@davidbergman

I’m happy to announce that one of my photos was a winner in the first annual “Summer Music Moment” photo contest co-sponsored by Billboard Magazine and Photo District News.

The winning image is my shot of Dillinger Escape Plan lead singer Greg Puciato breathing fire out over the crowd during a show a la Gene Simmons.

It was my “photo of the month” late last year (see it here) and is in the new PDN magazine. The contest site says the winners gallery is coming soon. All of the winners can be seen here.

A couple of weeks ago, I took the subway down to Brooklyn to document the shooting of the music video for “Secret Valentine” by the band We The Kings.

It’s fun to be a “fly on the wall” and find little backstage moments when they happen.

It was really cold, but I went out on the balcony to make this shot from the outside looking in. FYI – you might be able to see in the left window that they were shooting with the super-cool RED camera.

The guys seemed to be having a great time, despite the fact that they had been shooting all day and were exhausted.

The final video went up today on the band’s myspace page.

Yesterday, I spent the day around town with the guys from Barenaked Ladies, who were in NYC for a couple of TV appearances.

In the morning, they were on “Live with Regis and Kelly,” where I snapped this shot of a cue card during sound check. It’s interesting seeing supermodel Heidi Klum‘s name followed by the words “Barenaked Ladies.” I’ll let you write your own caption.

In the evening, we had some free time in a hotel room overlooking Bryant Park, where the guys watched the crowd gather for the upcoming show.

The band played “Elf’s Lament” and “Green Christmas” as featured performers in the Bryant Park Christmas tree lighting show.

Except for the fact that CBS couldn’t get the tree to light up when it was supposed to, the day went pretty well.

In an in-depth interview on the PhotoShelter Blog, Portland-based photographer Craig Mitchelldyer talks about his work as a news, sports, commercial, and wedding photographer. I’m honored that he mentions my name alongside other photographers whose work he likes: Joe McNally, Vincent Laforet, Dave Black, Robert Seale, Chase Jarvis, and Darren Carroll. Quite a group.

In reading the interview and looking at Craig’s site, it really makes me appreciate great wedding photography. I’ve shot a handful of weddings over the years, but it’s usually a favor-for-a-friend type thing. Most of my energy has gone into my work as a sports and music photographer.

But weddings aren’t all that different from the big events I usually cover. Photographically, I have to deal with changing light and fast-paced action. I have to be a fly on the wall, while still being ready to catch a fleeting moment.

A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and there’s no room for error. The wedding cake will be gone by the end of the night and the flowers will die in a few days. But the photos will last forever and might be passed down for generations. For many people, it’s the only physical memory of one of the most important days in their life.

That’s pretty serious.

I have nearly 20 years of experience as a photojournalist covering news, sports, and music tours around the world. I have to nail it every time. I can’t call my editor after the Super Bowl and say that I don’t have “the shot” because my batteries died or I dropped my lens during the game-winning touchdown. The images are all that matter.

So in addition to my other work, I’ve decided to take on wedding clients during the upcoming year. I’ll also be shooting some engagement films using the newest crop of DSLR cameras that capture high definition video. It’s an exciting time to be a photographer.

I’m offering couples a special rate if they’re getting married in the next couple of months. If you or someone you know is getting married, feel free to get in touch at David [at] DavidBergman [dot] net or 212.851.3167.

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Recently, I had an assignment from Kerrang Magazine to shoot Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe recording in the studio. Sounds simple enough, right? The catch is that the studio was 280 miles away.

I packed two Nikon D3 bodies, three lenses, four SB-800 strobes, Pocket Wizard and Radiopopper wireless systems, two shoot-through umbrellas, and all of the necessary hardware into my Thinktank Airport Security roller bag.

I also brought my Domke F-400 sling bag with three lightweight stands, one low-profile stand and a large Chimera softbox. I usually have an idea of how I want to light each job in advance, but I bring extra gear in case the situation changes.

After returning the rental car from my shoot with Madina Lake the day before, I flew to Boston and then drove to the studio in Rochester, NH. Thank goodness for GPS, because the studio is pretty far away from civilization. Here’s a quick photo I shot with my iPhone.

When I arrived, I knocked on the door and called the studio number but got no response. After an hour of sitting in the car and emailing back and forth with the publicist in London, it turned out that someone was in the studio and just couldn’t hear the phone or door. He let me in, but Randy wasn’t there yet. I was told he was “on the way.”

Two hours later, Randy finally arrived. Apparently there was some miscommunication along the chain of photographer-magazine-publicist-management-studio-artist. I had hoped to spend at least a couple of hours shooting a portrait and the recording session, but since the last flight out of Boston was rapidly approaching, I had to switch to hurry-up mode.

Randy wasn’t feeling well but agreed to shoot a quick portrait outside. He wore the clothes that he arrived in and looked like rocker/hunter Ted Nugent. It was cold out, so I took him right outside the studio and shot 14 frames in 93 seconds using one wireless strobe with an umbrella. Normally, I’d want to work the session for a bit and shoot at least 100 frames, but it just wasn’t going to happen under the circumstances.

Back in the studio, I was amazed how quickly he was able to get into “screaming” mode as he worked with producer Josh Wilbur. I set up two wireless strobes – one with an umbrella in the front and the other with a blue gel in the back. Halfway through, I took the umbrella off and bounced the front light off the ceiling so it wouldn’t be so directional.

My original plan of casually shooting a few hundred frames during the session went out the window because I had very little time left at this point. I shot 59 frames in 11 minutes and 48 seconds.

After that, I packed up as quickly as I could, drove back to Boston, and flew home. I worked on the photos as soon as I got in and sent seven images to Kerrang before going to bed.

During the 15+ hour day, I took three Hertz shuttles and two Delta flights. I also spent four and a half hours driving and four hours sitting around waiting.

I only shot 73 frames in 13 minutes and 21 seconds, but I think I got what I needed. Kerrang published the outdoor portrait with the caption “Forest Grump.”