This photo was among the first shots that I ever took of Live. I believe it was around 2001 at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City, when a very generous friend invited me to have the opportunity to shoot a concert. I was shooting film back then, as were many people. I remember the excitement and anticipation of being right up against the stage when the band came out. It was mind-blowing to be that close to the stage and at the feet of my favorite performers and taking photos, living out my favorite hobby in the most covetous of situations imaginable.

I knew a lot less then than I do now about shooting a concert. Exposure, shutter speed, ISO speed, composition. And using film made it much, much more difficult. I remember quickly fumbling around unloading and loading 24 exposure rolls of 800 speed film during the first 3 songs, which is the only time that photography is permitted. That seems so archaic now. Digital makes things so much easier, and the ISO speeds of my new Nikon D700 are unbelievable by film standards. I still use the Nikon 80-200 2.8 lens that I used for this shot. This photo is framed as an 8×10 on my wall at home, in a frame that also contains my first photo pass, my ticket and Chad Taylor’s autograph.

I have some great stories about the night I took this shot. The first time I ever met Ed was that night – he jumped on the elevator with me as the doors were closing. I ran into Chad Taylor in the hotel lobby early the next morning and saw Chad Gracey eating breakfast in the diner. As a fan of the band, it was pretty cool to see the members of the band popping up everywhere.

I had the opportunity to shoot another Live concert about a week ago in Hershey. Great show. This time, I got to use my new Nikon D700. It performed beautifully. Low noise. Beautiful colors and resolution. I am amazed by this camera. I am just sorting through the hundreds of images that I shot. It may take some time. Here is one quick shot of Chad Taylor right from the beginning.