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 …
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.…
They’ve Got The Fire: An Interview with Illustrator & Paper Artist Katy Rogers!
Tell us a bit about yourself. When did you notice you first had a talent for illustrating and creating? How did your career as an artist begin and unravel?
My name is Katy and I’m currently a junior at a small art school in Massachusetts. I often to by KatyChemical online and people either know me for my portraits or for being a huge My Chem fan.
I always had an interest in the arts and when I was younger I really enjoyed crafts. In the eighth grade our art teachers changed and the new one took things a little more seriously. She gave us an assignment where we had to basically do a gridded portrait and being that I was so obsessed with Harry Potter at the time I decided to draw Daniel Radcliffe. It was one of the best ones in the class and they hung it up in the display case in the hall. Of course looking back now it’s not that great haha. I was really psyched about it though and I kept trying to draw that way but I got distracted for a while as I evolved into a high schooler. In…
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 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…
Nocturnal Admissions: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals in St. Louis!
Last night’s dreary, rainy January funk was replaced with musical sunshine as Grace Potter and her band, The Nocturnals, trampled through St. Louis and played an awesome sold out show at The Pageant. I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again: I love shooting bands and discovering how they connect with their audiences live. Grace is quite the mover and the shaker. Along with her funky & talented line up, they lifted everyone’s wintery spirits.
This was my first show shooting with my new Sony a580 and new prime lenses. It’s been years since I’ve used primes and while I got spoiled with my old Canon’s full frame, the crop sensor is just something I’ll have to get used to. …
The Best Concert Photo Moments of 2012 & Let’s Do This 2013!
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What It Feels Like To Photograph Madonna!: MDNA Comes To St. Louis
I’ll admit that I’m a longtime, huge Madonna fan. I grew up listening to her, admiring her, and being mesmerized by her ability to reinvent herself and her look and keep pushing boundaries artistically. Growing up in a very religious home, I wasn’t allowed to buy her albums, but I made every attempt to listen to her on the radio, read about her, and sneak watching her on Mtv (when Mtv actually played music videos). I think every young girl who grew up listening to Madonna in the 80′s and 90′s wanted to practically be her.
She did not disappoint at all with her lush background, extravagant dancers and costume changes, and her performance itself. St. Louis had waited 3 decades to see her in concert, and it was well beyond worth the wait. I feel very blessed I was able to photograph her and stay for the show in the coveted “Golden Triangle” pit area (the small area inside the main stage circle dedicated to fans winning competitions) and share the experience with some longtime friends.…
New and improved website! Now with new Art 101 features, portfolios, and ninart.com archives!
Well, hello…it’s been a while and I’ve been meaning to get this site revamped and off the ground again. I found myself slacking on blog posts to once a month. So what better to do than invest in a new site layout (as all the free Wordpress layouts always had something that wasn’t quite right in one area or another) and use that as a catalyst?!
So here’s what’s in store for this website and what’s been redone:
-An online official store will be active and online very soon. I’m adding art for sale and prints as we speak; an official announcement will be made once it’s up. Just have to work out the nooks and crannies.
-Revamped the entire portfolio section, breaking it down into different subcategories in the navigation bar above. You’ll find the updated main gallery but also:
Paintings - Acrylics, gouache, watercolor..you name it!
Digital Art - Pretty self explanatory
Illustrations/Drawings - Colored pencil, pen & ink, graphite, etc.
Portraits - The faces you kno…
