Last year, I had the opportunity to shoot my favorite local metal band, Dragon Red!

Although their sound is modern, I can’t call them nu-metal – there are solos, and pinch harmonics to remember Dimebag Darrell by. This is one of the few bands I would let my hair down for to headbang with (and now, I don’t need to let my hair down to headbang!)

From left to right: Amil the shredder, Camero the bassist, Adam the screamer/crooner, Slyde the rapper, Manshaan the drummer.

The light setup was simple – one F42 from left, one F58 from right, and one F58 on my A900 to trigger them both (this was before the F20 came out.)

The Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) does admirably in the element of F8 with good light. In that sense I say it’s suitable to be a studio lens when stopped down to F8-F16.

The belt is so metal, it doubles as a lighter!

One light from above left, held by a tripod. I pulled out two JPGs from the RAW file, and merged them on the faces. Makes for a less fake HDR look.

Feeling restless? Let’s go outside.

The fire-breathing dragon did it. Really.

If there is one thing I’ve learnt from shooting bands outdoors – do it quick while the sun is hot. At 75mm F14 ISO400 I was getting a weak 1/40s at 5:32pm in the evening. I needed the 75mm to get the desired perspective, while F14 was to get everyone in focus.

EXIF data is included in all shots. More to come!