photography from baltimore & d.c.
I am going to start posting these more, hopefully once a week. You can see a selection of my favorites on my Tearsheets page, here. Click any of the above to see some of my Tearsheets from the last week or two.
I shot a few quick portraits of Scottie B and Cullen Stalin for a City Paper article, on stands now.
Cullen Stalin and Scottie B lay No Rule to rest – read the City Paper article here
The other week, I shot Tune-Yards (or tUne-YaRdS, or some strange capitalization) and Buke and Bass at the Red Palace. The Red Palace is becoming a favorite place of mine to see shows in DC, decent lighting (LEDs, though), nice beer selection, small room but you can see the artist pretty well regardless… I had never heard Tune-Yards before, which was basically a one-person band with some back-up on some songs from a bassist and a horn section, but it was an interesting show. She makes loops with her voice, right on the spot, and then plays over them… she creates a sound that is reminiscent of African traditional music (to my ears, anyway), mixed with drone/ambient. Pretty interesting stuff.
The other week, I shot the Arctic Monkeys and the Vaccines for SPIN… I am not super knowledgeable about either band, but fun show, good lighting, good sound… the Arctic Monkeys were lively, more so than I had been led to believe, and the Vaccines were fun and energetic. I hear they are a band to watch… Read the review, linked below for more details!
Last week I was able to shoot Kylie Minogue’s show for the Washington Post… it was a pretty amazing affair. I am not a huge fan, or even a casual fan… in fact I can only think of one Kylie song off the top of my head! But the show was really fun, full of drama and pomp and an INCREDIBLE stage setup and performance… some of the most over the top stage stuff that I have ever seen at a concert. I was told that the tour cost $25 million… and I believe it. Check out photos below:
A little while back, I had a chance to shoot BIG K.R.I.T.’s sound check at the awesome DC venue, the U St Music hall. I love shooting here, the staff is always great. They have a policy that we have to shoot the sound checks, not the show itself, which is real different from most clubs, and has it’s good and bad points. The good is we get to shoot portraits of the artists, if they are down, like the quick one I shot of Big K.R.I.T. above. He was really chill and his soundcheck sounded great. Check the links below to see more photos and read a review of the actual show!
I had never seen TV On The Radio before, nor ever been the hugest fan, but after getting the chance to shoot their tour opener in Philly, then a show a day or two later in Baltimore, I am a bit of a convert… they were GREAT live, full of energy, racing around the stage, etc… They seemed to be having a great time. I was surprised to hear that two of the touring line-up was new, thenvery happy to learn that their new drummer was none other than my friend Jahphet Landis from the Death Set! So happy for that dude. Anyway, these shows were great fun and tour opener Celebration also delivered, even though their Philly set was cut short.
This band was not what I expected… I guess the name and the pedigree made me think this would be some driving, semi-aggressive indie rock, but in actuality they are basically the exact opposite… soft rock, made me think I was at a waterfront restaurant in the 80s or something. Not bad, though, and the crowd certainly enjoyed it…
This is a good example of why I have always liked shooting on assignment… I would never have gone to this show on my own, as I don’t really know much about African music, but this was quite a lot of fun, and fun to shoot as well. I had never shot in Lisner Auditorium before, but it’s amusing how basically every college auditorium feels and looks the same… a nice venue though, and really friendly staff.
This was amazing. Never thought I’d get a chance to see BB King, so I jumped at the chance to shoot this on New Year’s Day. The man is 84 and can still play amazingly, and is extremely cantankerous and charismatic, constantly poking fun at his band – even threatening to pull a knife on one of his players at one point! If you get a chance to see him, it’s worth the money.
Click here to view the whole BB King photo set | Click here to read the Washington Post review
Never saw this band before, but I remember people being blown away by their shows at the Black Cat back in the day… they put on a really good show, and the sold out crowd was seriously into it. Dunno if I would buy their records, but this was a fun show to shoot. Interestingly, they had us wait and shoot the middle of the set… maybe so they would get a little sweaty first?
Click here to see the whole Gogol Bordello photo set | Click here to read the Washington Post review
One of the best things that happened to me in 2010 was getting the chance to shoot regularly for the Washington Post. I saw so many amazing shows for them this year… many of which, I would never have had a chance or even the knowledge to go to otherwise. Big thanks go out to Chris Richards, David Malitz, Ally Schweitzer, and of course Kyle Gustafson for getting me on board. I decided to make a list of all the shows I shot, and highlight some favorite ones… here we go.
My Faves:
The rest after the break, and don’t forget to check out Lists: 2010, the year in concert photos which has some great photos from all of the Washington Post concert shooters, Kyle Gustafson, Brandon Wu, Evy Mages, and myself, too. A great year!
Read the rest of this entry »
This was an experience. Packed Verizon Center in DC. 30,000 people. Mostly ladies. All of them screaming for Usher and Trey Songz. Crazy. Usher is a total pro… this was a very well done performance. It was almost too well-orchestrated to call it a concert, but it was quite a spectacle… and Usher is definitely a showman.
Peter Hook recently toured the US playing Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures” with his new band, The Light. Reyan Ali and I were there for SPIN. Check out the SPIN review by Reyan here (with photos by me). Here is the whole photo set.
Two shows I shot on assignment. My first time at the Kennedy Center after almost ten years in the DC area… I felt under-dressed. The Kennedy Center show was my first time using my new 70-200 lens. Not the best shooting situation, I could have really used a 300mm… maybe next Christmas.
Read the Wash Post N’Dambi review here
Read the Wash Post Jazz Christmas review here
See more photos from these shows in my December 2010 Shows set
I went into this show knowing literally NOTHING about Aloe Blacc. I left a fan… really good performer, really catchy fun songs done in a motown style. I normally am not a big fan of ‘retro’ musical styles, but there was something about this show that just worked for me. A really good time.
Read the Washington Post Review here | See more photos of Aloe Blacc in my November Shows set
This was a lot of fun. Wale, Doug E Fresh, Trina, Choppa, Mr Vegas, the beautiful Lola Monroe, Black Cobain, and about a million more artists performed. I had to file twice from the event, which was a wild experience fraught with bad wifi connections and dying laptop batteries, but I did it. At one point a mini stampede of people literally jumped over me, on girl kicking my laptop (where I was filing photos), but I made it through and on deadline! I won’t be able to review the show better than Chris Richards, so check out the two stories from the Washington Post:
Read the Washington Post Review | Read another Washington Post blog post
Me and Michael Byrne went to the opening night of the Wham City Comedy Tour, a DIY night of comedy, skits, music, video and performance art by the Wham City Collective (and friends). Wham City is a (mostly) Baltimore-based group of artists in all media, including Dan Deacon, Ed Schrader, Dina Kelberman, Connor Kizer, Adam Endres, and many more.
Since it was the first night (and, as I found out later, the first time the whole program was performed in it’s entirety), there were a few timing issues and a few off beats, but all in all it was really entertaining… the various pieces that were performed managed to change moods, from absurd slapstick, to bleak dark comedy, to wry intellectual wit. For every gag that fell flat, there were several that hit hard and I don’t think anyone there could say they didn’t laugh out loud many times. The first leg of the tour is done, but they are going out on another soon! Check them out!
Read the SPIN review here | See the full photo set here, with NEW stuff I just uploaded!
Kris Kristofferson at the Music Center at Strathmore. This was a fun little show, also one of the rare ones where I was probably the youngest person there… the room at Strathmore has great acoustics and it was really cool to see Kristofferson live. He is pretty damn old but was still a strong performer and had plenty of anecdotes about all the songs. It was also cool to see him perform stripped down, just him, no backing band.
See more photos in my Nov. Shows set | Read the Washington Post review
I had honestly never even heard of Shinedown before I shot their show at Warner Theater in DC, they are apparently sort of a arena-style rock band. This was an “acoustic” performance of their material, which apparently is alot heavier normally than this was. They told earnest stories about the writing of each song, and the crowd seemed to love it.
See more photos in my Nov. Shows set | Read the Washington Post review
Luisa Maita at the Bohemian Caverns. I love the Bohemian Caverns and am glad I finally got a chance to shoot there! If you’ve never been and you live in DC, find the time to go. Great, intimate venue, and a historical landmark to boot. Luisa Maita’s music isn’t what I’d normally listen too but it was a good performance, she has a great voice and a really good way with the crowd, especially at an intimate venue like this.
View the whole Luisa Maita photo set | Read the Washington Post review
