2016 Wrapped up in 24 Photos
2016 is over and I felt like going through all the photos I took this year and finding a few of my favorites! They are in a loose chronological order and there isn't any real reason why any got picked except I just really love these photos.
Shatterproof Summer '16 Tour
I spent the month of July with Shatterproof on the road tearing up the Southwest and Midwest (which is actually East but whatever). We kind of had two tours in one tour this run (if that makes any sense). First we hit the Southwest, then had two days home and then hit the Midwest. So without further ado heres the tour poster Branson and I did and lets get started.
Heres the gear that went with me. Since I was doing both photo and video, I had to bring along some extra stuff. All of this goes into a Think Tank Streetwalker Harddrive bag and I have one other bag for clothes and such.
DAY 1 - GRAND JUNCTION, CO - MESA THEATER
Day one was in Grand Junction, CO. An easy five hour drive from Fort Collins. We were only on the road for an hour when a tire on the trailer blew. Luckily the first exit we were able to take also had a tire shop on it, so an hour later we were back on the road. We played the Mesa Theater that night and it was a great first show. The theater staff was awesome and everyone there was digging the guys set.
DAY 2: PHOENIX, AZ - PUB ROCK
We packed up that night and took off for Phoenix, AZ. I forgot just how hot Arizona could get and I was not ready for it. Luckily our buddy David of Never Let This Go let us come hang out at his place and jump in the pool and take showers, which pretty much saved my life that day. So after the necessary stop at In n Out we headed over there.
After that is was time to head to the venue for the hottest load in I've ever done.
I've been lucky enough to tour through Phoenix a few times and have met some really great people so it's always a highlight for me to head down there and see everyone again.
When we loaded out that night, it was still pretty close to 90 degrees. At midnight. Thats just not right. Anyway my friend Danielle treated us all to iHop (thank you again!) (seriously if your reading this thank you) and then we took off for Las Vegas.
DAY 3 - LAS VEGAS, NV
I think Jeremy and I had second shift that night so we pulled into Vegas sometime that morning and it was already scorching hot. Plus no shade anywhere made for a toasty nap in the van. Benji and TJ wanted to try their hand at Craps so we hit Caesars Palace and got ready to lose money.
The show that day ended up getting canceled due to some things out of our control. So we made the best of the day and headed down to the strip to hang out and busk. The guys made enough cash to buy everyone in n out. Or at least everyone got a few dollars off their in n out. Either way still the best thing ever.
DAY 4 - SALT LAKE CITY, UT
Woke up in Salt Lake City. Our show here had a venue change and got canceled. Josh called our friend Jarrod of Harbor Patrol and asked if he had any way of putting a show together. He pulled a miracle and got us a show at a school and managed to even bring a good crowd of kids on a days notice. He even let us stop at his place and shower and nap. Seriously the best.
DAY 5 - DENVER, COLORADO - THE MARQUIS THEATER
Ah hometown shows. Was kind of weird being home halfway through a run but was nice. This is probably the 7th time i've shot Shatterproof at the Marquis, so I wanted to try to do something new with the lighting. I just set my flash up on a remote trigger and set it behind Ben. I don't use this for the whole show, just until I get some shots that work for me.
Here was the tour crew. The guys. Chyna did merch and myself. Pic by Justin Urban.
DAY 6 - ALBUQUREQUE, NEW MEXICO - DUKE CITY SOUND
It was time to head home for a minute before we started the long haul to Ohio.
DAY 8 - CINCINNATI, OH - MADISON LIVE
It was my birthday. We celebrated the night before by hanging out at a hotel and having some drinks and hanging by the pool. The next day we explored Cincinnati and got some work done at a Starbucks. Benji bought a penny board right before we left and I brought my skateboard so I could ride with him. We explored Cinci on our boards and honestly it has to be one of my favorite things to do in a city now. Just riding through the streets and seeing a city for the first time.
I think the venue was actually in Kentucky. But it was only a five minute drive from Ohio.
DAY 9 - MASSILION, OHIO - HOUSE SHOW
The worst rain storm ever happened this morning. I remember because the door of the van was cracked open or somewhere was leaking in the van and I woke up to water in my bunk and a really wet pillow . Not fun but it happens. We had an acoustic house show that day. They were awesome enough to feed us and let us shower and even do laundry. Couldn't ask for anything better.
DAY 10 - MICHIGAN - OFF DAY
We had an off day so we had planned on heading straight for Lake Michigan from Ohio that night. We got to the beach right at sunrise and I was able to walk out of the van and onto the beach and watch the sunrise over the lake. Was a really great morning. Those are the days that make me really remember why I love touring. We went and ate at this awesome little dinner and I had a breakfast burrito. The weird thing is they smothered it in gravy which was insane since being from Colorado means everything is smothered in green chili. Especially breakfast burritos.
We hit this little beach on the lake and swam and hung out for a few hours. It was really awesome. The water was clean and clear and warm. Was a good day.
We stayed at a KOA that night and did some camping. The KOA turned out to be a really nice one and they had trampoline basketball and a pool and everything. Branson kicked everyones ass at trampoline basketball.
That night we just hung out and camped. It was a really solid off day.
DAY 11 - GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - THE STACHE
Next day is was back to work. We were in Grand Rapids, Michigan at The Stache. It's a really cool venue. Benji and I got to skate around the city after load in.
After the show, Scott from Hurry Home took us out to get a pizza and some beers. The street that the bar was on happened to be the smoothest, greatest street i've ever skated on in my life. Benji and I just kept riding up and down the street. Theres something about cruising on a an empty street on a skateboard at 2 a.m. thats just so relaxing. Solid last night on tour.
DAY 12 - MILWAUKEE, WISCONSiN - STUDIO 200
Last day of tour for me. I had to fly home a few days early for some other photo work that I was already booked for. We pretty much go to a coffee shop every day for a few hours to get some work done and relax. Thats where I usually upload photos. Typically, we go to Starbucks since the wifi is always good there. But on that day we decided to find a coffee shop on the lake and it was one of the coolest looking coffee shops I had ever been to. The wifi was terrible so I had to run over to a Starbucks to upload photos but oh well.
Busy work done then its off to the venue.
And that was it for me. I got dropped off at the airport around 3 a.m. and hopped on my 5:30 a.m. flight for home.
Saying so long to Chad and the crew.
I got to the airport and finished some photos and then got on the plane. I normally can't really sleep on planes. Its rough being tall on a plane. I didn't get to sleep until I got home around 10:30. Long day for sure.
Solid tour though. I'm ready to hit the road again keep touring. Its just so much fun and I always feel like thats when my work is at its best. When i'm just engulfed in it 24/7. Plus you just never know what the day is going to hold and theres something about that, that is just a really exciting way to live.
I hope you enjoy the photos. Let me know if you do! Or don't. Thats cool too.
Warped Tour 2016
I shot the Denver Warped tour and these are my favorite shots from the day.
The Ascension Tour with Racing On The Sun
I photographed Racing On The Sun for two weeks on their Ascension Tour through the west coast and Southwest.
Headed West
At the end of November, Racing On The Sun were awesome enough to bring me along as their tour photographer and capture their journey along the Ascension Tour. I've been working with bands for the last year as i've been working towards becoming a music photographer and especially a tour photographer. I remember being in seventh grade dreaming of going on tour and how much fun I thought it would be cruising around the world with some friends playing shows every night. At the time I didn't think I would be doing it with a camera in my hand though. I'm a nomad. I can't sit around in one place for two long especially when its my office. The great thing about tour is you go to bed in one place and typically wake up in another and that for me is so exciting to start my day like that.
Pre tour we did some promo material.
November 27th I met up with the guys in Fort Collins where we loaded up the van and trailer and were on our way to Salt Lake City, Utah.
I had spent Thanksgiving at my parents and had to drive through a blizzard just to get to FOCO. We left home and imediatly got caught in another blizzard right outside of Colorado. Josh was drivng and at times we couldn't see past the hood of the van and were using the reflectors on the side of the road as our guide. We figured if we could still see those to the side of the van then we were still on the road. We switched drivers at about 2 a.m. and Brian took over driving and I was co-piloting. There were times that we were making our own tracks on the interstate and were just hoping that we were still on the road. Eventually things started to clear up a bit
We made it to Salt Lake. I remember waking up in the bunk as we parked and the van was just sliding towards the curb. Remember the whole waking up in new places thing? Its even better when you just made an awesome tour story and then you wake up. You have to keep things fresh.
We played a venue called the Loading Dock which is an awesome little venue. It's almost all outdoors though and that night the high was 18 degrees so yea it got a little chilly. At one point I got stuck right underneath the heater for about two songs and thought I was going to melt. Gotta do whatever it takes to get the shot. After that I didn't mind the cold too much.
The guys did an interview after the show and then we took off for California. We got about 3 hours before we realized the van was smoking and we pulled over for the night. The next day we had van problems again and realized that the repair they thought they got on their last tour didn't actually fix the problem. We would stop every few hours to let it cool down and then just decided to make the non stop haul to Cali since Oscar had some family that we were staying with out there that he thought could help out.
Morning coffee on the way into Cali
While we were in Cali we stayed his aunts house which consisted of eating lots of amazing Mexican food and checking some of the cool spots in Cali while we waited for the van to get repaired. We did a photo shoot in L.A. next to some light poles and visited the beach.
This was my first time in Cali so everything was exciting for me since I had never seen much of the west coast before. Also my first time on the beach on the west coast which was a surreal experience. We timed it just right to where we got there right at sunset and I have to say thats not a bad way to be introduced. After a few days the van was fixed and we finally had a show day in San Diego.
First thing in San Diego was to hit the beach so we went straight to Coronado. I jumped in the ocean for the first time and just took in the views for a while.
Lestats was a cool venue with a coffee shop on the other side and we even got free coffee so I got some work done and took a few photos before load in.
The show was fun and it was exciting to start shooting more since the last few days had been mostly getting the van fixed.
Afterwards we went and got some authentic Mexican food down the street at a little taco shop and then headed back to the house. We got back around 4 a.m. (I drove this one) and we all fell right asleep. Josh and I slept in the bunks in the van (a testament to how comfortable those bunks were) since space was getting limited in the living room.
The next day was Long Beach. I think we just slept and hung out till we left for the venue. Brian replaced some drum heads and we cleaned/re organized a lot of gear since after this show we were headed to Arizona and a few straight nights of shows.
We played DiPiazzias with Canto. Lots of family came out to that show so it was a really fun one. The opening band was some 16/17 year old kids that killed it. Caset Culture I think their name was? Was fun watching lots of new bands.
We loaded out and had a Club Dub (my name for Wal-Mart) party and then took off for Tuscon.
If we weren't being hosted then most days started outside of a Planet Fitness. Memberships = showers and showers = life on the road. I set my can of Ravioli on the roof of the van and let it warm up while I took a shower. Hit up Wal Mart for some supplies and a quick lunch.
Then a daily Starbucks trip for a few hours to get work done and upload photos and then we went to the venue. It was called Garys Place and it was a house that was converted into a venue. It seemed a little sketchy at first but turned into one of the more fun venues since the vibe was just right. This was also the first show that we didn't have any major issues with the lighting or any of the guitar rigs since we were able to load in early and have everything set up and get a real sound check.
Lots of cool photos from that show.
We stayed with our buddy Matt who was an awesome host and watched a movie that night then a few the next day.
Lots of people ask me like, "Oh you were in such and such city what did you guys go do?" and typically we would find a Starbucks and work or just lay around and try to rest for a while and relax and watch movies. Tour is exhausting and if you get a chance to just lay around for a day we would almost always take it. You never know when you're going to be able to relax again and if you keep trying to always go out and about you will wear yourself down so much faster and then tour becomes a lot less fun. But i'm not one who likes sitting around and not getting out so there were a few times when I started to go a little crazy from that and ended up doing some dishes and pacing around the apartment haha.
After Tucson we played Nogales. Was a smaller venue so I was able to get up close to the guys and worked on a some close ups.
The thing about touring with a band vs. shooting different bands every night for a magazine or once a month is you have a lot of time to work on a lot of different shots. So some nights I would work on getting a really awesome wide shot and other would be close ups or I would know that at this part of this song this person does something cool so I would plan the show out and wait in certain spots for one shot. Because of that I can really get the shots that I think are my best work. Plus since I'm living with the band I am able to become really close and comfortable with them so they start to notice me less and less while taking photos and I get more natural candid shots which is what I am always going for. I also get more access to different areas of venues that I wouldn't normally get. At certain venues if you have a photo pass you can go anywhere, and other venues a photo pass only gets you in the pit or restricted areas. So having that All Access pass from the band lets me go everywhere and get shots specifically for them that others can't get. In my opinion its the best way to go about shooting bands.
I drove from Nogales to New Mexico. We left at around 2 a.m. and I drove through the sunrise in the AZ/NM mountains while jamming Explosions In The Sky. It was one of the first moments I was able to be alone with my self and think about what was actually happening. It was a surreal moment when it finally hit me that I was driving the tour van through the mountains.
We made it to Gallup, New Mexico and met up with Cody Waybenais. He's an awesome human/sound guy. We played a venue called Juggernaut Music. Its a music store and studio and as you walk through the back it turns into an awesome venue. It was one of the bigger venues we played on this tour and since we were headlining we were able to get in a little early to load in and get everything set up and make sure there weren't going to be any problems with things.
It was a fun show. The venue was big and the lighting looked good. Josh broke a string and I had to run around and try to find some string cutters and couldn't find the tool box and freaked out for a second, then I realized I was in a music shop and just asked for some. The guys sounded really great and huge that night due to the venue. There was even a barrier so I could stay upfront and move around a lot more. Plus I was able to get behind Bryan's kit for the first time on tour.
We loaded out and then went to Codys for a fire and to hang out.
We had an off day in Gallup the next day. We played a lot of Call of Duty (I think Oscar is still mildy obsessed) and Cody showed us around where he grew up.
Next up was Albuquerque.
We hung out that night and the next day was a show day at The CO-OP in ABQ with Palisades.
I think we were all pretty excited about this one since it was looking to be a bigger show. At the same time after load in you could tell that it was starting to hit everyone that tour was almost over. No one really talks about this feeling but everyone just gets a little bit sad and starts reminiscing on a lot of things. Its a weird vibe and hard to explain. But everyone was still excited to play and make the last night a good one.
A few local bands played after and then Palisades. We loaded out and hit the road for home. Oscar drove and we stopped a little outside of ABQ at got gas and some snacks and I fell asleep sometime after that. Suddenly Fonz woke me up yelling at me that we were in Denver. When I looked up Oscar was still driving and I couldn't figure out how. It honestly took me five minutes to wrap my mind around the fact that we made it home so quick. Oscar drove the whole 8 hours non stop and got us home by 7 the next morning. As exciting as that was, I still couldn't really beilve that it was over. Oscar said goodbye in Denver and the rest of us kept going for FOCO.
I edited photos from the night before and then we unloaded the trailer and parted ways.
I was home for a day and then left again for a few days in FOCO. Shatterproof had a few shows and Racing had one last show in Greeley. So technically tour hadn't ended yet and we still got one hometown show to play. It was fun seeing all the guys again. Even though it was only like a 3 day break it felt like years since we had seen each other. They were opening for Night Riots and the crowd was awesome. One of my favorite shows on tour.
I couldn't begin to put into words how grateful I am for Racing bringing me along on this tour. I didn't want to head home when it was all over. Now that i'm home I can't wait to head back out on the road. It's addicting. It's a constant adventure every day and sometimes you aren't even sure where you are going to wake up but there is nothing like traveling with your best friends and playing/shooting shows every night. I can't wait to see what 2016 has planned for me but I will definitely be looking forward to heading out on the next run.
Off to Oktoberfest
Branson Hoog and I explored around Germany and Austria for a week. We camped, did Oktoberfest and ran around Austria and even had to hitchhike our way out.
Its not every day that you are riding in Branson Hoog’s jeep on your way to a coffee shop in Fort Collins that he turns and asks you if you want to go to Germany. However, it is everyday that you immediately turn and say, “yes”. And that’s how this whole story started. To be honest I don’t think either of us thought this was actually happening until I got a text the night before we were supposed to leave telling me to meet him at the airport at 6:30 the next morning. I still didn’t really believe it was happening until we landed in Munich and stepped out of the airport suddenly realized that I was in Germany.
Now this trip was so last minute and unscheduled that we could basically go and do whatever we wanted. We knew we were planning on going to Oktoberfest on Saturday (or was is Friday.. I’m not even sure but when we get to the photos I’ll be able to tell you) and there was a possibility of Austria somewhere in the mix. So our days started like this, Step 1. Get wifi. Step 2. Decide what we wanted to do/where we wanted to go. Step 3. Figure out how to get there. Step 4. Go and do said activity/travel. Step 5. Figure out how to get back to where we were sleeping. Step 6. Wash, rinse repeat. For me, this was truly a great way to travel. Pack what you could carry around and just go with the flow. It’s exciting because you never really know where you will end up at the end of the day, and that’s where true adventure starts. But there are drawbacks such as not always having a place to stay at night, or a way to get to the bus station when you need to (more on that later) but its part of the fun trying to get yourself out of situations where you have no help or anyone who actually speaks English.
Alright lets get to the actual trip. I met up with Branson at DIA at 6:30 on September 23rd and we hopped on a plane to Dulles Airport in Washington state.
From there we were on an 8 and a half hour flight that included a barking dog (seriously not joking here there a dog on the other side of the plane that barked for the first 30 minutes of the flight) and lots of movies. We left the states at somewhere around 5 in the afternoon and arrived in Munich at 7 a.m.
Hung out with some German Ducks
and landed us here. And since we were smart enough to not sleep on the plane we were creating one very long day for us. I don't remember exactly how long we were up that day but it was a while. This was the first time we realized we definitely should have brushed up on our German before landing since we were lost and had no idea how to communicate where we were trying to go since we didn't actually know and didn't have a name for the campsite. Eventually we got turned in the right direction and found some signs that pointed us to the campsite. We had a nice stroll along the Isarwerkkanal, we checked in to our campsite, set our bags down and went exploring.
Now I’m not sure how to describe the feeling of riding an escalator out of the subway and being greeted with a sight like this but its incredible to say the least.
We made it to Oktoberfest (which was on a Friday by the way). It has to be one of the craziest things I have ever been to. Basically you go into these giant beer halls full of about 1000 people and just try to survive. Maybe survive is a little overboard but all I know is we lasted about three hours before we were done. Theres nothing like a bunch of dudes in lederhosen and girls in traditional dresses, chanting Seven Nation Army while pounding beer steins on a huge wooden table while pretzels are flying every which way over your head.
I wish we could have stayed and spent more time but sometimes thats what happens when you travel like this and just go with things. Our group was heading out to catch a train to Austria so we headed back to the tent for a nap and more exploring around Munich and steak sandwiches. Yes thats a thing there. You can literally buy a steak on bread and its got to be one of the best street foods I've ever had in my life.
Next stop. Salzburg, Austria
Getting to Salzburg was an adventure in itself. Almost jumped on the wrong train. Figured out where we needed to go with 20 minutes till our train left. Ran across the train station. Tried to get a ticket but couldn’t. Ran back across the train station. Tried to get a ticket and got it but couldn’t return our other ticket. Ran back across the train station. Returned the old ticket. Ran across the train station to our train. Got yelled at by a conductor that this was the wrong train. Ran off the train and up the platform. Got on the right train and sat down with a minute to spare. Then we rode the train to a bus and then the bus to Salzburg Central Station. Which is where we spent 3 hours at a Starbucks with wifi trying to find Branson’s sister Morgan and a place to sleep. There was only one hostel in Salzburg and it was booked out. So we tried to figure something out and a while later we somehow magically were able to get two beds and we were off on a 30 minute walk to the hostel.
After finally finding Morgan and her boyfriend Lucas, we explored the town for a bit, ate at a hole in the wall Italian place that had some great pizza and ran around the Salzburg Oktoberfest. We bought a ticket to ride a ride and I lost mine when I got on the ride so I didn’t get to go. (But its secretly ok cause I hate roller coasters and rides). Said goodbye and goodnight to everyone and retreated back to our room for some much needed sleep after a long day of travel and exploring.
The next day started with a hike through this small forest outside our hostel. Which is how we would eventually start every morning because it was an awesome forest.
We wound our way through the trials and overlooks and found a castle at the very top. There was some kind of art exhibit the day before but there were still a few pieces outside that were some really awesome looking pieces of art.
So many stairs. Which was not the most fun this to walk down after hiking up. We had one more night in the hostel but decided not to book another night since we wanted to try couch surfing. It’s an app where you can find people who are offering their spare rooms/couches or even floors to sleep and spend the night for free. Trying to find someone so last minute wasn’t the easiest thing but after a few no’s we finally had a guy named Steven who agreed to let us stay. Through that app we were in touch with a guy named Lukas who already had two Canadian girls staying at his place but he gave us their Facebook info and told us we should go hang out. So we messaged the girls and set up a time to go eat dinner and hang out. They turned out to be some really awesome girls. They had quit their jobs in Canada to backpack through Europe. They had already been in Europe for around 3 months and were hitchhiking and couch surfing around. That’s pretty awesome if you ask me. That’s also some serious bravery. We ate and walked around and grabbed a few drinks and hung out in the lobby of the hostel until Lukas was home to let them in. I wish we would have grabbed a photo with them but I totally forgot. I was pretty exhausted at this point. Like ready to fall asleep anytime I sat for more than a minute. We headed up to the room and feel asleep for what felt like forever.
When I was going through photos this was the point that I realized that I really didn’t take to many photos on this trip. In a way its kind of a vacation for me and since taking pictures is my job, its nice to be able to not have a camera attached to me 24/7. But I had it incase something felt worthy of pulling my camera out of my bag and snapping a photo.
The next day was spent wondering around the forest some more while waiting for Steven to get off work so we could head to his house.
Branson and I had a lot of really good conversations while walking through that forest. Something I’ve always liked about that guy is that I can always hold a genuine and meaningful conversation about things. He’s taught me a lot about how to live that’s for sure.
After that it was back to the hostel to plan out how we were going to get to Stevens which was about a 20 minute drive outside of Salzburg. After a bus ride and a quick walk through the countryside we were there. As we were walking we got to watch the sun set behind the mountains, which was an amazing thing to see. And it also made me realize that this was the first time I had seen the sun since leaving the states and it was actually a really welcoming sight. Rainy cloudy days are for sure my favorite weather but a little sunshine here and there doesn’t hurt.
Steven was a great host. We talked about what its like being a musician in Austria and how hard it is since he used to sing in a metal band. He and Branson talked about graphic design. Steven designs the decals for KTM motorcycles and all of his roommates work for KTM. Way cool. I booked us a taxi for the next morning at 4:30 to take us to the bus station but never really felt like it was really going to pick us up but we were hoping it would since we had to be at the bus station by 5 and the city busses don’t run till 5:30 and it was an hour and a half walk to the bus station. We talked for a bit and wanted to hang out longer but Branson and I needed to sleep since we had to get up in a few hours for a full day of travel. So we said goodnight and got ready for a long day.
Here is a super blurry photo of our note. Apparently I can’t take photos with a gopro.
As we suspected, the taxi didn’t show up. It wasn’t until I got home that I got the email saying we couldn’t book a taxi that short of notice. The next step was to grab some cardboard and make a sign and hope that someone was going to be nice enough to give us a lift to the bus station.
We took off walking down the road at 4 a.m. hoping for a car but they were scarce. As fate would have it, we hadn’t been walking for 10 minutes and a taxi starting coming down the road and picked us up.
Early morning taxi ride through Salzburg
We made it to the bus station in the nick of time. 2 hours of bus riding through Austria and watching the sun rise and we had made it to the bus station in Munich.
Which was great except we needed the airport. Branson went up to our bus driver and asked how to get to the airport and the driver turned around and yelled, “GET ON THE BUS! NEXT STOP GET ON THE BUS”! So we got on the bus and eventually made it to the airport but we were to late to hop on the first flight. Which I’m glad we didn’t since it was a 12 hour flight and I don’t know how I could have got through that one at the end of this trip. We had some breakfast at an airport café, then went through about four passport and security checks and were almost always pulled aside by security for our bags to get checked and we got swabbed and wanded down. I guess wearing all black and grey and sticking out has its downsides.
Branson got the first class upgrade on the flight from Munich to Washington and I got to live that Economy Plus life. Teriyaki chicken airplane dinner again for me haha. I almost didn’t make it on the flight home from Washington. I was the second to last person on the plane. I thought for sure I was going to be spending 4 more hours hanging out in an airport but luckily I made it on and had a fun time of not having any leg room in the back of the plane. But I can’t complain cause I would rather spend 4 hours on a flight home with no leg room than a in an airport waiting for another 4 hour flight.
We were finally home. It was a great feeling being comfortable again but it only took a day or two until I was ready to take off for another adventure. I don't really know how to sum up this blog or the whole trip really. I got to travel to two counties I've never been to before with one of my best friends. Met some amazing people and brought back some memories that I'll never forget. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Rockstar Mayhem Fest
This was my first time shooting and seeing a show at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater. Photos include Art Is Thy Murder, Whitechapel, The Devil Wears Prada, Hellyeah, King Diamond, Slayer
It was a cold and rain soaked day in early July when I pulled into Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado to shoot Rock Star Mayhem Fest along side my good friend and music photographer Justin Urban of Urbanimpression. This was my first time shooting Red Rocks and seeing a show there as well. This was also the biggest show I have shot yet and some of the biggest bands I have had the opportunity to shoot. Being five feet away from Chad Grey and Kerry King and feeling the heat from Slayers pyro while in the pit was an insane reminder of how far I have come as a concert photographer. I never know where my camera will take me but I know it will only get better from here. All photos created with a Canon 60d, Tamron 17-55 2.8, Tamron 70-300mm 4-5.6 and Tokina 11-16mm 2.8.
In The Studio with Shatterproof
I followed Shatterproof into the Blasting Room as they recorded two new songs for their upcoming EP.
In early July of 2015, I was able to follow Shatterproof into the legendary Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado as they recorded two new songs. After photographing the Rockstar Mayhem Festival at Red Rocks Amphitheater, I hit the road for an hour drive north to Branson and Ben's house. I spent the next three days capturing their time in the studio. Here are the images I captured in chronological order. The photographs were created with a Canon 60d. Tamron 17-50mm 2.8, Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 and Canon 50mm 1.8.
I always enjoy getting to spend some time with these guys. It was awesome getting to watch them create, shape and reform their songs and it gave me a lot of inspiration to work on my own art. If you haven't already, make sure you are following them and give them a listen!
https://www.facebook.com/WEARESHATTERPROOF