I got a ton of great photos from the Judas Priest show on Friday. Even though it was at the Dodge Theatre, which usually doesn’t have a pit for photographers. But since it was a heavy metal show, I guess they do put a barrier and some space between the crowd and the stage. The guys worked it out with goodwill, even with our cameras right in their noses. I love shooting these type of shows. Rob Halford and company were jumping around with tons of energy, making for easy good shots. There are a ton more photos over at azcentral.com, and you can go see them (but come back!) by clicking here.

Now, I’m sure you’ve noticed the website is looking different. Love it or hate it, I just wanted to try something radically different, and it’s a proven fact that photos look better on black backgrounds, or so I vaguely remember hearing at school. At any rate, I’m sure I’ll get tired of it soon enough and try something new again. The banner was inspired by the sticker/photo pass that photographers get at every show. They’re all different, and some are pretty cool. I really liked the shape of the Judas Priest one, so I nabbed that one and Photoshoped the hell out of it.

I was excited about shooting the Bob Dylan show on Tuesday, but it was canceled because of the ‘heat’. WTF@3$%^ were the organizers expecting in an outdoor venue at 5 p.m. in AUGUST in PHOENIX? Did they think it was going to be mid-70s with a light breeze?

Very much enjoyed shooting this concert. Say what you will about the big corporate machine that is American Idol but they do manage to find some people who are really good singers and performers. I can’t say that I religiously watch the show (nor that I bother to vote) since it airs on TV, oh, around 7 p.m. while I’m still at work. Everything airs so early here in Phoenix… our theory is that stations cater to the large retired population who MUST get their nightly news in at 8 p.m. before they go to bed. Some seasons of American Idol I follow more than others, as in read the reviews and maybe try to catch the better performances online. Entertainment Weekly puts together some hilarious video recaps of each episode that are probably just as good as watching the actual show.

We ran into Kris Allen and Adam Lambert backstage, but since we technically weren’t supposed to be there, approaching the “talent” would’ve been a big no-no. Not that I would’ve anyways. I’m too chicken for that kinda stuff.

The interesting thing about this concert was that instead of shooting the first two or three songs as usual, we were allowed to shoot the last three, since those are the songs that included Kris Allen (the winner), followed by two group numbers that included everyone. Otherwise, the first few songs only include certain Idols. I also appreciated that the Media people were kind enough to take us to our spots with enough time to scope out the lighting and the overall layout of the stage (and enjoy a few songs from an awesome spot!). Downside? We were leaving at the same time as the crowd, so I had to deal with a little bit of traffic. Not too bad, since we managed to bolt from the arena pretty fast, and Jobing.com really takes care of their media people when in comes to parking.

My only complaint from a performance perspective was that the Idols were mostly just signing covers of overly-played, sugary pop culture songs, which, I know, is kinda expected with their target audience, but some of them could do much better, I’m sure. Oh well, I’ll be excited to catch Allen, Lambert and Allison Iraheta when they come out with their own stuff.

Gotta run. Going by Tempe Camera to pick up a lens, and then Keith Urban tonight if all goes well.