Foto Rocker

Happy Birthday Keef!

2009-12-18T14:18:00.004+01:00

Keith Richards turns 66 today. Happy bday Keef and cya soon :)

To the top with ZZ Top

2009-11-02T20:13:00.006+01:00

Hey folks. Lots of happening lately, more to come, but i just wanted to share a few pics of recent event we had in Ljubljana, where after few years the two longest beards in r'n'r known as ZZ Top played for us. It has been the concert i wanted to shoot for a while and i haven't had a chance to catch with them before. Texas guys were very friendly and what happened to prove this doesn't usually happen. We were hangin' outside the hall, just waiting for somebody from the band to come to their tour buses (each ZZ Top member has its own bus, and they are nice on the inside, it is their home for months) and they invited us, a bunch of press, to come inside for unscheduled short interviews and photo op. This really doesn't happen with such bands and you can imagine our happy faces when Billy Gibbons came, said hello, looked around the room we were in and asked us to go to his dressing room where the wall was nicer for cleaner images (actually it was sea blue). Billy then asked bass player Dusty Hill (the second man with a beard) to pose with him, not scheduled too, and we got a few moments of their attention while not being chased away by security. Made my day. Of course we then let our TV colleagues to do their few minutes and enjoyed looking those interviews too. As such moments are so rare in today's show biz i kept smiling for few days :)

U2 in Zagreb and more ...

2009-08-13T22:32:00.008+01:00

Ok, so the biggest summer event in this part of the world was no doubt the U2 concert in Zagreb. All the music photogs (and many many others) wanted to be there but the space , as always, was pretty limited and those of us who made it into the list were all very happy to be there and be able to work. I knew from following the results of previous shows and seeing one in Dublin that it is not too hard, but that the light is very specific and changes a lot and overexposure is a common disease in U2 360 photos on this tour.

We got 3 songs in the pit where we could move, while the second group was taken way back and shot from quite a distance, but got a nice opportunity to get stage shots and some cool band shots. Not much else to say but the fact it was really cool and being able to work both concerts there gave me quite some minutes with the U2, not to mention my meeting with Larry after the Sunday show. The highlight however, that has nothing to do with concert was the fact that on the way back my car broke in the middle of Zagreb and the whole stadium of cars behind me. It has been a nie ride back home on a tow truck :) Anyway, altough i prefer indoor concerts for various reasons U2 have done it great and the amount of work tour staff has to put into this show must really be big. Just looking at the tour book staff list makes you think and then when you add the hard working local staff, imagine ... Pretty cool. Anyway, here are some pictures i made during two days in Zagreb. If anyone from U2 reads this , next time it would be nice to be on stage for at least 120 seconds :)

U2

2009-08-09T02:02:00.003+01:00

Later today, more music from U2. This time just two hours away in Zagreb, while the below was taken in Dublin two weeks ago..who says august can't be cool :)

Elton John rocks Pula Amphitheatre

2009-07-09T21:19:00.005+01:00

I just love concerts in roman amphitheatres, the feeling inside those arenas is always amazing. This time Sir Elton John visited the Amphitheatre in Pula, Croatia and finished his leg of European tour with two and a half hours of great playing. Originally scheduled to perform alone, he changed his mind and came with the whole band which was actually great as it gave so much power to already powerfull concert. For us it was work as usuall, except for the fact that when you're shooting a piano player he's usually seating in one place and looking down on piano. You're more or less stuck to one position and wait untill he picks up his head and looks towards audience. It is hard to make different pictures, so i focused on his emotions and typical moments. Well Elton did jump around and on a piano a bit after we were no longer in a pit. Pretty cool stuff and great night at work :)

Welcome Pula!

Typical Elton

The moment to catch

We always love those kind of looks from an artist

A bit of walking around the stage

Hey, Miro , i see you :)

Cowboy Magnifico from the back

2009-07-03T08:48:00.003+01:00

Stage access photos of local artists are always fun to make. First, you can almost walk anywhere in the back of stage, normally trying to be invisible (those that know me will confirm, i wear black tshirts all the time, partially because of this too - i once saw an official photographer for an event on a big stage wearing white pants and yellow shirt and got more visibility that the artist on stage) and second, colours will always be very vivid as the light you catch from behind is set for people to watch from the audience and not for us to take photos of :) Anyway, here's a pretty cool shot of Magnifico during his last Križanke concert with the light directly above his cowboy hat and a very central composition. This image appeared as a two page spread in special "interview edition" of Mladina weekly this week. Rock on!

Simply Red - Ljubljana - The Last Time

2009-07-01T02:50:00.004+01:00

Simply Red visited Ljubljana third time in their 25 year history. If Mick Hucknall doesn't change his mind, this was the last time too, as his plan is to retire Simply Red brand and work on other music and solo projects. Whatever happens, i will remember them in a positive light. The concert we shot in Hala Tivoli was pretty cool, and our positions for shooting first two songs were quite nice to - not below the stage, but on the stage. This is a very rare place to shoot on big shows with world names..(it only happened to me once with Robert Plant , but even that was on stage but waaay back from the edge of stage).

I knew Mick holds his microphone with his left hand and the mic wire stays in his right hand most of the time, so my position wish was stage right..to get him open...This is why it is importaint to prepare for such events in every manner and chances for great pictures will be better. Anyway, we were there for two songs and altough Mick looked at public most of the time, there were a couple of moments when he came like one meter away from my position. I could actually giv him Hi 5 , that close..and as you can see below this provided an excellent opportunity for nice picture from an unusual angle. I loved the cold beer after we finished with the business and enjoyed the performance too.

Hey Miro, i can see you :)

Sinéad O'Connor

2009-06-28T20:36:00.003+01:00

Sinéad O'Connor - one 2 one mini session for 3 minutes in a hotel in Ljubljana before her concert in Križanke. She is very quiet, but altough she suffered a lot in her career still sings beautifull and i loved the concert.

Gipsy Queen and her hands

2009-06-26T02:08:00.005+01:00

Had lots of fun shooting at Esma Redžepova concert in Križanke few days ago. Inspired by the fact that during a mini photo session in backstage she asked me to bring her(mostly golden) rings, so she can put them on for the photos (actually a lot of them and all of them quite heavy), i decided to follow her hand trough the concert...pretty fun actually, especially if you can shoot the whole set and do this after you're done with what you actually need.

Slipknot in Zagreb - and more masked musicians

2009-06-17T02:29:00.005+01:00

Ok, let's continue where i stopped back in March. I am still here, happy as always and working as normal (altough i had been stopped by two police officers that jumped around the corner in downtown Ljubljana just yesterday and saw me with my iPhone, they are probably not Apple fans i guess ;) ) I have been a bit lazy blogger lately, i admit, but things have been busy with regular photo jobs all over, and as the summer concert heat is here hopefully late summer nights will be cold enough to post some more stuff and get back the tempo of posting more regulary.

Anway, last post showed Lordi, this one shows Slipknot. Their common thing is they're both masked and perform really cool. Zagreb hosted Slipknot just this night and altough the music they play is not my personal favourite it was pretty cool to see the show. Great one, indeed. Metal fans were all up and head banging all over. Great warm up for MetalCamp :) Here are some shots. Enjoy and thank for reading this little blog of mine :)

P.S.

(yeah - i know phone-and-drive is dangerous and learned the lesson, will be using bluetooth headset from now on)

Lordi - beasts from Finland

2009-03-24T00:53:00.005+01:00

Time to wake up this place a bit. I have been pretty busy last weeks, plenty of work all over the place, lots of great pictures, just no time to post it here. Anyway, let's start with Lordi, the winners of Eurovision song contest few years ago. These beasts from Finland came to little town of Cerknica and played on friday the 13th. This is one of those gigs where most of the people watch, lot less will listen, which is bad as their music is done well and sounds very cool, especially if you listen only and not watch. What else can i say, well maybe the fact that there was so much firepower in front of the stage like this was pyrotechnic show not a concert..and when it all fired..it was loud and bright. Here are some beasts as seen in Cerknica....

Oasis - from snow to a great show

2009-02-23T22:44:00.004+01:00

After few days off and some great skiing in Italy, another great thing came and took me and my camera to work. Oasis came to Treviso and did a great show. I saw them for the first time and was happy to be in the pit for the time allowed. Shows in Italy are always very good, simply because italian fans are super wild and loud from song one, and bands simply love it. Here are some moments for all Oasis fans ... Enjoy!

James Burton - the man who played with Elvis Presley

2009-01-26T21:20:00.006+01:00

Sometimes a crazy day turns into a great evening. So was last friday, when a true living legend came to Graz, Austria. James Burton, a name that might not be widely known to non-mucisians, but a living legend. He was the guitar player of Elvis Presley for many many years, played with musicians like Johhny Cash, John Denver, Jerry Lee Lewis, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison and many many others. His biggest fan Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, gave a speech on his introduction to Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, he has been nominated for a gremmy this year too.

James Burton is also known by his unique style of playing called chicken picking, which is otherwise known and used in country music scene. Take a look at his guitar lesson here. It is very interesting and you'll see how familiar this sounds and how hard it is to play :) We were lucky to have met him backstage for a little interview, which happened in between the concert (yes, they actually had a 20 minute break and we were let into backstage to do it, something new for me too, as usually this things happen before or after the gig), where he played with two other ex-Elvis Presley famous TCB band..Jerry Scheff and Glen Hardin. So cool, again :)

James Burton with his famous Fender Telecaster shining gold ...

Altough he is always very calm and quiet, he sometimes rocks too :)

At the end, he even gestured to throw his guitar to the fans below :)

And a special in-between backstage shot of the band and legends in there...
from left, Jerry Scheff - bass, Paul Leim - drums, Glen D Hardin - keyboards and James Burton with his typical hat and a bit of smile too...

Psycho Path - the last gig

2009-01-18T20:41:00.006+01:00

Slovenian band Psycho Path had their last gig. No more Psycho Path. I never was their biggest fan, but loved their music (they describe themself as Sexy, heavy, sonic indie rock band from Slovenia) when i had a chance to hear it and take pictures. Their singer Melée is usually in another world when on stage and her performance is cool to listen and watch. It was the same in SubSub club last week during their gig where all former band members joined them too. I never shot the last gig of one band before, but i don't think this is the last gig, they'll be back, fans want it. Here are some moments and their last group shot after stage was empty. So long PP!

How do i refill my batteries?

2009-01-07T01:12:00.005+01:00

There are concerts. There are concerts that are very cool, there are concerts that you enjoy, there are concerts where you work and enjoy(well most of them are like this), there are concerts that you work and wish you could enjoy more and there are concerts where the performer gives you so much energy that the word "enjoy" is not the correct selection anymore. One of those performers is Salomon Burke, a soul legend from USA. I saw him first back in 2005, this time he came to Graz and played in my favourite Orpheum theatre. Mr. Burke can't walk anymore, but his voice walks all over the place, with big steps and leaves you with open mouth for some time. Salomon Burke lives with 21 children and 98 grandchildren and tours all the time. He says he'll continue doing it while he can. And to answer my question on top, this is how i refill my batteries, completely, for a long time :) Of course, holiday season was excellent too and few days off during New Year and Xmass break felt really good.

I wish everyone a great 2009 and thank you for reading this blog lines and coming back :)

On stage with ex Bijelo Dugme singers

2008-12-22T02:49:00.003+01:00

Another great night in Tivoli. This time no screaming teenagers, but a few thousand screaming lovers of ex you-rock group Bijelo Dugme. 3 of their legendary singers (goran Bregović is not cooperating in this project) joined forces and created an event where they sing all the known songs and make halls go crazy. It was no different this time, and lots of emotion in the hall. Great night, great work conditions and again some stage shots. At first i didn't plan to be there at all, but it turned out it is possible so why not :) It is always nice to get a photo with artists loking at you and screaming fans in the back..it is just so cool :)

Mladen Vojičić - Tifa, Željko Bebek and Alen Islamović posing for me :)

Alen Islamović

Željko Bebek in his typical white dress

Tifa and the lights ...

.. the end ...very loud and crazy..

Stage view

2008-12-16T02:47:00.004+01:00

Why do i love stage access on big concerts? Because if offers a totally different view on happening in the hall and you can really feel what musicians feel during their show....here are some snaps from recent concert of Tony Cetinski (a very popular croatian singer) in Ljubljana. I was on stage for some 5 songs, not being able to move much but instead catching moments from the back..pretty cool actually :)

Easy Livin' with Uriah Heep in Ljubljana

2008-12-15T02:45:00.004+01:00

Finally a true rock band in our little town. Uriah Heep ended their 2008 tour right here in Ljubljana. Not so many visitors but great gig and fans all over the hall. I love this type of shows as the band was really relaxed from song one untill the end. They seemed to have enjoyed it really big time. And one more thing happened that i never photographed before, a guitar player in a rock band wore Crocs plastic blue "shoes". Usually it is all black down there or snake skin covered..this was quite funny. I guess there must be a reason for doing so..and i know Crocs are really comfortable too :) I really enjoyed this concert and it served as a big contrast of my assignment a day before, when more pop type artist filled up the big hall right next door. I am also happy with pictures and those cool moments in backstage that don't happen that often with original rock bands that actually started before i was born. So cool!

... see the shining cross ? This pic made my day!

Here's one group shot for Miro - Uriah Heep, 13. december 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Jinx Jinx Jinx

2008-12-10T02:47:00.004+01:00

Just a quick shot i made seconds before Jinx (an excellent croatian band) finished their sold out show in Cvetlicarna, Ljubljana. It is always great to see them play, this time i had a chance to run behind them and see the end of their show from drummers perspective...pretty cool :)

Kid Rock - or how we drove for 8 hours in a snow storm

2008-12-09T01:49:00.008+01:00

Kid Rock played in Schladming, Austria. After leaving Slovenia, loaded with weather forecast, saying we're to expect a nice sunny day everything seemed to be working just fine. Soon after crossing first tunnels in Austria, no more sunny day but true winter conditions with quite heavy snow falling from time to time. Here we go :)

I was going for an assignment to shoot Kid Rock during press conference and concert, marking the opening of ski season in Schladming. This is an event worth seeing as there is less and less special pr stuff being done with major artists in the area. It is also a good opportunity to get closer to the artists and of course shoot some daytime images, not only typical concert coverage. This one was actually nice as it was held in the middle of the ski hill, outside, and Kid Rock drove himself to the place with the snow "ratrack" (what's the english word for that?). He came out with a cigar, changed clothes and actually talked a lot. We had 15 minutes for some images, not beeing able to move much, so most of the stuff is done from one position but catching different moments, like smoke exhaustion his cigar playing, nice explanations and some posing. Pretty cool. Well, it was off to the warm sorroundings of the bar next to the stage and lots of time before the concert. That was normal, even snowing stopped during our 3 song time and 30 photographers around me. This was a record number this year on a concert like this.

Well the adventure didn't finish after that, but actually started as on the way back (around 240 km for us) . We got stuck before tunnels due to major truck accident in one of the tunnels and it was snowing quite nicely. After 2 hours of waiting, wishing, hoping, we managed to get outof the jam and tried searching for an alternative route. GPS helped and took us around the mountains and into more snow storms. We came back, and what it took less than 3 hours to get there, took more than 8 to get back home. Pretty cool, a ? :) Anyway, here are some images of Kid Rock.

Original Kid Rock

Kid Rock during makeover

Kid Rock as Schladminger

Kid Rock as Schladminger, but still smoking

Kid Rock as Kid Rock

.. his microphone flies ...

.. he actually flies too ...

Jerry Lee Lewis - Vienna

2008-12-04T14:44:00.005+01:00

Jerry Lee Lewis in Vienna. The man, the legend and just a few feet away from my position. This was one of those concerts where you'll see me walking up and down before the event, not really nervous, but in a way full of expectation and respect. Somehow i tought, we're going to shoot from the distance, but Jerry let us close, directly in front of him. Actually, the crowds were seating, only a few standings were left for those at the far end of the hall. As soon as he came to the stage, full of energy, smiling, everyone stood up and cheered him big time. His little smile, face expression and a small wave to the crowds said it all...the passion is still there after all the years and not so happy moments for him.

We had normal working conditions, but taking a picture of the piano man is always tricky. Most of the time they'll look down and play, so catching the other moments is importaint. Luckily Jerry Lee talked a bit and even looked at us as if he said, hey, i see you :) So cool and hearing Great balls of fire from Lewis himself made my day complete :)

Whitesnake and one more thing not to do on concerts

2008-12-01T00:24:00.004+01:00

So Whitesnake played before Alice Cooper last week in Munich. I had taken photos of them before, but David Coverdale is always an interesting subject to take pictures. I am posting some of that, but i want to talk about the last one.

It tells the story pretty much by itself. This is something i don't like seeing when i work. Some people just don't care that there are like 5 other photographers behind them and they simply raise their hands up like this and shoot, without loking back to see if they interrupt anyone. Not really nice, and usually the result is not as good as they think. Well i saw this guy doing it several times before and had my wide lens mounted and decided to catch this moment a bit differently.

Alice Cooper - Munich

2008-11-30T15:55:00.006+01:00

Shoting concerts is so cool. Especially when things turn out ideally. Alice Cooper and Whitesnake played in Munich. Everything normal, except the fact that the organizers told us that we can shoot Cooper 4 songs with a flash...this usually rings a few bells in photographers head, as nobody would want to use it on such a concert. Even if there was not light, they wouldn't want us to have a picture (like Marlyn Manson did ) anyway and would not allow flash. Luckily Whitesnake played before Cooper and we could see some good light there and this meant some hope for the main act that night. You never know. I was a bit nervous, but as soon as we arrived into the pit and saw the show start i unscrewed my flash off (not to disturb anyone, more on this in next post) and started workin'. It turned out great and even due to the fact that Cooper looks pretty scary everything worked beautifull. This was the day one of my crazy mid-week-concert-workout-around-Germany-and Austria :) Here's some stuff!

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene in 2008

2008-11-10T02:34:00.009+01:00

Jean Michel Jarre, the man himself, some call him the father of electronic music but still a true rock 'n' roll star to sell 80 million records finally visited Ljubljana. The show was full of expectations as we did not hear new stuff and did not get fancy lightshows, but instead an interesting experience of actually hearing and seeing the 30 years old synths playing his Oxygene project. I was assigned to cover the little interview session with him, but was not allowed to take pictures there at the end..some portraits there would be really nice as there was a nice table with cool reflections where he seated. Well, that's the way it goes sometimes, but it was still very interesting just to listen about his projects and ideas and shake hands with him. The concert, altough short, was interesting, both from photographic experience and just by watching and listening. We did quite a lot of walking to and then back and again to the stage..we were allowed some 10 minutes in front of stage, then taken back to the end of the hall, waited there for 10 minutes and then taken back to the stage, during Oxygene 4, where a huuuge mirror came down allowing an interesting aerial view of Jarre performing. Pretty cool effect. Here are some moments, as you can see the lights were intimate and not too bright :)

... before the show talk ...

... the man in action ....

... mirror view at the back ...

... see, i told you he rocks :)

... aerial view ...

... whole setup (audience was sitting so we had to keep a low profile too)

.. and the old geezer (looks really cool with all the switches and everything)

Vlatko Stefanovski Blues

2008-11-04T20:08:00.005+01:00

Great blues evening yesterday with Vlatko Stefanovski and his special guest, Jan Akkerman. Listening to Vlatko is always great, but if he starts playing the blues it makes the whole experience even more interesting and very energetic. Jan joined the crowd on stage for about one hour and played lots of blues, from classics to new peices from Stefanovski new album "Thunder From The Blue Sky". Filled up my batteries for the week or two :)

Thumbs up for Vlatko

... this is where his sounds come from ...

... watching Vlatko and his fingering is hard, it is soo fast :)

.. typical Vlatko moment...

... together ...

Stefanovski and the empty hall of Cankarjev Dom

Vesna Zornik - Katalena

2008-10-29T02:14:00.004+01:00

Katalena played in Cvetličarna. This was simply a wonderfull night and great concert. I have seen them many, many times, but the band keeps suprising me every time i see them. Altough my camera kept sending me the err99 every 5 shots (the only things that helps is to quickly open the battery tray and reset) i managed to get a few "working portraits" of Vesna Zornik, the main vocal and smiling face of Katalena.

The Queen

2008-10-27T01:06:00.004+01:00

I am still here, just busy. Last week has been quite crazy with following the Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Slovenia. As always, protocol was tight and not much access was given to those outside assigned pools, except during her Ljubljana walk between the crowds. I was lucky to get a few pools, and was able to capture some nice shots all over. Watching the Queen just few feet away during state dinner at Brdo was also interesting and altough 60 guests came to greet her i managed to take few moments just to observe. They ended quickly as i was there to work not observe. Well an interesting experience and if compared to GW Bush visit earlier this year, so much more relaxed as there were no military in the fields around airport, no snipers on top of buildings etc. I will also remember this visit as i had bday on 22nd and it is not often that the Queen of England is in front of you on "your " day :) Now back to normal life :)

Living Colour - really cool guys

2008-10-02T13:51:00.004+01:00

I always somehow missed Living Colour performing in our little town. Yesterday i didn't. They were back in action and Cvetlicarna was packed. Amazingly how energetic their show is, great playing, and really cool guys. Just after the concert, almost all of them ran out to the fans and hanged out with them. I miss this so much with other bands of their size. Only after they all signed CDs, took pictures and so, they returned and talked to press. All 4 of them were present in an interview room, which is also very rare in such occasions. This allowed me to shoot some nice portraits and group shots during their interviews. It seems all the light that was gone from Iggy's concert came back with Living Colour :)

The Dark Side of The Light - Iggy Pop and the Stooges in Ljubljana

2008-09-30T21:43:00.005+01:00

After two very bright concerts last week a dark one followed. Iggy Pop came to Ljubljana after few years of absence, with The Stooges. Lots of photographers, more than 20, and so little space and even less light for everyone to catch. I knew he doesn't like strobes or bright spots, but this conditions were almost impossible to take a picture (flash was not allowed) I don't know why are they doing it. I saw images from shows in London and elsewhere and light there was completely normal. I often ask myself, in such conditions, if because we're living in a small country like Slovenia this means we will get less from big name artists? Are we some kind of "shareware" for them in terms of show production? Otherwise concert was loud, energetic, Iggy kept running like crazy, jumping all over place. Sound followed the conditions. Very loud and trashy. Amazingly how much energy this man still carries with him. Hopefully, he comes back soon with more light :)

Coldplay in Vienna

2008-09-25T16:57:00.004+01:00

So, this was a week to remember. For several reasons. But the most importaint one was two great concerts in two days. Following Madonna, i came back to Vienna to shoot Coldplay in Stadthalle. I have never been in this hall before, and it is just amazing. Huge, packed with 15.000 people. Coldplay rocked like i never imagined. Their music seems more intimate on CDs but when they play, it comes alive big time and they really go super loud.

For us, it was the normal procedure, 3 songs, again some limitations. We were only allowed to stay next to left hand stage extension. This meant no moving as there was no place to go anywhere. Time flies, especially when singer like Chris Martin jumps like crazy, runs and turns all over the place. At the very end of the third song, he and Jonny Buckland, the quitar player came right at the end of the extension. Briefly, but i couldn't go at the end of the extension to get the ideal position. Sometimes this happens and it is not a good feeling, but it also means you have to take what you have and make the most out of the position you have. I quickly decided to go down a bit and catch a silhouette of Chris Martin as he felt on his knees. Bang, and it was over and we were out. I managed to get back to enjoy the show and kept my mouth open most of the time. So cool Coldplay!

Madonna in Vienna

2008-09-24T09:32:00.005+01:00

Madonna came to Vienna, Austria. For the first time. It was the first time for me on her concert too, with a camera of course. Here's one shot taken from quite a distance as we were not allowed to get closer to the stage and we had to bring long lenses. Still, Madonna is Madonna and 15 of us allowed to shoot here were quite happy at the end. Anyone been at the show?

Election day 2008

2008-09-22T14:13:00.005+01:00

We all worked hard yesterday shooting elections from 7AM till late night/morning hours. As it looks now, Borut Pahor (Social Democrats) should win. Tight, but it was very tight in his campaign headquaters as we all tried to snap the first moments after the unofficial results were announced. Here is the one i like a lot and it circled around a bit on the wire. Pahor poses with palms together hoping for his victory to be confirmed officially in a week.

The Dubliners - cheers!

2008-09-17T18:16:00.004+01:00

The Dubliners. This Legendary irish band came back to Ljubljana this week. As always great concert and lots of people. Instead of classic stage shots, i decided to post a few moments as seen from the backstage area. Eamon Campbell, great chap and very energetic on stage. He told me he drinks Guiness only when in Ireland and goes for local brew while touring so i captured him during his refresh time on stage. Note, that table for beer and chairs are the only element on stage next to guitars and microphones :) Cheers!

RBD Rebelde Mania and a week of screaming teenagers

2008-09-08T18:34:00.004+01:00

RBD, Rebelde, or a Mexican pop group that made most kids in Slovenia, between 7 and16, totally crazy for a week. Totally means, really totally. Screaming, jumping, trying to get a sight, an autograph or just a touch of their favourite group. I must admit this was interesting to watch and cover. Music was in a second plan this time, altough the show kept 6000+ kids up and jumping for 2 days and 3 concerts. Much has been said and written about this "phenomenon" and i don't remeber seeing something similar lately (with exception of another soap opera tv star arrival several years back). Having a chance to meet the band members and briefly talk to them, they all seemed very down to earth, a bit tired of being on the road but still very open to their fans, loving the publicity, enjoying the atmosphere aroudn them and enjoying the hospitality of our country. Well....time will tell more :) Here are some moments from the show and elsewhere....

Grand Rock Dog

2008-08-31T23:37:00.003+01:00

Sometimes rock festivals invite a new breed of rock stars :) Here's one caught on a red carpet just outside of backstage area :) Fully guarded with "access all areas" pass. He seems quite happy and ready to perform :)

3rd Annual Little Italy Soprano Competition

2008-08-25T23:05:00.004+01:00

So, walking around NYC is always fun, that's why i just love to go back again and again. Altough i said, ok no concerts during this time, i ran into something i couldn't avoid. After eating pizza in Little Italy i heard a loud speaker announcing, just a corner away, that 3rd Annual Little Italy Soprano competition is about to start. Well, i said, i gotta see how this goes. I think 12 soprano ladies came from all over NYC, and what it first seemed like a garage sale style of event turned into a serious competition of some very trained vocalists. They took it very serious and i tought about what one musician has to do to get noticed, even in "classical" music. Later i heard last year winner got noticed and now sings in an opera. Here are some moments....

This one was the loudest one i think...

No street style clothing here, seriously dressed for the event..

... sound on the run? :)

Crowds gathered really quick

Stuff on stage

2008-08-24T23:55:00.002+01:00

Have you ever wondered what kind of things musicians put on their gear while on stage? It is quite interesting to observe all the different things that end on amplifiers, small tables and other gear on stage. This ones are from Vlado Kreslin concert in Krizanke last week.

The Rolling Stones Project

2008-08-20T17:50:00.006+01:00

The Rolling Stones Project guys had only scheduled 3 concerts in Europe. Luckily one of them was in our seaside town of Portoroz. I already posted and wrote a bit from the sound check, and as there are not much things happening concert wise in these days i'll post some images from this event. Being a big Stones fan, and a music shooter, this still keeps me up , especially after watching the new Stones documentary movie by Martin Scorsese - Shine a Light (he recorded two shows in NYC with 16 cameras - amazing). Well you can see 4 of those guys on the images in that movie, as they represent an importaint part of Stones concert musicians team, and are not seen much (except bass player Darryl Jones) much on the big stages Stones will play, as they stand in the background, but you can surely hear them well :)

I am also very happy that i managed to get a group photo of the team just before they hit the stage. Usually musicians will slowly move one by one, and getting them together before the gig might be a problem...To me, such picture makes the concert experience nearly perfect :) Enjoy!

Tim Ries, Bernard Fowler and Darryl Jones

Bernard Fowler

Tim Ries - father of The Rolling Stones Project group

Bernard Fowler (unfortunately Lisa Fischer, his co backvocal singer with the Stones couldn't be there)

Darryl Jones - as always, quietly in the back

The Rolling Stones Project

The concert hall of all concert halls - Madison Square Garden

2008-08-18T22:21:00.004+01:00

Hey folks..i'm back...took some time off and travelled and relaxed a bit. Anyway, as this is a music photography blog, i wanted to show you the (concert) hall of ( concert) halls. Every band or musician that means something played here, one or more than 10 times... The Madison Square Garden in New York City. This building is amazing. First it sits on probably the most busiest train and subway station, the Penn station, and has two huge halls, one over another. Of course they're not only used for concerts but also for all events, from theater to sports (the main hall can host basketball, ice hockey, boxing and probably something else too). They can host two huge events at the same time, in each of these halls, without any problems or interuptions, and the train station below will not interupt anything. I have seen many concert halls, but this one stands out, not only by its size and features, but also with its history and historic moments that happened there. If you're ever in NYC go and have a look. Some snapshots below....

Sound Check - Darryl Jones - The Rolling Stones Project

2008-07-21T21:07:00.002+01:00

Just about the same time last year my head was already exploding from my first Stones photographing experience in Belgrade and i was preparing for second one in Brno. This year Stones came to Slovenia, well not all of them and not the Stones, but guys who play with them on stage, a sort of concert members for them (Darryl Jones on bass, Tim Ries on saxophone, Michael Davis on trombone and less known but excellent guitar player Frederick Favarell and drummer Marc Miralta). Joined under the name of The Rolling Stones Project, trough leadership of sax player Tim Ries, they visited our seaside town of Portoroz. Music they play is known to all, Stones classics, but not in the usuall way but in a special jazz arrangements. Very interesting and cool to listen, a bit different. They really seem to be enjoying this a lot.

Of course this was an excellent opportunity for me to do some new sound check project images and it turned out quite nicely. I will do this in few parts starting with Darryl Jones, who many consider as the fifth member of the Stones as he has been playing with them ever since the departure of Bill Wyman in 1993. Darryl played with Miles Davis, Sting, Eric Claption Peter Gabriel, Madonna and many more and now for 15 years with Stones. I did not go on stage this time during sound check, but did some shots from the usual position and they listened them play. I also presented Mr. Jones with one of my images taken during the Stones Brno show last year and he really liked it. So cool :)

Seal (ed) in Ljubljana

2008-07-15T20:46:00.003+01:00

My Seal oddisey continues. (Here is the first part) This time Seal visited my hometown Ljubljana and to be honest i wasn't expecitng much in terms of good images outcome. We were originally scheduled to be shooting from quite a distance, but at the end they let us work at side stage, two groups and we got sealed behind the barrier. Luckily there was a stage extension into the crowd, a catwalk, where Seal stayed much of the concert. This meant more or less profile images all the time as he was looking directly into the crowd, however we did get some looks and interesting contrasts as he had a direct spotlight beam into his white dress. Not the easiest job, as you end up with overexposed images quite fast. The concert was a true pop show, lots of crowd communication and everyone liked that. Here are some moments. Enjoy!

Chuck Berry - The Prime Minister of Rock 'n' Roll

2008-07-12T16:14:00.006+01:00

Chuck Berry, the legend, came to Opatija, Croatia. This legendary man, 82 years of age, who influenced so many generations of musicians all over the world, was playing two hours from where i live. A show you wouldn't want to miss for any reason. Altough i have seen and photographed him before, this time the gig was outside in an open theatre and some great musicians played before he hit the stage (Djuro and Blow Up, Neno Belan, Tommy Emanuel).

I managed to get backstage, of course wishing to get some pictures of him, but i soon realized this will be a no go, as his crew politely asked me not to photograph. Chuck is known to be very unpredictable, so i just quietly stayed a few feet away as he walked by to inspect the stage before the gig. I even said hello and got a wave back from him. He didn't say anything, but all of us in the backstage at that moment respect this man so much that no words were needed to express the feeling after seeing him :) So cool :) He played for about an hour together with his daughter Ingrid and son, Charles "Chuck" Berry jr. After the show Berry was known to drive a Mercedes by himself everytime, but we didn't see this in Opatija as he sat at the back the car and smiled. What a day that was :) Thank you Chuck Berry! Some shots and a video i made during the show with girs dancing on stage next to Chuck. Enjoy!

Together with his son - Charles "Chuck" Berry junior

Video of Chuck Berry performing the song Carol

Status Quo - again

2008-07-09T23:22:00.006+01:00

Status Quo played in Graz, inside Orpheum, an old theatre now widely used for concerts too. The size of the hall (about 500-600 people i think) makes the athmosphere much more intimate and much better to photograph. I love such concerts. This time only 6 photographers were in the pit and this made my job much easier. Shooting the same show for the second time brings some advantages as you know what is happening on stage in terms of band movement, songs, posing etc..This is usually all the same. And it helps, you know the terrain of your work. Even somebody from the band might remeber you if the gigs are close. Here are some shots, a bit different than the ones in first post. BTW, this is the 200th post on this blog - woo hoo :)

The Rockin' Quo

John "Rhino" Edwards with his headless Status 4 string bass - check out his tourlog

Rick Parfitt sings a lot, Francis and Rhino rocking in the back

Another "must have" Quo picture of Rick

Hey you photographer? :)

Rare position of a whole band at the back of the stage

The Green Beast Back in Action - Status Quo in Ljubljana

2008-07-05T22:22:00.004+01:00

After 4 years Status Quo were back in our little country. This time no festival, but solo gig in Ljubljana. I was looking forward to this a lot. Old readers of my blog will probably remember the post i made last year about green Fender Telecaster played by Francis Rossi. The green beast or beauty is still with him and Rockin' all over the world. If i remebered Quo as very accessible the last time, this feeling stays, as you could see Francis walking around tour buses and talking with crew before the gig, and some lucky fans even got a photo opportunity. After the show guys ran out pretty fast all dressed in blue bathrobes with their names engraved, but still very open taking pictures with few fans waiting, even talking to us. A bit of after show English humor came out from keyboad player Andrew Bown saying he remembered me before the show by my elbows?!? ( i was sitting on stairs next to backstage) They were off to Budapest and Rhino came out to call Andrew that he should board the bus. Concert was great, Quo are always fun to watch and take pictures of course. Untill next time Quo!

20 seconds of usefull light - Roisin Murphy in Ljubljana

2008-07-04T19:44:00.004+01:00

I already wrote about bad light on a concert experience a while ago. Something similar happened during performance of ex. Moloko singer, Roisin Murphy in Ljubljana. Knowing just a few of her songs this was one of the tasks when you don't know what to expect, especially as she is known to cause issues, on stage and off stage (it happened in Ljubljana too, as she showed her butt from the balcony after the concert to people drinking beer outside the venue). Normal timing was given to us in the pit, but one major thing was missing, the light. Well, it came in very short, disco-dance-strobo-like intervals and maybe stayed a few seconds at most, not totalling more than 20-30 seconds over 3 songs. One has to take what it gets, and some shots came out quite nicely altough i would love to get more as Roisin was changing her outfit all the time during the show. Well, maybe next time. Few shots (one of them reminds me on Friends Jennifer Aniston a bit) :)

Santana

2008-07-01T01:03:00.006+01:00

Finally, Carlos Santana and his band in front of me in Bratislava. This was a long wait. I missed the concert in Zagreb few years ago and almost missed this one too, but luckily the innitial concert was moved from thursday to sunday, because of really heavy storm over Bratislava. It was a small stadium gig, and this meant like 25-30 photographers in the pit all trying to get a glimpse of the man, but the stage was sooo high this was not an easy job (that's why i prefer concert halls) and mr. Santana was not moving much in front of us and decided to stay more at the back. Working in a situation like this means you're more or less waiting at the side shooting the 70-200 between the monitors to get the face and the guitar to the frame. Luckily we were out for 3 songs , around 15 minutes, so there was time for studying the stage movement and some repositioning. This was a day to remmeber and a very nice gig too! Enjoy the pictures!

An evening with Rade Šerbedžija

2008-06-23T16:09:00.005+01:00

Hot sunday, temps over 30C and i had an open festival assignment in the middle of Ljubljana. However, the real energy for that day came from the fact that Rade Serbedzija had planned a concert in Križanke. 10.000 people in one place, loud music, a bit over 1000 in Križanke and very quiet and intimate feeling just few hundred meters away. I didn't have the time to stay for the full concert, but Rade was kind enough to do a mini session before the concert, of course with his trademark, the hat. There were two TV crews eagerly awaiting for the interview so i had hurry up, but i am quite happy with the result. I played a bit with the image, made it B&W and i like it. Also, few shots form the concert.

Rade Šerbedžija, Križanke, Ljubljana, 22.6.2008

Radar 2008 or mission Bob Dylan

2008-06-18T21:42:00.005+01:00

Radar 2008 happened in Varaždin, Croatia. I came there early, drove out with Vlado Kreslin and his band in a van, that was pretty cool actually. It didn't look too good, as there was just heavy rain all over but soon it cleared up a bit and it stayed with no rain up untill the end. This year Radar festival brought THE man and legend Bob Dylan, Manic Street Preachers, Majke, Vlado Kreslin and Drago Mlinarec. Of course, my mission was to get some pictures of him on stage, unfortunately, and i knew this before, there was no photo passes for him (in fact, there are none for several years now as i heard). So, after unsucessfull negotiations with Dylan's tour manager, ton of security scouting for lens in the crowd, all over place, backstage pass and lots of positive thinking, we were sent out of the venue after Manic Street Preachers and given a piece of paper saying any picture taking will be prosecuted. It was the first time i was given something like this, but that's Bob Dylan, i guess :) So, "officially" i didn't take any pictures of him ...but here are few shots of other acts and a video of Bob Dylan on stage i found on YouTube. Hopefully Bob comes back someday and allows us to take a few shots of him on stage. Everyone would be so happy :)

Vlado Kreslin was on stage right after Drago Mlinarec ...

... Majke came and did accoustic set ...

... lead singer Bare, was in "a good mood" - he saw me taking pictures on stage, and this is how he saw me :) That was very funny!

... Manic Street Preachers were very energetic ...

... altough i didn't know much of their music, also the stage was pretty high and monitors obstructed the view...

... we were jailed out after Manic Street Preachers and this is how i felt at the time :(

When first lady visits National Gallery

2008-06-11T23:20:00.003+01:00

I had 20 minutes before i had to leave for Brdo ( to photograph George Bush, Janez Janša and Jose Barroso during a press conference) on a special media bus, and managed to get at the National Gallery in Ljubljana just minutes before Laura Bush and her motorcade arrived there for a visit.

What first seemed like a calm situation (ok, with special police all over, closed streets and fences all over) then turned into unbreakable barricade. This is how it looked when a group of Pool photographers and cameramen ( these are selected few representing major media that are allowed to go into the gallery for two or tree photo opportuniuties). As you can see their equipment was checked all over first by bomb sniffing dog, each camera was manually triggered a couple of times and tele lenses were looked into. Can you guess what happened after the last picture? :)

Julio Iglesias - the arrival and more limitations for photographing

2008-06-11T17:37:00.005+01:00

After much anticipation, the day finally came when Julio Iglesias landed in Ljubljana. I was given an exclusive to be at the airport in the official welcome group just minutes after he landed. My expectations were high up untill the moment where his tour manager / pr person came out of the plane and told us to go back few meters, and gave us strict instructions that we're only allowed to take pictures of Julio on his right profile. Ok, that's fine and normal with many singers like this.

So, we moved closer, after Julio waved at us and invited us to the airplane. I was allowed to shoot during his very short TV interview, and the distance was nice for 70-200 portrait. But as soon as i started i was told that i have to lift up my camera with both hands above my head and shoot like this. You know, a position basketball players usually take after they slam dunk and hang for a few seconds. I probably looked very funny shooting like this, but as soon as i lowered my hands (it is actually hard or almost impossible to hold them like this and try to get the correct frame) they told me that i am too low and hands need to go back up. Well, so i did, but still it was the first time those instructions were so detailed and in a such way.

The concert was not an ideal one too (lots of sound problems). Only two of us had the photopass and it didn't help much as we were taken all the way back to the hall. I had the 300mm lens but still not enough to get a nice image. I respect Julio and his career, but i think this time his management was a bit overdoing it with limitations like this. After all, people in the hall all had their cameras and catched nice portraits from first rows. For me, just another experience in the life of a concert photographer and something to talk about. Here are a few shots from the airport so you can see :)

.. his private jet ...

.. girls coming out of the plane .. .

... Julio waves at us and invites us closer ...

... Julio from right side, hand slightly lowered

... Julio again, this time with hand quite far up (see the camera position for angle)

...and so they went ...

Bon Jovi - Vienna

2008-06-06T01:41:00.003+01:00

Seems like June and July are THE months for concerts. Bon Jovi played near Vienna at Magna Rancin horse race track area for 50.000 wet soaked people. As i am posting this at 3am, only few shots for now untill i get them sorted (...and get some sleep) :) Here are a few moments i captured during first two songs ... Enjoy!

The voice of Rock - Glenn Hughes

2008-06-03T22:04:00.005+01:00

Glenn Hughes, a former bass player of Deep Purple, and a man with a voice that you only listen and watch, visited Cvetličarna again. I was hoping for some new sound check pictures, but wasn't allowed to do it this time by his manager. Too bad, but i could get some backstage stuff which is also nice. Here is some action as i captured it of the man on stage, as you can see it was really an energetic performance.

Gang of Four - crashing stuff on stage

2008-05-25T22:11:00.003+01:00

I have seen many things happening on stage. Gang of Four were the first to crash a TV monitor with a baseball stick last friday during Druga Godba festival in Križanke. Totally crazy , and a bit scary, as the parts of it were flying all over. Later i heard, they originally wanted to crash a microwave oven, but couldn't get it. Their performance was actually very energetic as the singer Jon King really looks angry and sometimes quite scary. Unfortunately i missed a flying Fender Stratocaster thrown by guitarist Andy Gill. Have a look ...

The Last Love Song

2008-05-24T23:34:00.003+01:00

Finally, the Pankrti videos from the Hala Tivoli concert were released, and i am proud to show you the one where my video footage from the tour is featured. Peter Lovšin and the band, decided to put it over a song called Zadnja Ljubezenska Pesem (The Last Love Song). Video is fairly simple and shows the concert footage recorded in Ljubljana by National TV crew on December 1st 2007, the rest (actually all black and white footage) are my recordings from the tour, with concerts in Vinkovci, Novi Sad and Belgrade. Have a look below and enjoy!

Pankrti - Zadnja ljubezenska pesem.

Indexi ... and a new open air season starts

2008-05-15T00:41:00.003+01:00

Time flies, very fast. Open air season is here again, and for me it started with an assignment to cover the Indexi and friends concert in most beautifull Križanke open air theatre in Ljubljana. Those of you not familiar, Indexi, were a very popular group in 80s in this region. They came back with 15 or so guest starts, all ex-you big names, and following them on a sound check was really cool, relaxed and somehow inspiring just by listening all the stories they kept telling to each other during the afternoon. Working on stage this time was not as hard as smaller clubs, but still pretty different then anything else, because some didn't want me too close to them, some turned away, well some of them oven wanted to strike a pose or two , but i try to catch them in a natural behaviour. Here are some moments from the late afternoon sound check.

Željko Bebek with a cup of waiting for his sound check before Indexi sign in the back

Fadil Redžić - legendary Indexi bass player talking to sound engineer from stage

Aki Rahimovski and Janez Bončina Benč jamming on piano (they were playing Child in Time by Deep Purple actually)

... and Massimo Savić joined in on a Fender Stratocaster guitar, i haven't seen him like this before ..

Benč and Dado Topić on a side stage position jammin something up while waiting - two huge legends

Garfield and The Cats

2008-05-07T11:58:00.005+01:00

This week started unexpectedly good when i heard that an interesting group is coming to Ljubljana to do a small gig. David Garfield and The Cats. Ok, name doesn't tell you much, probably, but if you go into details and see that a guitar player has been playing with Madonna, the singer has been known as The singer in the band of Carlos Santana for 18 years, and that the keys are in the hands of man working with George Benson, Diane Reeves, Cher, Eros Ramazzotti this can tell you what to expect. It all happened in a little known Sputnik bar, but when i came in i quickly noticed like that 2/3rd of the public present were musicians. The gig was simply amazing, altough the music is an interesting fusion of pop, jazz, rock and who knows what else, which can sound too jazzy for my taste. But still, this concert comes to my top ten list of such club shows. Cool stuff and one of those concerts where listening and enjoying the music takes over priority over photographing.

Katie Melua

2008-04-29T23:35:00.004+01:00

So, Katie Melua finally did a concert in Ljubljana, which was great and i enjoyed it big time... However, few weeks ago i promissed to show up some more photos of her while she was in Ljubljana for the 3 day promotion trip. I read somewhere that she gave out 29 interviews and she still had the energy and will when i asked her about a mini shoot at Ljubljana Old Castle above the city. The weather wasn't really cooperative at all, so at the end we did a few shots outside and a few just below the top of the tower with her looking outside. Nobody would want her to catch a cold before the tour start....

Katie at Radio Hit

... still Radio Hit, playing Nine Million Bycycles

Sound check during Hri-bar show on national television

Interview for Antena magazine...

... a quick snapshot before goin on top of the castle tower...

... looking at Ljubljana city below ...

... the city of Ljubljana behind Katie dressed up warm before photographing - see the wind in her hair?

On stage with Chris Jagger

2008-04-29T19:28:00.004+01:00

After few local bands, my sound check project is finally getting some international names. This time i was able to get on stage with Chris Jagger, a brother of more famous Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones. Chris was in Ljubljana on Cvetličarna stage with his band Atcha and did another show in Portorož a day later (unfortunately i was not able to be there, but i heard it was amazing, just as was the one i saw).

I was quite limited, although Chris allowed me to shoot during sound check i quickly noticed it would not be good to stay too close to him on stage, as he moved and turned away everytime i pointed my lens to him, so i quietly worked from side and in front of stage and it turned to be ok. He also had some personal issues with his son, as i learned later, and i didn't want to get him too upset with my photographing. The evening turned out great as Chris and his band came to Roxly (a new rock club in Ljubljana, where you can see some of my photograps) and enjoyed some time relaxing after the gig.

A short concert photography presentation today

2008-04-21T00:06:00.003+01:00

I don't know why i didn't post this before, but if anyone is interested in hearing me giving a short one hour concert photography presentation feel free to show up in Knjižnica Otona Župančiča in Ljubljana, today (21.4.) at 18.00. There is no admission. I'll have some slideshows, and a bit of talk about how to sucessfully take photos at concerts...See you there :)

Can we disturb the concert?

2008-04-14T21:59:00.003+01:00

Gogol Bordello did a great show in Cvetlicarna last friday. I came in quite late as other work had to be done. The hall was already packed full and i could quickly notice a lots, and i mean, lots of photographers in the first rows. As this is a club show, there is no space between the stage and crowd and this means, especially in a show where everyone in the crods jumps all over, pretty hard work to get a picture. I was able to get in front of the fence, there was a space just next to the stage for one or two photographers, and observe the happening a bit from the side. The action on stage was amazing, the band really did a great performance and pictures are very energetic. But the point of this post is to ask a question. What is the limit of our work, how long can we take pictures in front of stage and push the cameras into musicians and flash them. I completely understand this gives good pictures and all, and i do it all the time in club gigs, sometimes this is the only way to catch the energy there. But there is a limit, there are people who paid for the ticket and would like to see the show, see the musicians faces, and on the other hand there are musicians who can get distracted by this, some will tell you that, some will not but they might complain to the local organizers and sometimes this is not so good. Below are some images of what has been happening on friday, captured intentionally to show the photo action in first rows. I know musicians, organizers and photographers might read this and it would be nice to hear from you and see what is your opinion.

Majke - Sound Check

2008-04-05T00:35:00.002+01:00

It has been extremely busy lately and this is the reason for less posts as usual. Concerts are in full swing all over the small clubs (still no big ones, but there are some nice names booked as i hear) and also some nice opportunities for new additions to my sound check project. Recently, legendary croatian band Majke came to Cvetličarna club and i managed to get there during the sound check time and shoot some new additions to my sound check project. At the time of my shooting, lead singer Bare was not present on stage, as he was not in a good mood. He came there later, but i was asked not to shoot while he is there. Those of you knowing this band will understand, for others - sometimes rock stars can be sort of a special charachters :)
Also, i played a bit with the tool i have been using a lot lately, the Adobe Lightroom. I like it a lot, finally got used to its easy workflow and quick selection ability. The only light present at the time was more or less working light on stage and some fog to obstruct that little light i got. Here are some shots..enjoy!

.. after the show is over ...

2008-03-27T02:49:00.004+01:00

Who says backstage is always fun and fancy. No sweat, no glory. These guys have done this thousands of times and they will keep on doing it (a member of Zablujena Generacija pushing his gear out, after the gig...)

Rockin' Easter Bunnies

2008-03-24T20:13:00.004+01:00

Here are some Rockin' Easter bunnies enjoying a performance of Tide, yesterday at NLP. The second picture shows a closeup of what has been happening down there in the crowd :)

An unusual combination

2008-03-21T23:11:00.008+01:00

Ok, most of you have heard, seen or read about it. Big Foot Mama, rockers, did a show during Viktorji 07 awards last week and invited Lojze Slak, folk music legend, and his band to join them on stage. There were reactions on this all over the country, some liked it, some didn't. To me it looks like a fun combination and it seems funny to see two types of music so different merged like this, especially for an occasion like media awards. What do you think about it? Can Rock 'n' roll an dfolk co-exist like this ? Should they or not ? Here are some shots i took from a distance....

Katie Melua - a vist to Ljubljana

2008-03-18T16:58:00.003+01:00

Last weekend was simply amazing. Ok, lots of work, Viktorji event, but the cream was the fact that Katie Melua visited Ljubljana, for 3 days. It was not a private visit, but a promotional one, for a new record and a concert on 27th April. And so she went and gave more than 20 interviews, did TV appearences and radio shows. I was lucky enough to be able to follow and photograph her at several locations and even did a little "photoshoot" with her on Sunday at Ljubljana castle. She's very quiet, just like her music, altough she said several times she's an adrenaline addict, and listening to her greatest hit Nine Million Bycycles, just one meter from here was really cool. Anyway, i managed to get some new shots for my sound check project. It is not everyday that a musician who sold 7,5 million albums allows you to photograph at sound check and performances with no limitations. She did. Thanks Katie :) Here are two shots, one taken at Radio Hit quick sound check before going live and the other, which looks more like a concert shot, was taken at national TV during Hri-bar show sound check.

60 songs for 60 years from Tomaž Domicelj

2008-03-14T01:55:00.004+01:00

Tomaž Domicelj turned 60 years and at the same time turned 40 on Slovenian music scene. To celebrate, he organized a night maraton, a 5 hour long concert of 60 songs of his career, that was transmitted over national radio. At first i only planned to be there for one maybe two hours, but at the end came home early in the morning around 5.30 and watched the whole show. Tomaž played like crazy, pausing for maybe 5 minutes every hour. Shooting during radio shows is usually quite interesting and the microphones seem to pick up every shutter click quite easily (yes, my wish for Canon is to make shutters more silent). Luckily his songs are quite loud and this makes the job easier and less disturbing for the listening audience and technicians working on sound. Here are some moments. Enjoy ...

Nightwish, wish, wush

2008-03-10T21:13:00.005+01:00

I am still alive, just kicking all over places and coming home late. Work, work, work, some skiing for few days to relax a bit and leave camera at home, and so , here we go again. Anyway, it looks like concert season is starting again. The first ones to kick the ground of Hala Tivoli in Ljubljana were Nightwish from Finland.

An evening with The Queen - Esma Redzepova

2008-02-23T01:10:00.004+01:00

After not being able to take pictures of her last concert, finally, Esma Redžepova, The Queen of Roma Music, was back in Ljubljana. This time she visited Cvetličarna and was in a very good mood. I took a few seconds off before the TV crews were in the room to get some of her smiles captured. I didn't know much about her besides knowing who she is, but i was impressed to learn later she had been nominated for nobel peace prize twice for her humanitarian work, learned the fact she played more than 15000 concerts in her career and that she adopted 47 boys with her late housband. Amazing lady, so full of energy. Here are some moments before and during the show. Enjoy!

Third event of the night - Tribute 2 Love

2008-02-17T20:30:00.005+01:00

Sometimes shooting a concert in a small club from a distance can be fun too, especially if that means your work day has ended and it is time for some beers :) Listening Tribute 2 Love live is always cool and i can't wait these guys get some more attention and start their tour so people all over can hear them. Here are some moments from the concert last week.

... a bit of ice skating shadows

2008-02-11T00:47:00.000+01:00

No winter here, but some figure ice skating champions visited us to do a show. Hard to photograph, and no ideal lightning in the hall. Well, at the end, lights went out, my camera almost went into the bag, you could only hear some music (yes, this is a music photo blog more or less) and then suddenly this musicians appeared on ice...

Most popular position singers take on stage?

2008-02-08T22:01:00.000+01:00

I often observe the singers behaviour on stage, how they interact with the crowd, the band, sound engineers, photographers etc, you know, little details like hand movements, how they look at the set list, how they give signals to stop the song to the band, etc...so many details to watch. I can say you can see lots of interesting things up there. I travelled to do an assignment in Zagreb yesterday to photo the concert in memory of legendary croatian songwriter/composer Đorđe Novković. More than 20 popular ex-Yu singers attented and played his songs, from Severina, Danijela, Žejko Bebek, Kemal Monteno, Toni Cetinski, Petar Grašo, Vlado Kalember, Jasna Zlokić, Mišo Kovač and others. Looking at the pictures today, i quickly noticed probably the most popular position most of them took on stage. Can you guess which one it is by looking at the pictures below?

On Stage with Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

2008-02-05T00:06:00.000+01:00

Well i never tought my Vienna Philharmonic orchestra story wil continue. But it did. They say this is the world No #1 philharmonic orchestra. Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer and them came to Ljubljana to play in Cankarjev dom. I tought this might be an excellent opportunity to continue work on my sound check project and it turned out it was. During the rehearsals i was allowed on stage, below stage, above the stage , basically anywhere for quite a while. I am not much of classic music listener, but listening to this orchestra and being with them on stage (i took an empty seat of one orchestra violin member) and shoot from his position for a while) is simply cool. The stage area is very accoustic and therefore every shutter click is heard all over the place and the wooden construction sound shell behind the orchestra is even louder if you walk around. I couught myself listening to them instead of shooting quite a few times :) Amazing experience which almost got ruined by my card reader, that somehow corrupted the images on card to become sliced in a weird pattern, while thumbnails were ok (anyone with this problem?) . I managed to rescue the thing by connecting the usb cable directly to my camera and transferring the images manually from there. Anyway, another cool sound check project fisnished :) Enjoy some images...

EMA - or Slovenian Eurovision Song Contest

2008-02-04T23:31:00.000+01:00

National television was my home for 3 days, from dusk till dawn as they say :) I will not post the stage images as you can see them everywhere and they're quite boring, but instead post a few shadow profiles which can be nice to catch before the main light turn on for performers. These are the shots of Eva Černe start coreography and Helena Blagne, our pop music diva, just seconds before the cameras started rolling.

Tide

2008-01-25T16:58:00.000+01:00

Tide had a cool concert in Cvetličarna last night. It felt good to start shooting the concerts again after a few weeks of break. Here are some moments. Enjoy!

Mohawk Punker Haircut

2008-01-20T22:21:00.000+01:00

I am sure this bass players head has to be the most photographed item of Zablujena Generacij a, a Slovenian Punk band from Idrija. His Mohawk, punk hairstyle is great for pictures and here's a selection of same head in 3 different lights shining up the artwork :) A great detail to catch and play with, when the light from the back is so strong that other stuff is hard to do. All of these were taken at the Šank Rock 25th anniversary in Velenje.

Pankrtomentary

2008-01-17T01:18:00.000+01:00

Ok i'm back. Took some days off, been ill and finally managed to edit some movies i made at the last Pankrti concert of the 2007 tour in a little village of Hum in vine region of Goriška brda. Well, this time some coments from the band and some on stage footage. Sound is still crappy. Anyway, enjoy and feel free to comment :)

Reuters Pictures of The Year and Rolling Stones

2008-01-01T21:46:00.000+01:00

Reuters posted a selection of their best pictures of the year 2007 and selected two images of Rolling Stones. One of them was a very specific pose Keith Richards did in Belgrade, on July 14th with a guitar on his face. A pose i haven't seen before, and a picture i also captured, basically very similar, only taken from a bit different location, a meter or two to the left from Reuters photographer. One of my favourite pictures, from that concert which also got into my Stones exhibition. Not sure how much crop the awarded image got, but i originally captured it in a wider angle to show the whole guitar. Here are both of them, first a screenshot of the awarded one and then mine :)

Unusuall end of 2007 or Fotorocker goes classical

2007-12-31T14:38:00.000+01:00

And now to something completely different. I had a chance to go to Vienna and take pictures of the first New Year concert of Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. For me this was quite a big change as i have not done much photography like this before and getting the photo pass was not an easy job also. Of course, this concert is famous all over the world, and tickets are given on sale to randomly selected 1000 people while thoushands of others are waiting for next year. I was only allowed to take pictures during the last encore, from quite a distance and on that spot only. Radetzky Marsch where spectators are joining the orchestra and concuctor Georges Prêtre, to applause, is traditionally the last peice on this concert and probably the loudest one.

Anyway, i wanted to finish the last post on this blog for 2007, which, for me, was a very sucessfull year. I would like to thank all of you that are reading my blog for coming back, reading my posts,watching the pictures, writing comments.

I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and lots of good music :) Rock on!

25 Years of Šank Rock

2007-12-31T01:39:00.000+01:00

Last few days of 2007 have been extremely busy and there is lack of sleep. Yesterday Šank Rock rounded up 25 years of the band and had a great gig in Velenje. Home crowd means great concert, and this time it was the same. To me the most interesting parts were the first two songs where band wore their glam rock stying clothes form 80s and the small stage performance for two songs in th emiddle of the crowd. I came home at 3.30Am slept, for one hour and left for Vienna around 5.30 AM. More on that in next post, which will finish the 2007 on this blog a bit different. Here are some Šank Rock moments from yesterday.

Magnifico - Grande Finale in Ljubljana - sound check

2007-12-24T01:10:00.000+01:00

After the 100.000 copies of his latest album Grande Finale were given for free to the readers of Delo, earlier this month, little less fans filled up the Hala Tivoli for his concert. This time sound check was a bit late, but still fun and interesting to watch. Magnifico, Rambo Amadeus and crew were doing their best to get the sound as good as possible, for themselves on stage and for the audience. Rambo joined Magnifico for two songs, and a part of sound check was devoted (well, a minute or two) to teach Rambo how to dance "kolo" dance, for the "Hir aj kom and hir i go" performance. Fun :) Here are a couple of moments from earlier today. Enjoy!

Vlado Kreslin - Cankarjev dom 2007 - part 2

2007-12-21T17:59:00.000+01:00

Some more shots from Vlado Kreslin concert in Cankarjev dom last week. Enjoy!

Prljavo kazalište filled Cvetličarna

2007-12-21T17:13:00.000+01:00

Events, new CD releases, concerts and all sort of other things are happening lately, and this december is totally crazy. Earlier this week Cvetličarna hosted Prljavo kazalište, a band from Croatia which filled up the place completely. It was hard and dangerous to get into first rows with a camera as there were some football fans who ruled the grounds and they were not too friendly. Luckily a few nice girls in first rows gave me some space to lean on the fence and do a couple of shots from that position before moving away and into the balcony to get some aerial shots of the crowds and did a few quick shots of the band after the concert - thanks to always friendly Cvetličarna crew for making it possible! :)

Pankrti - Dubrovnik video

2007-12-17T14:22:00.000+01:00

Damn, this was one crazy weekend. We flew to Dubrovnik at 5.50 from Zagreb and this meant we had to leave Ljubljana at 3AM to be there with some backup time. Flight was fun, altough we didn't know wheter it will be possible to land in Dubrovnik due to heavy winds, but as you can see we did it. Dubrovnik is so empty at this time, totally opposite to what we're used in summer. Check out video for more (it is a bit buggy, as i edited it at 2am yesterday). There were some funny things that happened at sound check as the amplifiers were not what everyone expected but just "a bit" smaller. Also see the pictures at the end of the video. Enjoy!

Pankrti tour continues

2007-12-14T00:48:00.001+01:00

I just a few hours we start the second leg of our Pankrti tour 2007. Heading for Zagreb to catch a flight to Dubrovnik where Pankrti are going to play on Friday, then flying back to Zagreb for a concert in Tvornica to finish the official part of the tour on Saturday. Woo hoo, here we go!

Pankrti visiting the "House of flowers" where former president of Jugoslavija Tito is burried in Belgrade

Vlado Kreslin - Cankarjev dom 2007

2007-12-14T00:34:00.000+01:00

Again, the year is around, so Vlado Kreslin and his gang occupied the stage in Cankarjev dom for 3 nights in a row, all sold out completely. I came a bit early to catch the sound check and it was well worth it. The backlight came on and i got this nice shot of Vlado rehearsing the piano just minutes before first visitors were let into the hall that you can see nicely lit in the background. The concert was cool, as always, and not to ruin the suprises for those of you that might be going there in next two days i will not tell more about what's happening the stage from first minutes :)

Pankrti - sound check in Novi Sad

2007-12-12T00:44:00.000+01:00

Novi Sad was our second stop on this leg of the tour. The Trema club, which is actually a space before the main hall of the Serbian National Theatre, takes about 600 people and it was full. As i already mentioned, to me, Novi Sad gig was the best one. The stage was very close to the public, sound was excellent and the band in a good mood. The following video shows two songs Pankrti did at the sound check Za železno zaveso and Dancing Barefoot, preformed by guest quitarist on this tour, Ivan Král.

There is a funny story behind this sound check and my photo bag. Ivan forgot his guitar belt in a tour bus and we were in a hurry to get the sound check done and had no time to go and pick it up. So, the only thing similar to the belt was my camera bag belt. Good improvization. See the picture below :)

Here's Ivan with the belt :)

And just to show you what happened later as the public went mad, here's a shot from stage with Pero and crowd in the back.

Touring with Pankrti - part one

2007-12-11T01:35:00.000+01:00

I just got back from 4 days on tour with Pankrti.. still downloading all the stuff i shot. It was an amazing experience and every city we visited welcomed the caravan big time and crowds went totally crazy during the show. Here is a quick shot of the guys before the bus at Slovenia - Croatia border crossing and one from Novi Sad show, which i would call the most crazy one on tour....Stay tuned for part two and more pictures :)

On Tour with Pankrti

2007-12-07T02:02:00.000+01:00

Hopefully sights and moments like this will be an everyday event during next few days as i leave on tour with Pankrti. We'll first be heading to Vinkovci, then Novi Sad and Belgrade. On the way back we'll stop in Zagreb for a press conference. Expect many pictures and some video as we return, or maybe in between, if there is some internet somewhere.

Ivan Kral, Peter Lovšin and Bogo Pretnar rehearsing before Ljubljana show
(this image appeared full page in Dnevnikov Objektiv last Saturday)

Rattlesnake - a vist to Vest.si studio

2007-12-07T01:18:00.000+01:00

Rattlesnake, friends and probably the band with the biggest amount of my images, were invited to play accoustic in a new music show of Vest.si. The show is recorded live, any everyone can come in and watch. Here are a few snapshots of the happening earlier today. Enjoy and make sure you watch the show as it airs next thursday. A sneak preview is also available here.

50 Cent in Zagreb - an interesting interview

2007-12-05T16:38:00.000+01:00

Here's what happened to HRT TV crew during an interview with 50 Cent before the Zagreb show :) There are speculations what those guys were doing on their knees as the reporter entered the backstage room ;)

And now something completely different - 50 Cent in Ljubljana

2007-12-03T23:59:00.000+01:00

Weekend ended up with a 3 hour wait for 50 Cent to appear in Ljubljana with his G Unit. Around 00.30 about 20 or so deeply frozen photographers were asked to move away from red carpet and a huge van parked in front of us while 50 went out, heavily guarded, into the VIP lounge to "party". We were not allowed (a few very big guys were looking at us very ugly) to go in there to take a few decent pictures. Most of us managed to get a few snapshots of the star as he came in front of the crowd and and did one of his songs. I guess for them this was a good party, for us this was more or less a fight to bring back some good images. Here's one taken from quite a distance.

Pankrti Sound Check

2007-12-03T22:09:00.000+01:00

My Pankrti Saturday started with an afternoon sound check in a cold Hala Tivoli. While i was there to document their preparations, i also took a few moments off to enjoy the experience of being on stage and be able to watch them prepare for the show. Just a few hours later, this hall was full with around 7000 people and the group was full of energy. To me they looked like they're in their twenties once again :) Here's the story...

A far away view ...

Boris and Ivan jamming ...

Pero joined them on stage after checkign the sound from other side of the hall

Slavc on drums which were almost new ...

Bogo checking sound with his black beauty Les Paul guitar

Pero looking at me - i was quiet as a mouse not to disturb them too much

All set - ready to go :)

Pankrti concert in Hala Tivoli

2007-12-03T03:38:00.000+01:00

This was a big one. I am still under influence of all that happened on Saturday and work this weekend has been crazy too. So for now only one picture taken somewhere in between the concert from the stage, just next to the drummer. It was amazing to see so many generations in the hall all going crazy. More to come!

Pankrti, Pankrti, Pankrti

2007-11-29T18:11:00.000+01:00

Well this is the sight i will never forget :) Our legendary punk group Pankrti preparing for their first concert to mark the 30th anniversary of their existence. In the background you can also see the guitarist that will join the group on stage for the tour, legendary Iggy Pop and Patti Smith guitar player Ivan Král. As you can see my legs are in the frame to give you a good point of how it looks from first person view :) More pictures soon :)

And if anyone is still thinking on buying the ticket for the show, go for it, it will be very very loud! Punk is not dead :)

One year of blogging

2007-11-27T23:24:00.000+01:00

Well, i made it trough first year of blogging. Thanks to everyone for reading my stories and clicking on the pictures. Cheers ! :)

Happy Birthday Sausages

2007-11-25T18:51:00.001+01:00

Sausages celebrated their 15th birthday and organized a concert for friends and fans in Orto. True rock 'n' roll evening, unlimited amounts of beer for those who purchased their t-shirt during the concert and many guests on and off the stage. Buco, the drummer, did his famous "beer glass swallow" again as everyone was expecting. You can see them at their traditional gig in Cutty Sark on December 13th. Here are some moments i captured yesterday. Enjoy!

Bajaga again in Ljubljana

2007-11-23T20:10:00.000+01:00

Another cool concert in Cvetličarna. This time Momčilo Bajagić - Bajaga came to this club and it was full quickly after doors opened. Very cool. I managed to get a few shots of Bajaga in the backstage area before the show and as you can see he was in a very good mood :)

Sound check with Lačni Franz

2007-11-21T18:55:00.000+01:00

It is very rare to be able to take pictures during sound checks before some big concert. Usually musicians will not like anyone on stage with a camera and flash jumping around and taking pictures. I've done it before and conditions for doing it are not ideal, as the light is not turned on, there are lots of people all over the place preparing things for the concert, there's always a lack of time and everyone wants to finish it as fast as possible. Good guys of Lačni Franz, a legendary Slovenian band from Maribor allowed me to join them on stage before their appearance in Cvetličarna where they played with Mi2. I think the whole sound check with most of them on stage lasted about 2 -3 songs , so overall, the same timing as normal concert photo shoot.

Beauty and The Beast

2007-11-19T23:56:00.001+01:00

I'm lovin' it

2007-11-19T21:20:00.000+01:00

What is going to be a result of this game?