Welcome to "Your Story", an exciting series where the spotlight is on you, our vibrant community! In this series, we invite you to share your unique experiences, heartfelt anecdotes, and personal reflections on a variety of compelling topics. This months topic was "The Band You've Photographed The Most" and here are your stories!
Brittney Williams
Eleven and Three. Those are the number of times I've seen this band live and the number of times I've photographed them. They're also the answer to this month's SHOWGRAPHERS topic. If you follow me on any of my socials, then you probably already know who I'm referring to with those numbers, but since most of you don't. I'll drop a few more hints. The Greek Theatre on 10/12/2019, the YouTube Theatre on 05/20/2022, and The Wiltern on 08/25/2023. If you haven't guessed by now, it's Bastille, and those were their last three L.A. dates
The band/artist I photographed the most also happens to be my favorite band, and it's Bastille. When I started a few years back, I was trying to get someone to give me a chance in the often saturated market of Los Angeles. So, my dreams of photographing specific bands or artists seemed extremely far-fetched then. I was trying to photograph as many shows as possible, have fun, and get some experience. That's not to say I didn't have the same dreams as every other photographer to photograph one of their favorite bands/artists. I didn't think I would get the privilege of photographing them more than once. For me, they're such a uniquely identifiable band on and off stage, so it is always a treat coming up with new ideas or ways to capture their essence and fun live. They're a band that challenges me as a photographer. Also, Dan Smith is a lightning bolt onstage. I never would have guessed it was nerves or anxiety from him, which he has talked about. Not only have I taken some of my favorite photos at their shows, but I've made countless memories. Photographing Bastille has allowed me to find my artistic sense of self as a Concert photographer (a must for a photographer) and hone my skills. So, I'm thankful for that, and here's to Twelve and four.
Mikey Aldridge
Working as Lyra’s tour photographer, each night brings something new and exciting to shoot. Lyra has an incredibly creative vision for her outfits, stage design and how she performs each night. It makes my job so fun and her show a joy to capture.
Jos Hurley
The band I have photographed the most is a Scottish Grunge/Punk band called ‘Wine Moms’, I had first photographed them when they supported James and The Cold Gun in May 2022, having posted the photos to Instagram, Wine Moms then invited me to shoot an upcoming show in the summer of the same year, after which I was asked if I could like to do their photography for all their shows.
This then turned into also doing behind the scenes and photo shoots as well as starting to manage them! I have lost count of how many wonderful shows I have shot for Wine Moms, but each show gets better and better, never being able to guess their next move on stage, and being able to see how they have developed and grown over the years makes me proud, as well as being able to see how my photography has developed at the same time!
They always bring the most energy to the stage, overcoming any challenges thrown their way and never fail to put on an amazing show no matter where they play! I have so much love for them and can’t wait to see where they go next.
Divina Marfe
I've been pursuing concert photography professionally for a little over two years now and the band I've photographed the most for just as long. It's a local Nashville band known as "Edgehill" named after one of the streets here in town.
I stumbled upon Edgehill in April of 2022, a few months after they formed as a group, through TikTok. At that time, I had just started college at Nossi College of Art and Design with a major in Commercial Photography. Since I was 15, I knew I wanted to turn concert photography into a career. I asked my program director for advice and he instructed me to find a local band that I could basically "latch myself onto, hoping that they would make it big and decide to keep me along for the ride." When scrolling through TikTok one day, this video of two guys with guitars singing this original song popped up on my for you page. I instantly recognized where they were, which was Love Circle Park, because one of my classes took a trip there recently to work on panoramas of Nashville's skyline. I instantly found their instagram and messaged them with the hope they had a show in town that I could photograph soon. Thankfully, they did, and I've been photographing their shows ever since.
I love photographing Edgehill anytime I can and I'm glad that they've decided to keep me as a part of their team as their official photographer. They've gone through a lot of band changes to a new drummer and losing their bassist, but they're such a great group of guys with an amazing stage presence and they put on a show worth seeing. They have since gained a respectable fanbase and it warms my heart to see people love them the way I always wished they would. And they make great music which is always a plus ;)
Kyle Roczniak
My most photographed band is the delightful alt-rock grunge band HotWax! I first shot them after stumbling into their set at a festival in Manchester last October, and since then they’ve been kind enough to take me under their wing and let me photograph their insanely energetic live shows. I’m so proud to call them my friends and so thankful for the cool experiences they’ve given me. The attached photo is from my most recent shoot with them at Live at Leeds Festival in May.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR STORIES!
Stay tuned, the next topic
will be announced later this month!