This weekend, the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio CA will be rocking. On April 23 the Big 4 will be together for the first and only time in the United States. Who are the Big 4? Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax and I will be there photographing the show. This is going to be a huge show. I have shot Slayer twice before, Megadeth and Anthrax once before and have never had the opportunity to shoot Metallica. So this post is not about the show, but about the gear I use and will be taking with me.

Cameras:

• Nikon D3. This will be my main body for the show. It will be loaded with two 16GB Hoodman RAW CompactFlash cards that will be used in sequence.
• Nikon D700 with MB-D10. This is my backup body for the show . This camera will be loaded with a single 16GB Hoodman RAW CompactFlash card.
• Nikon P7000. This pocket camera is perfect as a small back up. Not only can it be used to take actual performance photos but can be used for any crowd shots if needed. This camera is loaded with a 16GB Hoodman RAW Steel SD card which gives me plenty of space for photos. I will of course be carrying a backup SD card just in case.

The key when using two camera bodies is to make sure that the time on both cameras is the same. That way when the images are imported into the computer later they can be in the proper order.

Lenses:

• 70-200mm f/2.8. It will be interesting to see how many of the images I take this weekend will be with this lens. Since I know what I like to shoot and I know the stage will be huge, I will bet that 75% or more of the images will be taken with this lens. I plan on keeping it attached to the D3 the whole time.
• 300mm f/4. Since the stage is big and the angles are tough, I am taking my 300mm f/4 lens to use to get some of those close up shots.

Extras:

• Earplugs. I will have plenty of earplugs with me for this shoot. There will ge some really loud music and being so close tot he speaker stacks means ear protection…
• Confirmation letter and photo guidelines.
• Hat. It is really hot in Indio. A hat will help and I have my favorite for concert shooting. It will get a good workout this weekend.

The photos are coming soon….