#Artissmart Creation: “Blade Runner Gerard” Tutorial, Videos, And a Few Words On The Contest
I had an awesome opportunity this week to engage in the twitter based “#artissmart” contest; a contest based on the former profile photo of Gerard Way for those who don’t know. Thousands participated, and in the end there were several winners and runners up. Some of the responses were very supportive while others were arrogant and nasty. Some felt very strongly that they were entitled to win (no one is), but here are some thoughts on myself being a participants and others as well: I had a lot of personal support from fellow participants and fans who were looking at entries, and several had mentioned that I “should have won”. While it’s awesome to have that kind of support (and I thank you for the vote of confidence & passionate responses!) I’m not even sore at all about not winning, and I can say that in all honesty. Was I disappointed? Mmm slightly initially I’ll admit, but not so much because mine wasn’t chosen, but the entries that were chosen. Some I loved! Others, I was a …
How I Learned to Stop Criticizing & Started Giving A Shit About MSI (Photos From Chicago)
Well it’s been a little over a year since I first shot Mindless Self Indulgence at Pop’s in the slums of Sauget, IL and I can say that although I wasn’t able to obtain a photo pass for this show, I had a hundred times more fun from a concert goer’s perspective. Seeing as they’re definitely a band that can keep an audience energized with their wacky onstage antics and turbo-charged energy combined, they’ve definitely grown on me as a favorite band to see live and photograph. If the audience were made of entirely cats, MSI would be the laser pointer or the ball of yarn. It’s that engaging and it’s infectious. You don’t even have to deem yourself a fan to appreciate what they do live, and that’s something I can respect from an artistic perspective, a music lover, and a concert photographer. Several years back, if you were tell me I’d have photographed them with my DSLR AND attended a show of theirs by now, I would’ve claimed you were bat shit crazy. At that time, I just didn’t get it …
Remember Me: A Photographer’s Tribute To My Chemical Romance
It didn’t really quite hit me until Saturday night as I was waiting to shoot a show that I would never be waiting in a state of peaceful anticipation for My Chemical Romance to come out onstage ever again. I was seriously bummed out that it wouldn’t ever happen again, seeing my favorite band to see/shoot set a crowd on fire with their presence live. However, the best thing about the music is the spirit of the band will never die and neither will the music. When you create something in this world that is incredibly important to so many people, it becomes timeless. I’m very excited to see what each of them have got coming in the form of different creative projects both musically and artistically, as each of them are so talented in their own unique ways. In the meantime, I have taken a small portion of those amazing memories and captured them within my camera lenses. I have a great amount of gratitude for having the privilege of shooting them, capturing that and sharing it w…
Musing Over Last Week’s Muse Show in St. Louis! Photos, Videos, Plus Exclusives!
It’s not every day that a concert photographer gets to shoot one of her favorite bands, you know. So when I was granted a pass to shoot Muse for the first time since their Resistance Tour Chicago show in 2010, I was both elated and excited to receive another chance to capture them properly. Hopefully, I did just last as my gut tells me. Their lighting always makes for interesting shots, and there was more flexibility this time around with it being a pit shoot instead of the prior tour being a soundboard shoot. Lasers in sync with guitars, a giant U-shaped LED screen encompassing the band from the floor level, mini cameras that projected the band’s images throughout the show, and a centerpiece that looked like a giant spaceship from below were part of the amazing ambience I was able to thankfully capture. However, for all of their amazing lights and wide angle shots I got, some of the tighter shots of the Matt, Chris, and Dom that I was able to get are some of my personal favorites.…
Spend Your Valentine’s Day in the Asylum with Emilie Autumn live in St. Louis!
I suppose you could classify me as a muffin of Emilie Autumn’s music and live performance. That is, in according to her fan base, a less than hard core fan, but still a fan. I’m still discovering just how brilliant and intelligent she is. Not only that, but Monday night she proved that you don’t need a giant stage to put on a great production and performance! Along with her leading ladies Veronica Varlow and Captain Maggot, she put her all for her Fight Like A Girl tour into a tiny little venue known as The Fubar in St.Louis, where I started my concert photography career shooting shows for several years back.
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Music “Muse” Monday: Never before seen Muse from me to you!
Not only am I extremely excited that it’ll less than a month before Muse visit St. Louis for the first time in years, it’ll possibly be (fingers crossed) the 2nd time I’ll be shooting them in 3 years. So to celebrate and get things warmed up for the St. Louis show, I thought I’d scour through my photos from the first show I’d shot in Chicago in 2010. Luckily, there were gems I had missed. Maybe I’ll even make the journey to Chicago this year as well; time will tell. I had previously done this for my other favorite band to both see and shoot, My Chemical Romance. …
Music Monday & The White Witch of Rock N’ Roll, Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks: All of her work
You can’t have a Music Monday without the White Witch of the Music World; the Fairy Godmother of Rock. I’m an astrological fanatic as well, so it’s no question as to why I call her my favorite musical Gemini. She’s not only influenced many females in the rock genre over the decades following the Fleetwood Mac years, but she’s also influenced fashion as well. There’s even a “Night of 1,00 Stevie Nicks” held each year in NYC if you don’t believe me. There’s no one that sounds like her, looks like her, or has a viewpoint and opinions quite like hers either. …
Music Monday: Imogen Heap and Fever Ray!
Imogen Heap: 2-1 (Ellipse, 2009)
There’s something beautifully androgynous about Imogen Heap’s voice, and in this song, oddly calming despite the desperation in her lyrics. 2-1 is from her 2009 album, Ellipse. I find it a particularly haunting and powerful song, and although it has a darker feel to it, the album does have it’s higher point of positivity (Little Bird, Wait it Out). …
Capturing The Used in all Their Vulnerability at The Pageant in St. Louis
Ha, like the pun? (Bad, I know) No, but seriously, this band has been around for over a decade and this is the first time I’ve been able to shoot them. That being said, it was both a challenge and a good experience. Lighting was difficult and sporadic at times, but that’s nothing uncommon in concert photography. The under lights gave a nice boost to the darker moments and I have to give it to ‘em that they 1. Made good use of front lighting and 2. They didn’t commit the “only dreaded red” lights that a lot of bands use. That’s enough to make me happy as a photographer. I’m still getting the feel of this crop sensor, and if you know me well enough as a photographer, you know I love capturing those more “human” moments onstage with a band. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good rock n’ roll “money shot”, but I like capturing the emotion in the eyes, the moments where they look scared, etc. etc. That wasn’t hard with frontman Bert McCracken. Much like the lyrics of The Used, there’s a myri…
Music Monday: The Jezabels, Muse, & Paper Route!
So I’m starting a new series called “Music Monday” for all you crazy fellow music lovers out there! I’ll provide you with my favorite videos and musical recommendations! Sound good? We all can use a boost on our Mondays so here it comes!
The Jezabels: Prisoner (Full Album)
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb5XWqsZAOY
I stumbled upon The Jezabels by recommendation on Spotify. I’m not sure who I was listening to but I just clicked on their artist channel just to see what they were all about. I’m so happy I did! I can’t even begin to express how much I’ve come to love this wonderful Australian band! Their album, Prisoner, is so incredible from beginning to end! It took me a few listens all the way through for me to come to realize its true brilliance with all its shimmering emotion and power. Vocalist Hayley Mary reminds me a lot of Karen O. at times but with her own sense of beautiful intensity.…
