Photos: Deftones, Black Diamond Skye Tour

Opening for Alice in Chains on the Black Diamond Skye Tour, the Deftones gave an incendiary performance at the Scottrade Center with the lighting as explosive as frontman Chino Moreno's delivery.

Photographer's Notes:

Going into this show, I had a vague idea of the kind of challenges I'd be in for. The stage and pit setup for this show was interesting.

There was technically a continuous pit, but at the center of the photo pit was a stage extension that jutted out to take up about 3/4 of the pit's depth. Add in a security staffer in this space and the support legs of the barricade, and it made for a very tight fit. Chino's riser was stacked on this extension – here's a photo to give you an idea of the setup:

Pretty tight, not to mention sharp angles upward to Chino.

Due to the shooting situation and the fact that I came in determined to nail a shot of Chino, I made an executive decision early on to focus almost entirely on the singer.

Cameras Used:

Lenses Used:

Overall, the workhorse Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 was just about perfect for covering Chino at the front of the stage. Believe it or not, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, Chino was just a little too far away to get the impact I wanted with that ultra-wide. However, the 14mm end was perfect for the fourth image in this set, which was literally the fourth frame shot of the Deftones right as the band came out.

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