My story in concert photography begins in 2008. Over the last decade, I have had many experiences that have made me the photographer that I am today. As I approached the end of 2018 and began reflecting on the last 10 years of my life in this musical world, I realized that I have a story worth sharing. Throughout my time photographing shows, I’ve witnessed some amazing bands grow from performing in small clubs to large venues. I’ve met wonderful people both in the music industry and photography industry. As I wrap up this decade of life, I am looking forward to what the next 10 years will bring!
The Back Story
Attending concerts was nothing new for me. Carrying my camera around and taking pictures was also a regular occurrence. Having gone to college for photography and working in the field, photography was part of my life. However, concerts and cameras did not come together until I met Shawn. Shawn’s presence in my life not only advanced my photographic career but also expanded my musical universe. He introduced me to music I may have never discovered and took me to shows I may have never attended.
Shawn and I met on line, right at the end of the age of MySpace. After the ending of a long-term relationship, I found myself alone and a bit lost for the first time in 10 years. I used the internet to search for people local to my area who shared my similar tastes in music. MySpace was a great format for sharing and exploring music. His profile was nothing but music – a lot of music. Within our first few conversations, he invited me to the 930 Club to see The Editors (Sept 4, 2007). I said yes. We ended up going to 12 shows together within the first three months of meeting.
Swipe through the slide show below to see some of our early shows:
This was before the days of smart phones and camera phones. I would sneak my little point-n-shoot camera into every show I could. Shawn said to me one day, “You know that you can get photo passes to photograph shows professionally, right?” In addition to his extreme love for music, he also photographed shows. Most of the shows he photographed were house shows, small club shows, and shows at Fort Reno. However, he knew how to get photo passes and he shared this knowledge with me.
Side Note: Shawn has a pretty extensive Flickr account. You may enjoy looking through it, if you are a music nerd. He only photographed on film so his photos are scanned and uploaded. Feel free to check them out here.
I finally got around to purchasing a digital SLR and in 2008, I started on my goal to become a concert photographer. My first show with my new camera was Jukebox the Ghost at The Black Cat with Pash. Both bands were local to DC and I was a fan of both! To enhance my photography skills, I began photographing mostly local bands in low lit clubs with no photo pit. Working with what little equipment I had, I began to build a portfolio. I photographed 20 some shows before landing my first photo pass. (Some of these photos even include my old watermark!)
Read the second part of the story in Part Two, here
