Excavated in 1904, the Oseberg ship was used in the 800s and has been on display in Oslo for nearly one hundred years.

Posted on October 15th, 2019 under Other. Tags: museums, Nikon 18-200mm VR II, nikon d7000, oslo, vikings. Comments Off on Oseberg ship in the Viking Ship Museum

I didn’t follow the music scene very closely in the 1990s. I went to few shows and didn’t like much of the new music I was hearing on the radio. Also, I was busy with a new career and family. However, I do remember that one night, while searching for something different in the 90s music world, I stumbled upon an internet radio station out of the UK that was playing Emperor. That may have been the first time I heard true, black metal. “I Am the Black Wizards” became one of the few black metal songs that I listened to regularly before becoming much more devoted to the genre in the past 10-15 years.

Finally seeing Emperor live this past summer at Brutal Assault was very special. There was one moment, a few hours before they hit the stage, where I was sitting on a leather couch, in the fortress where Brutal Assault is held, and the members of Destruction were conducting an interview 10 feet in front of me, Ihsahn was signing autographs 20 feet in the other direction, and Au-Dessus was playing the Octagon stage just 100 feet away. Also, the creator of the Emperor logo, Christophe Szpajdel, was giving tours of his art nearby. I thought I was dreaming.

Posted on October 10th, 2019 under Other. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR DX lens, brutal assault festival, concert photography, emperor, metal, Nikon D500. Comments Off on Happy birthday, Ihsahn!

Alex Skolnick

@testament #TheBrotherhoodOfTheSnake @nuclearblastusa @nuclearblasteu @AlexSkolnick

Posted on September 29th, 2019 under Other. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G lens, concert photography, gefle metal festival, Nikon D750, testament. Comments Off on Happy birthday, Alex Skolnick!

The 2020 festival acts are beginning to take shape. Download Festival, for instance, has announced Kiss, Iron Maiden, and System of a Down as headliners. I hope Iron Maiden is a headliner at some festival I’m at in 2020 as it’s been too long since I’ve seen them (2012). I have no interest in seeing Kiss (again). Typically, 50-75% of the headliners at Download Festival end up as headliners at Copenhell. I doubt Copenhell will have System of a Down again so soon and without a new album.

Gefle Metal Festival has made several announcements, but I won’t be going in 2020 as it’s the same weekend as Metal Magic. I’m really looking forward to Denial of God at Metal Magic 2020.

Brutal Assault is making a big announcement on October 1. I’m guessing it could be as many as 30 bands.

I’m thinking about doing one or two new festivals in 2020. The short list of possibilities include Bang Your Head (Tankard, Heathen, Riot V, Unleashed, etc.) or Dynamo MetalFest and MetalDays.

Posted on September 26th, 2019 under Other. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR DX lens, brutal assault festival, concert photography, electric wizard, metal, Nikon D500. Comments Off on Brutal Assault band announcement for 2020

250+ wins and 3,000+ Ks will be the final tally for CC when the 2019 season ends this weekend. Not bad. Will he make the Hall of Fame?

Posted on September 25th, 2019 under Other. Tags: baseball, new york, nikon d7000, Nikon TC-17E II 1.7x Teleconverter, sports photography. Comments Off on CC Sabathia set to retire