stage.

Unfortunately all the supports had awful lighting, Chimaira being the worst of them which was disappointing as I was looking forward to seeing them. Not to mention I also tore a chunk out of my shin while walking in to the pit area, kicked the corner of the steel security platform...awful sight.

Korn took the stage and all was forgotten, they definitely improved on their last performance here in Sydney (their show with Disturbed was beyond awful) and the small crowd that attended went nuts, Sunday night @ the Entertainment Centre & they could barely manage to bring in 5,000 kids.

Good Morning...

Monday afternoon, going on about 8 days since I moved into the new apartment & iPrimus are still not providing my with the internet service I pay for! Anyhoo that's another story

This weekend I had the pleasure in being able to shoot my first 'pop' show, and who bigger than Celine Dion - she is highly regarded in the industry as a truly gifted singer & sells out shows around the world. I got the call on Friday afternoon, so it was a nice surprise for the weekend - especially after I received an email stating the otherwise 2 weeks ago.

David Youdell & myself arrived at about 8:15pm ahead of the 8:30pm request time & noticed Getty Images shooter standing inside the Acer Arena halls to our surprise, we were assuming the traditional box office meet with the Coppell rep...however after an initial problem with door security due to our equipment, we made it inside.

Things were a little behind schedule, we made our way inside to the awaiting audience (whom might I add paid a premium price for front row seats) where we waiting till about 9:05pm - with a few relieved spectators who questioned the length of our presence - one song access for this one folks!

Once took the stage & opened with Drive All Night, there was no question that the crowd were not going to sit around...everyone stood up & started dancing along with the woman they were all there to see.

To my surprise, Celine puts on a suprisingly energetic performance given the genre she falls into - I was anticipating a gentle creature to charm the crowd with her high notes, that definitely was not the case, she puts in as much energy & movement as a rock act.

Dan

The Big Top, Luna Park was packed with eager teens screaming to see their first glimpse of the HIM lead sing & Finnish heart throb - Ville Valo.

While my satisfaction levels were not really met, given the high energy shows I usually attend...the crowd seemed more than happy with the performance from the band while I was in attendance.

Here are a few shots from the night.

Keep an eye out for shots from Korn's show w/ the likes of Chimaira & Bloodsimple in April. 

Unfortunately I was denied entry to Celine Dion, Maroon 5 & I had to turn down Smashing Pumpkins + the Gucci Spring Release...however there is still plenty of time left in the year to get the content rolling

Dan

Aussie rockers Grinspoon recently headlined a show @ UNSW Roundhouse on Mar 7 2008, along side them were Many Machines On Nine who put on a solid performance which included some new tracks.

I found a nifty tool called PictoBrowser which I thought I'd try out...seeing as I haven't posted anything in a while. It uses your Flickr account and creates a slideshow for shots in sets or allocated specific keywords, I was hoping that it would pick up everything in my gallery, unfortunately it only allows for 'public' images.

I was pretty happy with some of the shots, UNSW's lighting rig has improved in the last 6months or so...a little too much red front were used but managed squeeze in a few regular skin toned shots (can't stand red!)

After being asked a few times & recently receiving the question below, I thought I might try and clear a few things out when it comes to taking photos at events.

'how do you go about bringing your camera in to the mosh pit though?? xx lis'

First up, something is wrong with my comments, they aren't showing any email addresses which are filled out, only websites...so I am sorry that I can't respond to you directly, hopefully you come back and stumble across this post.

The gig photography business is not something you can overnight decide to do, unfortunately for large scale events/festivals you need accreditation from the artist, their management, the promoter & sometimes the venue. In order to achieve this you need to be representing a legitimate media organisation - being either a magazine, newspaper, webzine or agency.

Before you make it to this level you obviously will require a decent camera, no one wants to look at fuzzy/blurry images that can be achieved on a mobile phone - the best entry level DSLR setup you can buy in my opinion is the Canon 350D (RebelXT for you overseas viewers) with the Canon 50mm f1.8 MKII lens. Though now days you might have to purchase the upgraded model which is the Canon 400D as the 350D is pretty much fazed out.

This is the setup I used when starting out, one which can achieve amazing results when in the right environment. If you look at my portfolio, at least 50-60% of the shots you look at is with this setup.

The 50mm f1.8 is a sharp and fast lens that can be used in any situation - from your large scale arenas down to the low light pub setup down at your local venue. It's a lens which is kept as back-up by many professionals should the lighting ever be a problem & it comes with a great price tag of only $100-$115 in the shops. 

OK, so you have your camera setup now, how do you go about shooting bands?

Myspace can be a powerful tool - I've arranged many club shoots by just contacting the band directly, of course you cannot start charging $$$ right away - without a solid portfolio you won't receive any positive answers...starting off you will be doing a lot of favours - look in your local street press/venue website for upcoming shows & offer your services to the bands in exchange for free entry.

Try shoot as much as possible to become familiar & comfortable with camera settings in various situations/environments - don't forget to switch up your angles to avoid shots looking the same, move around the stage every few minutes.

Some ideal club venues in Sydney to learn in: The Annandale Hotel, Gaelic Club, The Factory & Manning Bar

Once you are comfortable and taking great shots on a regular basis, join a webzine/street press i.e. FasterLouder & The Dwarf - these frequently cover club shows but also some of the large scale events. They ask for photographers to cover shows every week, so put your hand up for club shows & meet their deadlines for a number of shows before requesting to shoot one of the big name shows.

This is where you really test yourself - you have to contend with a number of other photographers in the pit trying to capture the ideal moments, so there can be a bit of tension when getting a good spot in front of stage - be sure to move around to allow the others to snap away, you don't want to get a bad name for yourself amongst the scene if you become a regular - now instead of being able to shoot the entire set, you are given restrictions which are preset by the artist & their management...this can range from the first 30 seconds of a song at the sound desk to the industry standards of 3 songs infront of stage - remember no flash is allowed to be used in any case within the large shows, BUT you should be used to average conditions now from shooting in the clubs

If you produce some great shots regularly & impress the right people, more shows will come.

After a few years & now hopefully with a decent portfolio you can start to look at shooting for a publication or photo agency to try and make back some of the cash you would definitely have spent on drinks/transport for the countless number of shows you have now covered.

Once you can afford an upgrade, do so - decent semi-pro/professional body such as the Canon 40D or 5D

Lens Range: Canon L Glass is the way to go - Canon 24-70mm f2.8 + Canon 70-200mm f2.8 seems to be the most used setup - however if you take a look at Triple J photographer Matt Booy, you can see prime lenses (such as the 50mm) can easily do the job (though you might get annoyed from interchanging lenses) Canon 20mm, 85mm & either the 135mm or 200mm will be enough for all situations

Anyway I'm sposed to be working in the office right now, so hopefully I've answered a few of your questions & pointed at least one person in the right way.

Any questions don't hesitate to email me - dan@dbedford.com

Dan

I won't go in to details, even though it was only yesterday I am sure you have heard the slander & abuse that the organisers received from all directions after the event took place yesterday.

I was lucky enough to shoot the festival for the 2nd time running on behalf of Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying & Fasterlouder - click the photo below to view some of the highlight shots or view them all here

Bands I ended up shooting: Scary Kids, Haste The Day, Plain White T's, Thursday, Bleeding Through, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, Alexisonfire & As I Lay Dying.

On the note of AILD - they walked off early after their guitarist Nick copped a glass bottle to the face & was practically knocked out from the blow. Moments like these are what ruin festivals & the decision for bands to return....what is the point of standing in the crowd when a band is playing if your intentions are to hurt/injure them - I hope the inflictor gets what's coming to him/her!

- Dan.

2008 is looking to be a good year judging from the amount of decent show in the coming months. So far my schedule is looking to be:

Sydney Soundwave Festival @ Sydney Park - Feb 26

Girlfriends 21st Weekend Bash @ Newcastle - Feb 29 - Mar 2

Wedding Shoot @ Newcastle - Mar 8

HIM @ Big Top, Luna Park - Mar 25

Celine Dion @ Acer Arena - Mar 28

Pennywise w/ Sum41 @ Big Top, Luna Park - Apr 11

Korn @ Sydney Entertainment Ctr - Apr 20

Bullet For My Valentine w/ Avenged Sevenfold & Atreyu @ Hordern Pavillion - May 7

Soilwork @ Manning Bar - May 14

Dan

Sunday February 10 Quaywest Hotel in The Rocks was the venue booked in for the second Sydney Strobist meet which was organised by J - of whom fronted the costs out of his own pocket to book a conference room which was used for indoor/studio style photos.

5 models agreed to come along on a TFP basis, all of which appeared to have a fun day & had some amazing shots produced by some 30 photographers who attended, most of which brought there own Strobe lighting, Pocket Wizards, Backdrops, Reflectors, Stands & a huge amount of lenses. All in all I think there would of had to of been close to $400,000 worth of equipment.

Council approval needed be seeked, waivers drawn up & model releases to protect from commercial use. A huge amount of organisation was done before the day, however things went along quite smoothly...everyone kept to the deadlines - of which was 1hr to move between indoor/outdoor locations, setup lighting & shoot before packing up & switching to the next location/model.

I'd advise anyone that wants to learn the fundamentals of studio lighting setup to attend one of these events. While things move along quite fast, there are a number of individuals with a vast amount of experience which can help you with any questions/techniques. Everyone that I had talked to was friendly & even went as far as to lending me a pocket wizard so I could try produce some shots of my own.

I was only able to stay for a couple of hours, so while my time was limited, I think I learned a fair bit which will help me in future. I'll definitely have to try and start attending future meets as they are a great way to improve & learn new lighting techniques, create cheap but awesome Ring Flash's with cardboard or even just to socialise with those who share the same interests.

Here are a few of the shots I got from the day, head over to the Flickr Sydney Strobists Group to view other shots from the day & updates for upcoming meets.

Dan.

Thea

Sarah