Deftones Photos | Live in the Rain in Tampa, FL

Last week I caught the Deftones and Rise Against co-headline tour in Tampa – the first show I’ve shot since all the May festivals. One thing you learn about shows in the summer in Florida is to never forget rain sleeves. I kept reminding myself not to forget them the entire week leading up to the show. What did I forget day of concert? Yup. Rain sleeves, naturally.

Thrice opened up the show, but by the end of their set the bottom had fallen out. While most photographers typically don’t appreciate the rain, I get excited for it (minus the lack of rain sleeves). I have seen so many epic photos of bands performing in the rain, but yet to get any stellar ones myself. Fortunately, one of the event staff tracked down a couple ponchos that I turned into make-shift rain sleeves. We marched in the pouring rain to the photo pit. I hadn’t realized prior to the show that Rise Against and Deftones were alternating headline positions on this tour. I was thinking I’d be shooting Rise Against in the rain, but Deftones actually had the more impressive light show and I’m not mad about the results.

The only other times I’ve seen Deftones have always been as part of festival lineups. I didn’t realize Chino was actually very crowd interactive, stepping out onto the crowd barricade.

Though the above photo was actually my last shot of their set, I always save the best for last…

My lens was not safe from water drops, but fortunately the light hit them just right to cause this effect. Happy to have walked away with what easily takes the cake as my Deftones photo and favorite photo in the rain.