Every time I see Dir en grey perform, it feels like a spectacle. Even though they’re touring regularly now in the States (or at least ever other year), their US fans seem so starved for Dir en grey’s performances that these shows have a quivering fervor in the air, with every finale capping a catharsis. And even then, the crowd screams for more.
I am presenting a larger-than-usual collection of images here for Dir en grey’s fans, as I know how much the band is loved. These images are copyrighted and I must ask that they are not used for additional artwork or otherwise re-purposed. Prints are available.
Thanks very much for your understanding and consideration, I hope you enjoy the images. If you’d like to link to this post, please feel free to repost one image and link back here for the full set.
As soon as I heard that Dir en grey was coming back to the US, I was psyched to photograph them again. That they were on a double-bill with Apocalyptica only sealed the deal.
I’ve photographed Dir en grey twice before – once opening for the Deftones in 2007 and then on their own headlining tour in late 2008.
As always, Dir en grey were great subjects, even despite very challenging lighting. There was not a scrap of white light on the band that came from the front, with the exception of flash from the cameras of fans.
Here's an example of "catchflash" from a camera's flash in the audience.
The Pageant where Dir en grey has a relatively high stage at about five-feet, so the addition of Kyo’s riser made for a big obstacle in shooting, whether he was on it or behind it. When Kyo was behind the riser, shooting had to be done from the sides to clear the riser and the monitors on either side of him.
Kaoru, Toshiya, and Die were often behind their respective speaker monitors and mic stands, so finding the right angles to shoot them was an interesting task as well. And of course Shinya’s massive drum kit blocked some views, but it was relatively close and seemed to be more open than the last time I recall shooting the band. If anything, the major challenge with Shinya was timing shots for when the lighting was up.
Cameras Used:
Lenses Used:
End Notes:
I’m honored to be able to photograph Dir en grey again for their fans. Hope the fans enjoy them, and please feel free to share the link!
Like these images? Order prints by clicking through from the slideshow below or the images above. Please use the coupon “DIRU10″ for 10% off your order.
Here are galleries from the last shoot in 2008.
Dir en grey at the Pageant opening for the Deftones in 2007.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with band, concert photography, Die Toshiya, dir en grey, japanese, kaoru, kyo, live, metal, music, music photography, shinya, visual kei. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Wow, great set Todd even with the challenging lighting. After seeing that set, it makes me want a D3 reall, really bad. I don’t think the D300 would have been able to handle that low light.
Hey Aaron, thanks for the kind words.
The D3 did well here – I shot entirely at ISO 3200. Color washes like this are certainly tough, and even made for difficult shooting with the D3, I should say.
Great shots as usual Todd. I imagine those reds,yellows,and magenta’s with no spots were a pain in the ass. Almost like shooting back in small venues! haha.
Great job tackling the obstacles, as you always seem to be able to do. Looking forward to the Apocalyptica set. Those guys are nuts!
Hey Kevin, thanks for the comment. The color washes for this set were killer. Very tough to deal with – but it all worked out.
You’re right, this almost is like shooting in a smaller club due to the color washes. To the Pageant’s credit, the spaciousness of the stage does give the images a bigger “look,” which I do like.
Thanks again – Apocalyptica coming up soon.
Oh yeah man…absolutely. You can definitely see it’s a large venue. That ceiling height and stage height are undeniable! haha.
Wow, these are great. And excellent job getting around the challenges of shooting them. These are some of the best live shots I’ve seen.
I hope you have more luck getting the fans to listen to your request, some people haven’t been so lucky.
Can’t wait for the Apocalyptica shots either.
Hey Kami,
Thanks very much for the kind words, I appreciate it.
As for the fans, I hope they will honor the request as well! Apocalyptica shots coming up soon as well, will most likely post those on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Thanks again.
Definitely a band I wouldn’t miss, their live show is awesome to shoot, a photographers dream – bar that LED square, that’s a tough thing to work with!
Ace work :)
Thanks very much. Dir en grey are fantastic to photograph, but so challenging that any images are rewarding. The LED square is just killer. But more than that, the band was basically lit entirely by color washes, which makes exposure and focus tricky.
One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
Do you use the Nikon Capture NX2¿?
¿Only photoshop?
Thanks!!
I use Capture NX 2, Lightroom 3, and Photoshop. It depends on the image and what’s necessary for editing – each does different tasks better, so it just depends on the type of image and how much/what you need to do!
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
YAY! I am so glad you had a chance to shoot them again! They are my favorite band of all time and your photos are the best! Also, thanks so much for putting up all the extra pictures, this will mean a lot to the fans. *goes to check out the prints available*
Hey JM,
Thanks for the kind words – Please feel free to share the link with other fans. Hope you all enjoy the images.
As for prints, that gallery has about 85 images from the set. There are several sets of similar images, but I thought fans of the Dir en grey might want to see the different color options. Many more options in the full set than were embedded here.
Sure thing! I linked to them on http://community.livejournal.com/diru_tabloids/ with one preview picture, a link to this page underneath it and a reminder of your copyright rules. Is that alright?
Thanks again!
Hey JM,
One photo and a link is perfect, thanks for taking the time to share the link to the set, and for the reminder of the copyright. You rule.
Not a photographer, just a lowly Deg fan. Totally in love with these photos, as I was with your previous shoots of them. Wish I could comment with more in depth praise about angles and framing and blah blah but sadly my field of study does not lie in visual mediums.
Nice job. Thank you for sharing these :)
Hey Kristen, thanks for the comment, I appreciate it. I know how much Deg fans love the band and images of the members, so I really enjoy hearing from you all.
I liked a lot your previous shoots from this fans and same with these ones. The high definition of the pics are wonderful, I hope you get to to photograph them again in next tours!
Hi Laura,
Glad you like the bigger format. Now I just wish I could do another photo shoot with Dir en grey. The last one seems like so long ago when I started doing portraits.
Will definitely photograph the band again whenever and where ever I can. Thanks for the comment!
yeah, definetly the format is amazing. The lights and the textures are so great. Also as it was said, the angle of the pic of Toshiya with his foot on Kyo`s crater is really really amazing.
I hope you get another personal photoshoot,cause the one from 2008 is still on my top of good Dir en grey photoshoots so it would be nice see one from nowdays ( and why not? Liked your comments about that photoshoot hahaha)
peace!
These are so gorgeous. They really portray the emotion of the fans, the intensity of the show and the fervor of the band. Also, I love that Kyo has black hair now :3
Hey Samantha, thanks very much! Really glad to hear these images capture the band and their show for you. The fans really went crazy at this concert.
It was funny, because the front row change entirely between Dir en grey and Apocalyptica. I’m sure there were some overlapping fans, but the Deg fans are the ones who seemed to camp out for the prime spots.
I think Kyo looks good with black hair.
Agreed. I’ve been to 4 of their shows now and this one had the most diverse group. I think most of them were Diru fans (we are loud and bouncy and fast). The Apocalyptica fans were much more chill. I was pretty excited to see them (have wanted to since high school, so like 1999), so the whole show just blew my friends and I away. But yes, Diru fans are hardcore. It’s nuts. I actually haven’t seen fandom like this wince I was a little baby Mansonite back in 1996. It’s nostalgic XD
I like the black hair, too. And the new tattoos. Badass. Keep up the good work!
Hi Todd! Your Dir en grey photos are sooooo fabulous <3 PLEASE shoot more in the future :D
Hi Katherine,
Thank you – I’ll shoot Dir en grey whenever I can. Glad to hear you like the photos.
Hi Todd,
I remember your previous photos of Dir en grey and these are totally gorgeous, thanks for posting so many.
I’m sure shooting them must be really hard due to the lighting etc. Can I ask, do you have to take a huge amount of photos to get that many good ones? The only times I’ve taken pictures of them has been in daylight which was a lot easier.
Hey Julia,
You’re quite welcome, glad to hear you enjoy the images.
Dir en grey really does have very challenging lighting. And I did shoot a lot of images to make these. Funnily, that’s one of the “dirty little secrets” to live music photography.
The trick is, you just don’t show anyone the bad photos.
I would love to photograph Dir en grey at a daytime festival or show. I’ve seen some really good shots from 2006 or 2007 when they were playing some festivals in the UK and US.
Ah, I thought so. Due to the lighting I’ve never tried to take any photos of them at livehouses. That and the fact I like to really get into the show rather than worrying I’d break my camera.
Hope you get a chance to see them at a festival some time. I got some nice shots at Download last year but Sonisphere this year was brilliant as I had the best view ever and no sun shining. Just wish I’d had a better quality camera but still love the shots I got.
As always, thank you for your consideration of the fanbase! Phenomenal photos, as per usual~
Hey Brooklen,
Thanks very much. Glad to share, and it’s really nice that so many people in the Dir en grey community seem to remember different photographers tour after tour. Very kind of you all.
Hi! Just wanted to say a big thank you for sharing the photographs with the fans of the band! Especially I’d like to thank you for the shots of Die since most of the professionals photographing their shows seem to ignore him for some reason (that is beyond my comprehension *laughs*).
The photos are so gorgeous that I am very tempted to purchase a print as well, but let’s see. I’m very much just a beginner in photography (with my Nikon D60) and admire your work from what I’ve seen :)
Hey Marjo,
Thanks for the comment and kind words. You know, Die is actually a difficult subject. There’s some combination about his mic stand and the monitors around him that just make Die a tough subject. I found it easiest to shoot photos of him when he came to put one foot up on the monitors.
I’m actually a little embarrassed I don’t have more/better photos of him, but I hope you all enjoy the few I do have.
Thanks again!
I was suspecting something like that since he does stay behind the mic stand a lot and when he moves away, he moves so much that he doesn’t really stay still to be photographed.
Hey, you can try to aim for more photos the next time around! At least the ones you got look very good, and I at least love both of the shots you have up there in the post. The yellow/red shaded is such an intense photo, and the green one is a pretty typical pose for him, though I think you captured it better than average.
Thank YOU again for sharing :) And for not forgetting any of them.
thank you so much for taking and sharing the pictures. i must say the one with Toshiya with his foot on the crate is probably my utmost favorite because of the entire dynamic it posesses and because it suits and captures his on-stage persona perfectly. as marjo said about Die, i wish there were more with Toshiya, but he does tend to move around a lot and probably if the stage is high enough (which seems to have been the case) that would result in obstacles like the monitors and whatnot. Does the moving around (Die seems to do that too and Shinya, flailing around all the time) in such light conditions make the shooting harder? do you rec a certain fast lens? In that regard good ole Kaoru is easiert to snap :D
in any case, these are gorgeous shots and i wish you can always shoot them whenever they come close to you. they are a great (and rather photogenic too) band.
is there a chance for a portraits session in the foreseeable future? :D
Hey Rhea,
Thanks for the very kind comment. One of the coolest things about receiving comments from Dir en grey’s fans this time around? So many of you commented on the sets from 2008, you’re all already in the system and don’t need moderation. I think that’s pretty cool, and at testament to fans in general of the band.
I would say that Toshiya was the next most difficult subject next to Die out of the guys at the front of the stage. He had a mic stand in front of him for a few songs, and since he was sandwiched between Kyo’s riser and Kaoru on the left, he was also a bit farther back. And for these angles, the high stage made shooting Toshiya back there a bit more tricky. The good news is that Toshiya did come to the front quite a bit – more than anyone else, I think.
The guys moving around does make it a big challenge, because Dir en grey’s lighting is always very dim and moody. Still, this was better than the last time around, when they mostly had the projection as their light source.
Would love to shoot portraits of the band at some point again – we’ll see.
well, real loves die hard. or something (cheesy) like that :P On the other hand time flies by very very quickly it seems.
and yeah, toshiya likes coming up front and interacting with the crowd like that a lot, which, not only awesome in concerts, does end up with him in pretty great pictures as well. :D
Time does fly. I’ve just included a slideshow of the 2007 tour from the first time I photographed Dir en grey, bottom of the post.
Mostly Kyo, but a few of Kaoru and one of Die.
Thank you. sorry for replying so late but rl tends to be a *** sometimes :P
also wanted to say thanks for always trying to include Shinya. not many photographers do that. :)
I have a personal motto, which is “Don’t forget the drummer.”
When I started out doing music photography, I was working with a band. Before one of their shows, the guitarist, who had been a musician for years and years, said to me, “Don’t forget the drummer. Photographers always forget the drummer.”
Even though he’s a very tough subject, since he has a very fluid and graceful drumming style (with some flare, I’d say), Shinya is a tough subject. But one has to try.
I like that motto and, even though i am nowhere near being a professional photographer everytime i do take concert pictures or film a concert i try to capture them all as well, especially the drummer. Thank you for trying and doing such a grat job. Yes, Shinya definitely has flair and a style of his own :)
RT @toddowyoung Photos: Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
I love you for these photos haha. saw them in London just over a month ago and before that at Sonisphere and totally loved their sets. The fans were too rowdy to even try and aim the camera at the stage haha so this is a nice little reminder <3
thanks again for your AMAZING photos being on display!
RT @toddowyoung: One of my favorite bands to photograph: From the Land of the Rising Sun – J-rockers Dir en grey http://bit.ly/9gV3Ki
I think that part of what makes Dir En Grey one of my favorite bands to photograph is that they are such a challenge. They have such energy and charisma on stage that even given perfect circumstances it could still be difficult to convey that energy in a still image.
Combine that with their frequent use of drastic lighting and you get a real challenge for a photographer.
On their mini tour last year their lighting was very sparse. For Houston and Dallas they were primarily lit by white spots positioned to the rear of the stage so that they would be hit from behind by them and end up in silhouette. The times that they would get fully lit it would usually be by a red wash. At the Dallas date they played a relatively small club called “Trees” which made the photography even more difficult. No photo pit and fans packed in like sardines. No way to stay in one place as the crowd flowed and moved with the music. To top it off the venue got its name because it had huge fake tree trunks going from floor to ceiling at three or four spots on the stage. In Denver they played at the Gothic so there was a photo pit and while the lighting was still similarly rear lit it was a bit better and had occasional washes so at least it wasn’t just a silhouette.
For this year’s tour I got to shoot the Denver show again and this time it was at The Ogden. While I had the same problem you had with the frequent washes of color I was still happy that the lighting wasn’t as difficult as the previous year.
I am envious of the great shots you got of Shinya. I never forget the drummer but there is a big difference between remembering and nailing the timing to get a quality shot like the ones you were able to capture.
[...] band again. When I heard that they were performing on a co-headlining tour with Japanese rockers Dir en grey, I was [...]
These pictures are incredible, thank you so much for taking them. You really did a great job of capturing… well, everything. Dir really isn’t an easy band to photograph and anyone who can get a decent shot of Shinya should win a prize.
Also nice picture of me you got there, haha. :)
Hey Crystal, thanks for the comment, I appreciate it.
Ha, there should be a Shinya prize. Actually, Shinya was my first subject for this show – he was blasting away when they rest of the lights were still down, so I thought I’d try to get off on a good start with him.
Are you in one of the crowd shots?
@mercilessangels did you see http://ishootshows.com/2010/09/01/photos-dir-en-grey/
Well you did a great job! It’s great to see Shinya pictures, so many times there will be batches of photos from shows and there will literally be no Shinya pictures.
Yeah, I’m the one with all the bracelets on the right side :)
Hey all,
Thought I’d ask you something if anyone is subscribed to the comments here. I’m interested in contributing a print of Kyo to the Print Aid Project, with all profits going toward victims of the Tohoku Earthquake in Japan:
http://theprintaidproject.com/
Since you’re Diru fans, would you be interested in purchasing a print of this image of Kyo?
Kyo, Dir en grey @ The Pageant 2010
Or if you have another favorite shot you’d buy as a print, let me know. Thanks. -Todd
This is a great idea, I’d love to contribute by buying a print of my favorite artist. I’d probably say go with the print you already selected, however, simply because a consensus would be extremely hard to reach. The other full-body portraits from this tour are wonderful as well, however. Particularly these three:
http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000uHN_U5gr1T0/s/600/901/dir-en-grey-2219.jpg
http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000Dy20BWUB2yQ/s/600/901/dir-en-grey-2161.jpg
http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000.IrR2Euq_C0/s/600/901/dir-en-grey-2261.jpg
The last would probably be my favorite.
Anyway, great idea!
Awesome, thanks so much for the feedback. Do you have a sense of whether other fans would be interested? As a Japanese band, I’d love to submit Dir en grey for this benefit if there’s interest.
I posted the information in two different Dir en Grey communities; hopefully you’ll be getting some feedback here :)
Thanks so much!
Hey Todd it’s actually an awesome idea and great choice, I’m definitely buying! ^^/
Hey Maggie,
Great, thanks so much for commenting. Glad to hear you approve of this shot – There are some other images I was considering, like one that Brooklen suggested, but I kind of liked this shot – Kyo looks like he’s meditating. Thanks again.
Todd, this is a great idea. I think a lot of people would be interested in buying any Dir en grey prints, especially if their money goes to the earthquake relief. You probably know that we’re pretty good about pimping stuff like that out to other fans all over the internet as well, so it would probably be a really successful endeavor :).
Hey Beckie, thanks for taking the time to chime in, I really appreciate it. I have the personal feeling that Dir en grey fans would enjoy the print, it’s just a matter of convincing the Print Aid organizers that this image of Kyo is one that would help raise money. Understandably, there are some reservations for an image of a less widely known band (at least in the US and Europe), but I know how dedicated Dir en grey fans are!
As you suggest, with the help of fans, I’d hope that the image of Kyo would help do a lot for the cause.
I think this is a great idea, actually.
I’d definitely buy a print.
Great. Thanks, Jessica.
I am interested in buying a photo.
Awesome, thanks!
RE: printaidproject
I would definitely be interested in that print being available on there. I would also be interested in the following prints being available on there:
http://toddowyoung.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Dir-en-grey-The-Pageant-2010/G0000Pcrt_fngzzU/I0000.en8w3S4APQ
http://toddowyoung.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Dir-en-grey-The-Pageant-2010/G0000Pcrt_fngzzU/I0000ISLW3rk0DRY
:)
About the print for aid …. it may be an older photo but the one of Kyo where he looks like he’s praying might be more meaningful for the cause
Hey Michie,
I know exactly the photo you’re talking about. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hey all, just an update on Print Aid – the shot of Kyo is going to be made available.
It’s going to be a £10 print at 8″x10″ with all profits going toward aid to Japan. Will make a full post with details when I have them and a link.
While I can only submit one image to Print Aid, you can always check out the other images and order prints here:
Dir en grey @ The Pageant
Thanks again, let me know if you have any questions!
I am interested in buying a photo…
Hey all, just got the link – the image of Kyo is now available here:
http://theprintaidproject.com/portfolio/todd-owyoung/
I hope you enjoy the print, it’s one of my favorite images.
Again, all proceeds made from this sale to go help Japan. Please spread the word to fellow Dir en grey fans for this cause if you can.
I’m also going to make a full post about the image as well.