Nikon Live

Neil Peart

- Concord Pavilion - Concord, California - 05/04/08

Shot at the Concord Pavilion, on an unusually cold Californian night in May, the three hour “An Evening with Rush” got the fires burning in no time. At the heart of any Rush concert is Neil Peart's epic drum solo. Setting my Nikon D3 at its full tilt 9 frames per second, I attempted to capture the agility, grace and sheer power of the greatest living rock drummer… This photo was published in the July 2008 edition of Rolling Stone magazine.

John Mayer

HP Pavilion - San Jose, CA - 06/05/07

John Mayer’s guitar prowess seems to increase 10-fold each time I photograph him. Shot at the HP Pavilion in San Jose in 2007, a calmer acoustic moment with Mayer. This shot was published in the official January 2008 Martin & Company guitar catalog and was also auctioned off a the Rock for MS event in L.A. in July 2008 along side some of the world’s most iconic rock photographs, with all profits benefiting MSFriends.org.

Black Mountain

- Independent Club - San Francisco, CA - 02/04/08

This was the first gig I shot with the Nikon D3, loaded with 16GB of memory I shot the entire show without removing my eye from the viewfinder. Black Mountain is a Canadian indie-rock band from Vancouver I had the pleasure to first discover when they were opening up for Coldplay back in 2005. Their latest release “In The Future” is one of my favorite albums this year. People don’t know it yet, but they’re going to be huge!

Johnny Winter

Fillmore Auditorium
San Francisco, CA - 2003

This was shot at a sold out show at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, there was no photo pit so I could only shoot from this one spot pinned up against the stage. I got lucky with the lighting refracting in my lens that halo’s Johnny Winter.

Jeff Beck

Crossroads Guitar Festival
Bridgeview, Illinois - 07/28/07

Arguably the highlight of the 2007 Crossroads Festival was Jeff Beck’s set. I have to place him in my top three favorite guitarists ever. From his earliest recordings with the Yardbirds in 1965, on thought to his latest 2003 Grammy winning release “Jeff”, Beck has continually reinvented the way a guitar can sound and be played, with his unique phrasing, tone & harmonics, Beck transcends all guitar rules saying: “I don’t care about the rules. In fact, if I don’t break the rules at least 10 times in every song then I’m not doing my job properly.” Enough said!

Eric Johnson

- Tempe Music Festival - Tempe, Arizona - 03/31/06

One of my favorite tones coming out of a Stratocaster emanates from Eric Johnson’s guitar. This was shot in 2006 at Fender’s 60th anniversary concert in Arizona featuring Jeff Beck, Arc Angels & John Mayer to name a few.

Tom Waits & The Kronos Quartet

Shoreline Amphitheater
Mountain View, CA - 10/28/07

Shooting Tom Waits for me was like shooting one of those ultra rare animals you might find deep in the Amazon! I’m a great admirer of his work and it’s so rare to ever see him tour! This was shot at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in 2007 and although not the headliner, was arguably the highlight of the show!

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

- Olympia Hall - Paris, France - 06/26/06

Opening night, performing live to a sold-out crowd. Although restricted to the usual “First Three Songs, No Flash” rule I managed to capture some of my favorite pix of Ben Harper at this Paris show. A selection of photographs from this show including this picture was licensed by Ben Harper’s management to promote his subsequent world tour.

John Mayer Trio

Tempe Music Festival
Tempe, AZ - 04/01/06

Mayer was the headliner on the second day of Fender’s 60th anniversary concert, I had a rare 360 degree access to shoot all the performers. Standing stage left behind the blaring PA system I captured this halo shot of Mayer in one of his mellower moments.

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top

Warfield Theater
San Francisco, CA - 11/04/07

This was one of those magical gigs you hit every blue moon, set at the mythical Warfield Theater in San Francisco, that “Little Ol’ Band from Texas” delivered the goods with a formidable side of hot sauce! Watching Billy Gibbon’s hands on the guitar fretboard is like watching perfection in real time, there’s a reason Hendrix called him his favorite guitarist!

Tony Iommi

HP Pavilion - San Jose, CA - 04/24/07

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is responsible for single handedly writing some of the heaviest guitar riffs in recorded history. A true guitar hero! Iommi emerged from this plume of smoke as if he had just walked through the gates of hell!

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

- Austin City Limits Music Festival - Austin, Texas - 09/17/06

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were the final headliners for this three day fest, after only a couple of songs it started pouring and they had to pause the show to cover up the instruments, I hid under the stage with a few other photographers nervously trying to keep our gear from getting soaked. They finally came back on stage when I shot this photograph of Petty raising his arms as if to show the rain gods who really was king.

Eric Clapton & Steve Jordan

Crossroads Guitar Festival
Bridgeview, Illinois - 07/28/07

This is one of my favorite shots from the 2007 Crossroads Festival. The almost ‘painful you can feel it’ correlation between Eric Clapton & drummer Steve Jordan. A definite blues ‘instant décisif’.

Carlos Santana

Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, California - 2001

I shot this at the Shoreline Amphitheater, one of my favorite places to shoot because the stage is so low and almost feels like your on stage with the performer. I had the true pleasure of meeting Santana in 2006 backstage, he was kind enough to allow me a moment for a portrait and shook my hand, and I really felt in the presence of greatness!

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

- The Olympia Theater - Paris, France - 06/26/06

Ben Harper walked on stage, strapped on his Martin guitar and raised his arm to the ecstatic cheering crowd. I just knew this was going to be a magical experience. This photograph was auctioned off at the Rock for MS event in L.A. in July 2008 alongside some of the world’s most iconic rock photographs, with all profits benefiting MSFriends.org.

Doyle Bramhall II, Derek Trucks & Eric Clapton

Crossroads Guitar Festival - Bridgeview, IL- 07/28/07

Eric Clapton has always been known for collaborating with some of the best musicians around. Guitar slingers Doyle Bramhall II (Arc Angels) & Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers) are no exception, reminiscent of guitar greats Stevie Ray Vaughan & Duane Allman, the two trading solos with Clapton doesn’t get much better then this!

The Edge & Bono: U2

Glendale Arena Glendale, Arizona - 04/14/05

Shot in Glendale Arizona in 2005, Bono stepped up to The Edge with his microphone stand and started playing slide with it on the legendary Les Paul guitar. This guitar was later auctioned in 2007 for close to a quarter million dollars to a charity spearheaded by The Edge benefiting New Orleans musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

John Mayer Trio

- Tempe Music Festival - Tempe, Arizona - 04/01/06

This was shot towards the end of Mayer’s set. I remember running out of memory card space, hiding behind his Fender '64 Vibroverb amp loaded with a screaming 15 inch speaker, frantically editing and deleting photos trying to make more space… This photo was published in July 2007 edition of American PHOTO magazine and is currently featured on Fender Guitars official website.

Hubert Sumlin, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy & Eric Clapton

- Bridgeview, Illinois - 07/28/07

The 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival was an eleven hour guitar marathon, the world’s greatest guitarist all on one stage! I was shooting from the press risers about fifty yards from the stage and was forced to shoot with a long lens, I opted for the AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 telephoto lens along with the AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II placed on a D2X camera giving me the equivalent of about a 650mm lens. Let’s just say I’m truly thankful I brought the tripod instead of the monopod!

BB King

- Crossroads Guitar Festival - Bridgeview, Illinois - 07/28/07

B.B. King makes an emotional toast to Eric Clapton at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival: "I’ve been around the world, I’ve met kings and queens. But I’ve never met a better man, a more gracious man - my friend Eric Clapton. May I live forever. But may you live forever and a day. Because I don’t want to be here if you’re not around.”

James Brown

Palais des Congres
Paris, France - 06/29/06

This was James Brown’s last show at the Palais des Congres in Paris France, June 29th 2006. I got to photograph "The Godfather of Soul" one last time two months later in San Francisco where I almost got waked by his mike stand… I was front and center, in the crowd as there was no photo pit, James was singing not three feet in front of me when all of a sudden he pulled his trademark microphone stand kick while doing a 360 degree spin, he grabbed the mike cord just in time stopping the mike stand inches away from my lens, stopping his routine for just a fraction of a second, he looks right at me as if to check to see if I was ok then gave me the hugest grin! He’d obviously done this before!

Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton

- Crossroads Guitar Festival - Bridgeview, Illinois - 07/28/07

Clapton & Winwood’s musical paths connected in 1969 with the formation of Blind Faith, a super group that pioneered the fusion of rock and blues into tremendous studio and stage success. This 2007 reunion was truly bitter sweet! This photo was published in the 2007 Fender Guitars Frontline magazine.

Buddy Guy

Crossroads Guitar Festival
Bridgeview, Illinois - 07/28/07

Legendary Chicago blues ambassador Buddy Guy as headliner, was a fitting choice for the 2007 Crossroads Guitar festival. Buddy Guy’s influence on some of the world’s greatest guitarists is without precedent, names such as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton & Stevie Ray Vaughan are all indebted to him. As S.R.V. puts it: "Without Buddy Guy, there would be no Stevie Ray Vaughan." This photo was published in the 2007 Fender Guitars Frontline magazine.

Jeff Beck & Tal Wilkenfield

- Crossroads Guitar Festival - Bridgeview, Illinois - 07/28/07

In front of a cheering sold out crowd of over 30,000 at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar festival, Jeff Beck & 21 year old bassist Tal Wilkenfeld gleamed with joy. Australian native Tal Wilkenfeld was voted as the year’s most exiting new player in Bass Players magazine 2008 Reader Choice Awards.

Neil Peart

John Mayer

Black Mountain

Johnny Winter

Jeff Beck

Eric Johnson

Tom Waits & The Kronos Quartet

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

John Mayer Trio

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top

Tony Iommi

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Eric Clapton & Steve Jordan

Carlos Santana

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

Doyle Bramhall II, Derek Trucks & Eric Clapton

The Edge & Bono: U2

John Mayer Trio

Hubert Sumlin, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy & Eric Clapton

BB King

James Brown

Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton

Buddy Guy

Jeff Beck & Tal Wilkenfield

Nikon Live | Your All Access Photo Pass

Richard E. Aaron

Jérôme Brunet

Kraig Geiger

Robert M. Knight

Jared Milgrim