Wow I have been so busy! It has been too long

I have been taking some time to regroup. Been to a bunch of shows, been working on a bunch of projects, and I have been to some cool seminars.

I hope to post some more of the studio work I have been working on. I have been branching out and trying my hand at different things..

I will share soon, I promise :)

Job For a Cowboy, Gwar, and Lamb of God @ The Wellmont

Let me start this blog by saying this was one of the most entertaining shows I have been to in a while. What a line-up. Job For a Cowboy jump started the show. This was my third time seeing them this year, and they have not disappointed in the slightest. I am happy that there are more death metal bands out there. It is making quite the comeback and I am glad. When I was in college at the University of Florida, I remember spending many of my weekends down in the Tampa area seeing some great death metal acts. Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Dying Fetus were only a few. Job For a Cowboy take it into the next century and bring a modern flair to a music I grew up loving.

Job For a Cowboy

I will admit that I was a Gwar virgin before this show. They were everything I thought they were going to be. I was so scared that I was going to soak my camera, but alas, I just got some blood or other bodily fluid on it. What a fantastic subject to take pics of. I have to say that Oderus' Cuttlefish of Cthulhu was a little intimdating at first, but made a fascinating subject. I think I got some kick ass pics of it. Blood, guts, cum.. sprayed all over the crowd and myself. Now I call that a show.

Gwar

Then last, but not least, Lamb of God hits the stage. Mark Morton did not play a few dates on the tour, so Doc from God Forbid filled in for him. What a fun fill in that was! I was joking around with friends calling the temporary line up Lamb Forbid or God of God. I think Doc did a great job of filling in for Mark, which is not an easy thing to do. I got some great shots of the band and I had fun jamming out with them. I have to say I took one of my best shots at this show and it happened to be of Doc

Lamb of God

Ok, so now its almost Halloween and to get into the spirit with some zombie fun!

Earlier this month I was part of the phenomenon called a Zombie Walk. This particular one was held in Asbury Park, NJ. What is this and why would anyone want to do this? I will just quote the site here:

WHAT IS A ZOMBIE WALK?

A Zombie Walk is an organized gathering of people who dress up in zombie costumes and then converge quickly in a public area for surprise and fun. Walks usually in urban areas such as shopping malls or town squares. Participants arrive at a pre-determined time (often at a hidden location) and then emerge as a group to creep in a somewhat orderly fashion through shocked and amused crowds, towards a final destination (usually a cemetery, club, bar or after party).

During the Walk, all participants are encouraged to remain in character as zombies, lurching, shambling, dragging limbs and communicating only in a zombie-like manner (such as grunting, groaning, moaning and slurred calls for “brains”.) Zombie Walks are always free events. With the exception of Zombie Pub Crawls, most walks are family-friendly, so participants of all ages are welcome to join in the fun.

A friend of mine, Jason Meehan, and his wife Christina were the responsible party of bringing the "Zombie infection" to the great ol' Garden State. Please visit their website for the NJ Zombie Walk .

Please enjoy some of the fun pics I took at the walk below.

Where the hell is Waldo man?

This is Jason Meehan- He and his wife are responsible for the Mayhem!

Children of Bodom

Thanks to my friends over at Spinefarm records, I was able to grab these pics at the Bodom show. The last set of pics I had up on my site are from the No Fear Tour. That was the tour where Alexi hurt his shoulder when he fell out of his bunk on the tour bus. I still can't believe how many dates he did with his arm fucked up. He is a truly dedicated musician!

Now I just have to say that for the encore songs, Alexi and Hennka where shirtless. If you are a guy, skip reading over this portion. I must have to say that it was breathtaking to see 2 good looking guys playing. I could have snapped away all night! The songs were awesome and the visuals just made it so much better!

Anyhow, getting back to the pics, I think I got some pretty wicked ones of the band. I would love to hear what you think.

To see the entire album go to Children of Bodom

Crap.. so many shows.. so many pictures, so little time!

So, overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about how backlogged I am. I just went out last night to see Children of Bodom and The Black Dahlia Murder at the Starland Ballroom. Last weekend, I went to see Trivium in Allentown at the Crocodile Rock. Like the last post said, I am still working on pics from the Mayhem Tour. Somewhere between these last two shows, I celebrated a birthday.

I am not complaining. I love all of this work. It thrills me to be able to capture these moments in time for other people to look at. I was a woman on a mission the last few shows. I had a decision to make about what lenses to buy. The store where I get my gear was nice enough to let me buy 2 similar lenses and told me to return the one I didn't like. It was pretty cool to be able to do this. I used both at Trivium and was impressed with both lenses. If you are interested in finding out more about my gear, just message me. I will try to keep this to just about the bands and shows. The Trivium show was on September 12th, so one could say I went to celebrate there for my birthday. I found out that Paolo's birthday is the same day, September 14th. Cool people are born that day!

I realized at that show that I really wish I could get on stage more often to get behind the drum kit. Drummers get left out of so many cool shots because us photographers are not allowed back there. I met Travis after the show and was really surprised at how good looking he is. He is usually hiding behind the drum kit with sunglasses and a bandana. I saw him sans his stage uniform and was taken aback. Watch out ladies.. he is a hottie!

Well I really should get back to playing with my pictures. Still have about 5 bands from the West Palm Mayhem show, the Trivium gig, and last nights festivities with Children of Bodom and Black Dahlia Murder.

Oh did I mention I am going to go see Lamb of God/Gwar/Job For a Cowboy on Tuesday! Whew.. more good times.. a mountain of pics to go through...

Till next time.

Trying to Play Catch Up

I took a small break from editing pictures and putting them up. Doing the 2 dates of the Mayhem Festival is a ton of hours of work after the show. I feel ready to tackle them again and I am working on the West Palm date now.

I figured I would start with the bands that I didn't get to take while I was in Tampa. The first set is Killswitch Engage. What a great band to see. I love their "uniforms". They make for an entertaining picture. You can really appreciate the clarity of these pics. I had bought a new lens that would do well in low light specifically with these 2 shows in mind. This lens is a beast and weights a few lbs by itself.

Please enjoy these fun pics. I hope to be able to photograph them again. Follow link to the entire album: Killswitch Enage.

God Forbid blows the crowd away in Tampa

Out of all the pictures I took in Tampa for the Mayhem festival, I think I like the God Forbid batch as a whole. I got some great pics of every member and that is a rare feat for me! This one of Byron really knocks my socks off. I love the detail, colors, and the overall feel of the pic:

Doc shows off his new guitar in this one.. he is looking hot with his new hot guitar!

Here John looks like heaven is shining down on him

This pic of Corey is self explanatory

And last but not least.. Matt.. God Forbid's new addition.. A nice seamless transition

The entire album for this show can be found at God Forbid