Alexisonfire @ Rogers Place - January 22nd 2020

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Wow its sure been a while since i’ve written a blog on here. Definitely something i’m going to try and get more consistent at… We’ll see how that goes. So this past week I had the great pleasure to once again have Alexisonfire in front of my camera. The first and only time I had seen these guys before was at Sonic Boom 2015, which I can’t believe was close to 5 years ago already.

This was my first show of the year and boy it wasn’t one to disappoint! Edmonton’s radio station 100.3 The Bear had me out photographing pictures but I decided to do something a little different then I normally do. The normal thing to do is bring your digital cameras to concerts but I decided to switch things up and bring a film camera in as well. My two cameras of choice for this show was my trusty Canon 5D IV and the Canon Elan 7E. For the past few years I’ve wanted to bring a film camera to a show but this time I finally did it, and so happy and excited that I did. This film camera is only about 20 years old so I still had auto focus and the best part is I can use my collection for canon top’s then lenses which I use on my modern DSLR. It might seem like that’s kind of cheating use a film camera with auto focus but I will disagree. It makes it a little easier yes but you still have to know all the setting you have your camera in as you don’t have the instant feed back you do from a digital camera. As well there was a period of 10 or more years these were the cameras that were out. You have auto focus why not use it. During shows like this we get generally the first three songs to photograph and then we get kicked out. So in this time frame I had to make sure I had enough time to take my digital pictures which came first and then shooting my film second. Once I knew I had a good selection on my 5D IV, I started firing off my film. I was only going to shoot off one roll for this concert but I ended having enough time and fired off the two rolls I had with me. My film of choice for this show was Kodak TMAX P3200 and Ilford Delta 3200 Pro.

After getting out of the photo pit I was just on cloud nine getting to shoot my first concert of the year and getting to shoot some film at a concert as well. To be honest I was a little more excited to see what was on the film then I was on my DSLR. Since both of these rolls of film were black and white they can’t be done at a regular that hurts it around in a few days. They would have had to get sent out of town and it would have been about 2-3 weeks before I got them back so I decided to try my hand and develop them myself at home (Go Me!). For an early birthday gift to myself I picked up an Ilford Simplicity & Paterson Film Processing Kit. So easy to use I highly recommend it.

I’m still tossing up which film I like better. The Kodak seems to be a little more contrasty, while the Ilford seems to be a little less noisy but more flat. I think i’m leaning the way for kodak more but i’ll have to get them both a few more uses in scenarios like this better I can make a true judgement call. Here are my photos from that night both digital and my favorites from each roll of film.

Arkells @ Rogers Place - January 31st 2019

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On Thursday night I had the pleasure of photographing the Arkells at Rogers Place for radio station 100.3 The Bear. Edmonton was the first stop on their 2019 Rally Cry Tour, originally scheduled for February 7th they were great sports and give that day after Justin Timberlake had to reschedule his Edmonton dates last year. This is the first time I’ve seen the Arkells live and had the chance to photograph them. I can personally say they were a blast to photograph and think it really show though in the photos. Here are my photos from the show and I hope you enjoy them!

The Trews @ The Starlite Room - January 30th 2019

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First blog post of the year! Blogging is something I plan on doing a little more frequently so I hope you enjoy them! As well every once and a while i’ll giving my thoughts on some equipment i’ve tried out for concert photography.

On Wednesday night I had the pleasure of photographing The Trews at local concert venue the Starlite Room for radio station 100.3 The Bear. As this was my first show of the year I decided I wanted to try something new, and try out a camera I had never used before other then farting around with it at my day job. My camera of choice for that evening was the Fuji X-T3 with 18-55mm Lens and the Fuji XF 50-140mm f2.8 OIS WR telephoto lens. This was the first time I’ve used a mirror-less camera in the real word, and have to say I enjoyed it. I have never really been a fan of EVF (electronic view finders) so I don’t think i’ll be switching to a mirror-less camera anytime soon, but shooting with the X-T3 wasn’t all that bad. It wouldn’t be my first choice for low light and concert photography, but it would make a great over all camera for someone who is shooting a bit of everything. I did find that with the EVF was rather grainy at only Iso 2500, so it was a little hard to see what i’m shooting compared to my DSLR. Keeping in mind its a little LCD screen and that gain in the EVF doesn’t affect my picture quality afterwards I was pretty happy with the photos that came out of this camera / lens combo.

Shooting with a new camera I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to check if my computer could handle these new RAW files. I had my backup laptop with me and wasn’t able to update my software that evening, but luckily on the X-T3 you can convert in camera to high resolution JPEG so I still had great usable images. I edited them the way I normally do and am pretty happy with the results that came from this camera. Here are my pictures and I hope you enjoy them!

Alice Cooper @ Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium - August 23rd 2018

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Holy shit! I still can't believe that I had Alice Cooper in front of my camera! On August 23rd I had the great pleasure of photographing the one and only Alice Cooper at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium for radio station 100.3 The Bear. I have to definitely says this was one of the top photo experiences that I've had so far. This was my first time seeing him perform live and being able to take photos of it has me beyond words. I have been a fan of Alice Cooper since I was 11 years old and this has been the first at it actually worked out to see him. Only had to wait 15 years, but it was well worth the wait. Here are my photo's from the recent show, I hope you enjoy them! 

Slayer w/ Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth & Testament @ Shaw Conference Centre - May 20th 2018

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This show was one for the books, what a killer line-up! On May 20th I had the pleasure of photographing Slayer with guests Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth & Testament for radio station 100.3 The Bear. 

A full house of fans got the chance to see Slayer on their sold out farewell tour that stopped in Edmonton at the Shaw Conference Centre this past week. I've been fortunate to have photographed three out of the five bands before and seen all of them perform in the past. Like with many other shows I look forward to being able to photograph the bands in the future. With Slayer I'm very happy I've seen them three times in concert and had the pleasure of photographing them twice. Here are my photos from this I hope you enjoy them!

Thaw At The Shaw 2018 w/ Shinedown, In This Moment, 10 years & One Bad Son @ Shaw Conference Centre - March 29th 2018

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Every year there are two concerts I really look forward too, Thaw at the Shaw and The Halloween Howler. This years Thaw at the Shaw was amazing to say the least! With a stacked lineup of artists: Shinedown, In This Moment, 10 Years & One Bad Son…

Every year there are two concerts I really look forward too, Thaw at the Shaw and The Halloween Howler. This years Thaw at the Shaw was amazing to say the least! With a stacked lineup of artists: Shinedown, In This Moment, 10 Years & One Bad Son my night was pretty busy photographing for radio station 100.3 The Bear.

Although all four artists but on great performances, two of the acts really stuck out for me headliner Shinedown, and opening act 10 Years. Back in 2004 when I was 12 years old I remember hearing the new song "Wasteland" on the radio and wanting so bad to see the band in concert. 14 years later at the age of 26 I finally get a chance to see them live and better yet to photograph them! For as long as I can remember I've been a Shinedown fan. I have a pretty cool job I can't lie, and with this job I get to go to a lot of concerts. With as many concerts as i've been to its not very often where I can honestly say that I was able to sing along with close to 80% or of the songs that were played. The eighth annual Thaw at the Shaw was a blast and I can't wait to see what next year brings!

Here are the photo's from that show I hope you enjoy them!

Killswitch Engage w/ Anthrax, Havok @ The Ranch Roadhouse - February 19th 2018

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What a great night this was to say the least! Who doesn't enjoy getting to spend family day with your metal head family and friends! Radio station 100.3 The Bear had me out photographing the Killthrax Tour 2018 consisting of Havok, and co-headliners Anthrax and  Killswitch Engage.

This was the first time I've had Anthrax in front of my lens, but I've been lucky in the past few years to have photographed both Havok, and Killswitch Engage. I had an amazing time at this show running to friends I hadn't seen in a long and as well hearing the bands play and getting to photograph them. Here are my photos from that show I hope you enjoy them!

Avenged Sevenfold @ Rogers Place - February 15th 2018

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In the past 10 years I've had the chance to see Avenged Sevenfold numerous times in concert but on February 15th was the first time I've had a chance to photograph them. Radio station 100.3 The Bear had me out that night capturing the photos of these guys.

A7X was one of the first bands that got me hooked on concert photography. When I was just 16, an old friend of mine photographed them at an event called taste of chaos. I just thought that was one of the coolest things getting the chance to see a band up so close in person and photograph them as well. Years later I now get to photograph bands all the time as part of my job as a photographer. If there is something that you really love and want to do it, go for it! You never know where life if going to bring you!

Here are the photos from their recent perfomance here in Edmonton on February 15th at Rogers Place. I hope you enjoy them! 

Black Label Society w/ Corrosion of Conformity and Eyehategod @ The Ranch Roadhouse - February 12th 2018

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First blog on my newly relaunched website!

Black Label Society has been one of my favorite bands for as long as I can remember. On February 12th I had the pleasure of photographing them for the third time for radio station 100.3 The Bear. Over the years I've had the chance to see BLS a total of 5 times and have seen Zakk Wylde perform a total of 6 times. Every time I get to see them its just as exciting as it was the first time.

This show had guest's Corrosion of Conformity & Eyehategod. Here are the photos from the recent show in Edmonton at The Ranch Roadhouse. I hope you enjoy!