Mother's Day with Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson brought his traveling circus to Houston on May 13, 2012. Mother's Day to be exact.

I was originally denied a credential to shoot the show. No media on this tour was the official answer. So needless to say, I was very surprised when I got a phone call from my writer saying that I needed to be at the House of Blues in 30 minutes as he had secured a MM photo credential for me.

I got to the venue, just in time to shoot the openers, The Pretty Reckless and about an hour later, I was waiting to shoot MM when the tour manager comes up to me and tells me... "We're only approving you to shoot one song." I was ok with that, just happy to have to the opportunity to shoot. About five minutes later, I was told, "We've approved you to shoot two songs." I was beyond grateful... two songs is definitely better than one... So MM comes out on stage and as I go into the pit and start shooting. I'm getting some wide shots and waiting for the second song where I will shot some close ups of MM and the rest of the band... but as the song ends, I was told by security that the tour manager again, had changed her mind... it was only one song again.

I knew I had gotten a few choice images and I knew I was only going to need about 4 good shots for the review. Lucky for me, I got the shots needed for the review and I got a slideshow out of it too!

This was a heckuva shoot as the stage had two large risers across the front with only a 3 foot opening. Shooting the band was tough as they were behind the risers. The stage is already about 4.5 feet high, combine that with a two foot riser and a regular sized barricaded pit and I'm having to shoot straight up. With a crate in the middle of the pit my movement was slightly restricted. MM also sang this one song in almost the same position with little movement.

In hindsight, I should've opted for longer shots from the sides but we can look back all we want, the fact is, I shot one song under tricky conditions and still made it work.

More photos and a review on the Houston Press.

Equipment used: Canon 5D, Canon 5D Mark II, 24-70mm and 17-35mm.

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Marilyn Manson - Houston, TX - 05.13.12 - 5DII_0100b by groovehouse, on Flickr

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Marilyn Manson - Houston, TX - 05.13.12 - 5DII_0068B by groovehouse, on Flickr

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Marilyn Manson - Houston, TX - 05.13.12 - 5DII_0050b by groovehouse, on Flickr

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Marilyn Manson - Houston, TX - 05.13.12 - 5DII_0033B by groovehouse, on Flickr

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Marilyn Manson - Houston, TX - 05.13.12 - 5D_0493B by groovehouse, on Flickr

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Marilyn Manson - Houston, TX - 05.13.12 - 5D_0507B by groovehouse, on Flickr