Black Sabbath @ 2016 Copenhell

At the last minute, Black Sabbath said “no” to pit photography. Initially I was a bit pissed, but it worked out for the best as I got a great spot, nearly dead center in front of the mixing booth so everything sounded perfect. In addition, the crowd around me was great. Had I shot from the pit for the first three songs, I probably would have had a horrible location for the rest.

What a fine show it was! My final time seeing Black Sabbath live, after seeing Ozzy (and Dio) solo in the 80s and Black Sabbath in the 90s and 00s.

Posted on July 23rd, 2016 under Denmark. Tags: black sabbath, concert photography, copenhell, metal, Nikon D500, Tokina AT-X 11-20mm F2.8 PRO DX. Comments Off on Black Sabbath @ 2016 Copenhell

Alice Cooper @ 2016 Copenhell

The Hollywood Vampires are playing at Britt Festivals on 7/23/16. I will miss the show as I’m still in Denmark, but I did get to catch part of the show at Copenhell a few weeks ago. Alice Cooper did a portion of the set as part of his own. I thought it was excellent.

Posted on July 22nd, 2016 under Denmark. Tags: alice cooper, concert photography, copenhell, metal, Nikon D500, Tokina AT-X 11-20mm F2.8 PRO DX. Comments Off on Hollywood Vampires @ Britt tomorrow

August Burns Red @ 2016 Copenhell

@abrband @dustinabr @jakeabr @stubbornbrent

Dustin Davidson

Jake Luhrs

Brent Rambler

Posted on July 21st, 2016 under Denmark. Tags: august burns red, concert photography, copenhell, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D500. Comments Off on August Burns Red @ Copenhell

“I Command You To Scream…”

@COPENHELL #copenhell @RealKingDiamond #KingDiamond

Fun King Diamond Story #1 (of 4 or 5)…

Once upon a time, I had just turned 15 years old. I was laying on my bed late on a Friday night listening to the radio. I don’t remember the station, but it could have been KSJO, KRQR, or KOME. Back in the day these stations would play decent music in the San Francisco Bay Area. You could hear Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, or Judas Priest during the day. However, you had to tune in late at night, especially on weekends, if you wanted to hear the latest and greatest in heavy metal–maybe Iron Maiden or something newly released.

Such was the case one night in November of 1983. The DJ put Mercyful Fate’s 11+ minute “Satan’s Fall” on. I had never heard anything like this before. I got goosebumps. Luckily I had my tape recorder going so I was able to listen to it again and again before finally buying the CD in 1986. Anyway, the DJ said something about this band being from Copenhagen, Denmark. Never in a million, billion years did I ever imagine that I would be standing at this guy’s feet in Copenhagen 33 years later taking this photo.

Posted on July 19th, 2016 under Denmark. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G lens, concert photography, copenhell, king diamond, metal, Nikon D500. Comments Off on King Diamond @ Copenhell (part 1)

I’m back in Copenhagen, now, after three days in Prague. My only regret is that I didn’t bring a long lens on the trip (and I had a 70-300mm sitting on my table back in Denmark! What was I thinking?). That just gives me an excuse to return to Prague someday. This shot could have been cool at 300mm, instead of being a 4-photo photomerge @ 11mm, with the Church of Our Lady before Tyn on Old Town Square in the foreground and St. Vitus Cathedral in the Prague Castle area on the other side of the Vltava River in the background.

Prague really can’t be captured in photos adequately. In person my jaw was dropping around every corner. Next time I need to go when it isn’t tourist high season. Does such a time of the year exist? All I know is on my way out of town on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. the streets were empty. Next time I’ll spend more time out in the streets at dawn and more time sleeping in the afternoon when decapitation by someone else’s selfie stick is a serious concern.

Posted on July 18th, 2016 under czech republic, Prague. Tags: buildings, Nikon D500, photomerge, Tokina AT-X 11-20mm F2.8 PRO DX. Comments Off on Prague from Powder Tower