Riot Fest Denver Day 2 - 8/29/15

Here is day 2 of Riot Fest! 

Saturday was absolutely exhausting, but a lot of fun! Because this day started earlier and ended later than Friday and Sunday, it was a little more hectic and I had many more bands to shoot. I took a TON of photos on Friday (and editing them was a little hellish) so I decided to take less photos this day and focus on getting shots I really liked. Quality over quantity. 

Day 3 will be up soon! Enjoy!
 

Bayside

I love shooting Bayside, so they were a perfect band to kick off my Saturday! Their set was a lot of fun to warm up during, as well, and surprisingly their lights looked really cool even in the daylight

Broadway Calls

These guys were technically the first band I shot this day, but sadly, I was having some issues with my camera and didn’t get a lot of shots that I really loved.

Less Than Jake

I mean, do I really have to say anything? These guys are so much freaking fun to shoot. They’re so crazy and expressive on stage, I didn’t know who I wanted to take photos of because they were all having so much fun!

GWAR

Oh my god, GWAR. That’s all I really have to say. This was my first time shooting these guys, and it was just as crazy as everyone says it is. I wish I would have had some plastic on my camera or a poncho or something so I could have gotten better angles, but it was still super fun.

Cloud Cult

This was a really interesting transition from GWAR haha. Instead of spraying blood on the crowd, they had people painting on stage. It was pretty amazing. The direct sunlight during their set really sucked, but they were super neat.

Sleep On It

I was pretty excited about shooting these guys, and I’m really upset with my photos. Security was misinformed and thought photographers weren’t allowed in the barricade (even though they let us in there the day before???) and didn’t let us shoot their set. So I shot from the crowd. I got a few I liked thanks to the nice lighting, but I just really wasn’t digging the angles.

Desaparecidos

I’ll be honest, I was pretty freaking exhausted and disgustingly hot by the time these guys went on, and with the sun beating down on my back, I didn’t really take as many photos as I would have liked, but I am really happy with the way I edited them. Also, these guys were amazing.

The Joy Formidable

This was one of the bands that really surprised me. I wasn’t as excited to shoot The Joy Formidable as I was for some other bands this day, but they actually ended up being one of my favorite bands to see/shoot. They were amazing, their lights were pretty, they were fun to watch and overall, it was incredible. I love it when things like this happen, and I love my photos of them.

Joyce Manor

Security actually let us shoot during these guys! And thankfully, because these are some of my favorite photos I took on this indoor stage all weekend. Joyce Manor was a ton of fun. (It was also nice to cool off a little and watch them after I finished shooting)

Thrice

If you know me, you know how much I freaking love thrice. I saw their aftershow the day before, and was more than prepared to shoot them for the first time since their farewell tour a few years ago. Since then, I got a new camera and new lens and learned a lot, and wanted these photos to be better than ever. They ended up being some of my favorites of the day, and I couldn’t be happier.

Kongos

So, I wasn’t originally going to shoot Kongos, since I shot them earlier this year and Alkaline Trio was on at the same time, but photographers got kicked out of the barricade before the first song was over at Alkaline Trio, so I came over to Kongos’ set. It was fun and their lights were really pretty, but I was definitely feeling a little off from the Alkaline Trio thing, so I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked. There’s a few I love though!

Pixies

I had to learn to love silhouette photos really fast during their set, and I couldn’t be happier with my photos. Normally, I hate mood lighting that makes shooting hard, but the Pixies lighting was incredible and beautiful and totally set the mood for their set. I got some of my favorite photos of the day during their set.

Modest Mouse

Let me preface this by saying that I’ve never seen Modest Mouse before and had no freaking idea that there were so many people in this band! They let photographers shoot their whole set, which was cool because there were so many of them and lighting kind of sucked. But it was really windy and I was exhausted, so I left after a few songs. This was a really great way to end day 2 though!

I also took this portrait of my friend and fellow photographer, Jordan, and I absolutely love it. We spent all weekend shooting all of the same bands and hanging out together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s a gem!