Favorite Photos of October 2018
October was a crazy month. I got to shoot three artists that I’ve been dying to photograph for a while now (YUNGBLUD, Fickle Friends & Years and Years) and two that I adore (Blackbear & Stick To Your Guns). Although I ended up not shooting as many shows as usual this month, I’m really proud of all of the photos I did create.
YUNGBLUD @ Larimer Lounge
I had been DYING to photograph YUNGBLUD for what feels like forever. When he finally announced he was not only coming to Denver, but was also playing one of my favorite (and one of the most challenging) venues to shoot, I was super excited and definitely a little nervous. I feel like it’s daunting shooting an artist that you really like for the first time because you have all of these ideas in your head of the photos you want, but no idea if you can actually pull them off. Thankfully, that’s exactly what happened at this one. I knew I wanted to go with the old school shutter drag look to match his style, and these turned out to be some of my favorite photos I’ve taken all year!
Fickle Friends & Bülow @ Globe Hall
Fickle Friends are another band that I was dying to see and shoot for the first time, and again, this show was at a venue that I love, but that can be a challenge to shoot at. Thankfully, I got some photos that I’m really happy with! (Also bless this crowd AND the crowd at YUNGBLUD for being super sweet and letting me squeeze in front of them to get the shots I needed)
Blackbear @ Red Rocks
This show was an unexpected challenge. When you think Red Rocks as a photographer, you likely think a dream venue to shoot at, and it truly is, but it isn’t always the easiest. On top of it being hard to move around quickly because you have to sit on your knees to shoot, shows at Red Rocks can tend to be heavily backlit since it’s an outdoor venue with only a couple of spotlights. Couple that with Blackbear’s super moody production, and it became really hard to get any clear photos of his face. Thankfully, photographers were also allowed to shoot the encore, which resulted in some really fun shots.
Stick To Your Guns @ Summit
This show was a fun challenge! Stick To Your Guns are incredibly fun to photograph because they move around so much, but pair that with strobe and super saturated lights, and it makes for a complicated shoot. Over the years I’ve come to know what to expect at their shows though, which made this a lot more fun (and definitely easier) to shoot. This was also one of the first shows I shot at Summit since they remodeled, and I definitely took advantage of the new balcony layout to get some of my favorite crowd shots of the year.
Years and Years @ The Ogden
I’ve been seeing other photographers’ shots of Years and Years for months now and have been DYING to shoot them myself. Thankfully, this show didn’t disappoint. With stunning lights and an incredible stage presence, this one was a total dream to photograph.
