Blood, Sweat, and Fears
August 16, 2009 by David Bergman
I was worried that I wouldn’t be allowed to fly home last week after my shoot with Polish death metal band Behemoth.
Kerrang magazine asked me to photograph the band at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival at the Nissan Pavilion, about an hour outside of Washington DC.
The band’s buses were all parked in a dirt lot that didn’t make for a great backdrop. Fortunately, there was a wooded area nearby and the guys were more than willing to go in wearing full makeup and their usual outfits.
From there, the photos practically shot themselves.
I used three SB-900 strobes – one on each guy – with no light modifiers for maximum power.
(Nikon D700, 24-70 lens, ISO 640, 1/200 sec, f/5.6)
It was the hottest and most humid day of the year, so we were all drinking a lot of water to stay cool.
(Nikon D700, 24-70 lens, ISO 640, 1/250 sec, f/5.6)
The magazine also wanted solo shots of Nergal, the lead signer. After I set up my softbox, I caught him reading Kerrang’s review of the band’s album and the unguarded moment made for a fun contrast.
(Nikon D700, 70-200 lens, ISO 640, 1/250 sec, f/4.0)
After the portrait shoot, I photographed the band’s performance. Near the end of the set, the guys spit out fake blood. I wound up with quite a bit of it on my arms, clothes, and cameras. I cleaned as much of it as I could, but I had to jump in the car with the magazine’s writer to catch my flight home.
As I drove, I realized that airport security might not welcome a passenger trying to get on a plane all sweaty, smelly, and covered in blood.
Luckily, we made good time back to DC and I was able to take a quick shower in the writer’s hotel room. Otherwise, I might still be in a holding cell in Washington somewhere.
David,
Just a quick note to say I love your photos and your blog. I’m always amazed at what you can do with so little equipment and and so little time. And you tell a great story.
Cheers!
Great stuff Dave. You always have some off-the-wall story to tell. Your ventures always bounce in some eratic way only to end up as homeruns!
As another poster said, you do so much with such little equipment and time. Some pros just over process and over think their assignment but it just seems smooth and natural with your stuff. Thanks again, you always make me feel like going out and taking photos.
Very cool! Exactly how does one get fake blood off of a camera?
Great work, these guys are great subjects. I like the bare look of the speedlights as well. A little hot in spots but mostly even overall. If you ever need an assistant on shoots like this be sure to put up a flag somewhere!
Great shots! Behemoth are one my favorite bands so I was pretty exited when I saw the images. Kind of a visual departure for them, but really powerful, simple light… wow. I love how the guys just pop from the background. Would really like to see the live pics too
Perfect location for the shoot. Great images.
Haha! You rock, David! Dream Theater, now Behemoth, my two all time fav bands shot by one person. Good job
Great photos David, you truly were able to get the sensational atmosphere of this band!
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