@davidbergman

NFL football, cheerleaders, and the American flag. It doesn’t get any more patriotic than that.

(Nikon D700, 24-70 lens, ISO 4000, 1/1600 sec, f/2.8)

I’ve already covered a few pre-season games this year, including Steelers at Redskins. The first play of the game was a long incomplete pass, but it looked different because the smoke from the opening ceremony fireworks hadn’t cleared yet.

(Nikon D3, 600 lens, ISO 4000, 1/1000 sec, f/4)

During the pre-season, I’m often assigned to get photos of particular players for Sports Illustrated’s scouting report issue instead of just covering the game like in the regular season. Here’s my take on Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

(Nikon D700, 24-70 lens, ISO 1600, 1/400 sec, f/4)

The players are battling for spots on the roster while I’m trying to get into mid-season shooting form.

(Nikon D700, 24-70 lens, ISO 4000, 1/500 sec, f/4)

After shooting photos of Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro in the studio, we decided to head out to lunch. I wasn’t planning on shooting anything outside, but brought one camera with me anyway.

As the guys walked down the street, drummer Ben Johnston hopped over a bar sign and it made for a nice frame.

(Nikon D3, 24-70 lens, ISO 400, 1/500 sec, f/5.6)

I was using only available light, but a little dodging and burning in Photoshop helped a bit.

After lunch, I sat them on a stoop and popped an SB900 strobe in from camera left (no light modifiers) for a quickie portrait.

(Nikon D3, 24-70 lens, ISO 500, 1/60 sec, f/5.6)

Be prepared to make images anywhere. Sometimes the best photos happen in the studio with all the big lights and sometimes they’re on the street in broad daylight.

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.

My shoot last week with Dream Theater singer James LaBrie was normal in every way — except for the fact that the location was haunted.

The band was playing at the Asbury Park Convention Hall on the Progressive Nation tour. I arrived at the venue with my assistant early enough so we would have plenty of time to scout and set up. When we got there, the tour manager told me I’d have 5-10 minutes with James instead of 30 as promised. I had to find a location quickly.

The backstage area was small, with just a couple of narrow hallways and stairwells. I talked with a security guard (always be nice to the local staff!), and he mentioned that I should check out the fourth floor because they were doing some construction up there and it might look cool. And by the way, it was haunted.

Huh?

He said the building was inhabited by ghosts. There had been reports of weird noises and doors opening and closing by themselves. Apparently another security guard was working the overnight shift after a Bruce Springsteen rehearsal and heard screams in the basement even though nobody else was in the building.

The good news is that there was plenty of space up there with a bunch of distressed walls that had great texture. Haunted or not, I couldn’t pass that up.

I set up my lights so that I could quickly get two different looks. When James arrived, we chatted for a minute and then I got to work.

For the first shot, I put him up against one of the walls and lit him with two SB-900 strobes in a large softbox on camera right. I also bounced an SB-800 off the warm colored floor for fill. I shot about 20 frames until I was comfortable and moved on.

(Nikon D700, 70-200 lens, 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640)

I then put James in front of some old windows with only one SB-800 strobe and a Honl snoot. I dialed it down one stop to pop a little light on his face. The rest of the image is lit only with available light. I framed it so the reflection of one of the overhead lights was right over his head.

(Nikon D700, 24-70 lens, 1/20 sec, f/2.8, 1600 ISO)

I shot a few more images, thanked James, and let him go. Final tally? Thirty-five frames in 5 minutes and 38 seconds.

I didn’t see any signs of ghostly activity, but just to be safe, we packed up and got out of there as fast as we could.

Like most Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees often assist various charities and organizations by donating money or arranging for player “meet and greets” before a game.

But recently they took it to a new level.

HOPE Week (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) was created by Yankees public relations director Jason Zillo, who wanted the team to give back to the community in a more direct way. From July 20-24, players and coaches hosted a Little League clinic which included kids with cerebral palsy, shared a meal with the family of an Army paratrooper suffering from A.L.S., and surprised at-risk neighborhood kids by dropping in for lunch.

The most incredible event was on Thursday night, when a bus full of people from Camp Sundown arrived at Yankee Stadium to see a game. Every summer, the upstate New York camp hosts kids who suffer from light-sensitivity diseases such as xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), a rare congenital disorder that prevents skin cells from repairing damage caused by ultraviolet light.

XP makes any amount of sunlight dangerous and forces those with the disease to live nocturnally and indoors — isolated from the rest of the world. Most don’t make it to adulthood.

The group, including XP sufferer Kevin (below), got to watch the game from a luxury suite at the stadium.

(Nikon D3, 70-200 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/125 sec, f/4)

Then they got to high-five Yankees players on the field after the win over the A’s.

(Nikon D3, 70-200 lens, 1000 ISO, 1/500 sec, f/4)

The fun really began after the game when a carnival with jugglers, magicians, and an inflatable moon bounce was set up in the outfield for the campers and their families.

(Nikon D3, 14-24 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/320 sec, f/2.8)

Yankees players including starter A.J. Burnett threw whiffle balls, kicked soccer balls, and signed autographs into the early morning hours.

(Nikon D3, 70-200 lens, 4000 ISO, 1/500 sec, f/2.8)

We photographers were told we could use our flash to make pictures, but we had to turn off the pre-flash, red-eye reduction feature because the extra light might be too intense for the campers. I didn’t want to take any chances and worked using only available light.

The Yankees turned off most of the stadium lights so that it wasn’t too bright.

(Nikon D3, 14-24 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/400 sec, f/2.8)

Katie Mahar, whose parents created Camp Sundown, got a hug from catcher Jorge Posada.

(Nikon D3, 14-24 lens, 2500 ISO, 1/200 sec, f/2.8)

Simply standing on the field at Yankee Stadium is a memorable experience for anyone. I can only imagine how special it must have been for the campers to play like “normal” kids – even for one night.

The carnival went until 4 a.m., when they had to board the bus for the two-hour ride back to camp before the sun came up.

Donations can be made to the Xeroderma Pigmentosum Society.