FAVORITE PHOTOS OF 2019

2019 was something. I’ve been trying to reflect on this year for the past few weeks, and it’s kind of crazy looking back on it all. This year, I planned on taking it easy and not shooting as many shows as I normally do so I wouldn’t burn myself out, yet looking back on some of these photos, it’s wild to me that some of them were taken this year because it seems so long ago.

I’m not going to go off on some long tangent about how much I’ve grown and learned this year, all I’ll say is my work right now looks nothing like my work this time last year, and I’m really proud of that. I’m not saying that I’m not happy with what I was doing a year ago, but I’m really glad to know that even nearly 8 years into this, I can still keep growing and changing. I’m also really grateful for every artist, manager, publicist and client I worked with this year for believing in what I do and hiring me to tell their stories.

Here are some of my favorite photos of 2019. Hopefully I can top them next year.

Anderson .Paak @ The Fillmore, 2/13/19

It’s kind of unfair of me to start this out with this photo, because it is hands down one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken, and one of my favorite edits I’ve done on a photo. This shot was originally entirely red, and while it still had some great energy, I felt like it didn’t have much depth or the contrast that I wanted. I ended up color correcting this quite a bit to bring the whites and blues out in the background and bring the skin tone back, then cleaned up some of the background and foreground to make the shot pop a little bit more, and I’m so happy that it turned out the way I saw it in my head. Here’s the before & after.

Tyla Yaweh @ Pepsi Center, 11/10/19

Sometimes the best photos are big, explosive moments where all the lights hit right or the artist is right in your camera lens and sometimes, they come from quiet, little blink and you miss it intimate moments like this. Tyla was opening for Post Malone at the Pepsi Center and his stage presence was INSANE, but between him running and jumping all over the stage, there was this little one off moment where he stepped away and the smoke rolled out onto the stage, and then this happened. I really love how dramatic it looks and I’m really glad that I caught this moment.

Dermot Kennedy @ The Fillmore, 4/24/19

This is another one of those intimate moments I was talking about above, only they’re much more common at a Dermot Kennedy show. This one in particular was really special, because it was his largest headlining show to-date (although I’m sure he’s played venues much bigger by now) and you could really feel the energy of the room. I’ve had the pleasure of shooting Dermot at The Marquis (which is about 500 cap) and Summit (about 1,300) and even though The Fillmore is a little over three times the size of Summit, somehow this show felt incredibly intimate and personal. I felt like this photo really reflected that, and even looking at it now still brings back those feelings for me, hopefully it does the same for anyone else who was there.

DaBaby @ Mission Ballroom, 11/21/19

One of my goals this year was to capture unique photos, instead of just the same, tired photos of every artist. DaBaby was definitely a challenge because he moved around so much, but I felt like this shot (although super simple) really captured the vibe of his show. I don’t think there was a single moment where he didn’t have a huge smile on his face, and I’m really happy with how this turned out, almost looking more like a portrait than a live photo.

Cuco @ Mission Ballroom, 9/19/19

This show was actually a bit of a challenge. Although Cuco had a really cool production, the lights were kind of dark and difficult to shoot. Thankfully, during one of the first three songs, the LED panel behind him put off some really pretty colors. I was messing around with a little teardrop prism when I got this photo, and I wasn’t really anticipating it to do anything cool, but the way it reflected the lights was perfect. Definitely an accidental shot, but I’ll take it, haha.

FEVER 333 @ The Black Sheep, 4/27/19

It wouldn’t be an end of the year list if I didn’t include at least one photo of Jason or one of his many projects haha. I had a lot of favorite photos from this show at The Black Sheep, but this one of Jason standing on top of the crowd takes the cake for obvious reasons.

Knocked Loose @ Summit, 10/4/19

This year, I shot a lot of pop and hip-hop shows and kind of stepped away from my comfort zone of hardcore and pop-punk. I’m really glad I did that, because I feel like it helped me grow and learn a lot over the past twelve months, but it’s also nice to return to your roots every once in a while. This show was definitely challenging because it had been a while since I shot shitty lights and a lot of movement (yeah, I kind of got a little spoiled haha) but I’m glad I wasn’t too rusty and walked away from this show with a few shots like this that I actually like. It definitely helped give me a fresh perspective on my work and I definitely recommend doing it sometime, especially if you’re feeling stuck.

Billie Eilish @ Red Rocks, 6/5/19

This show was a really special one because it was Billie’s first Red Rocks show, making her the youngest solo artist to play and sell out Red Rocks. Wild. I have SO MANY favorite photos from this show, but sticking with the theme from earlier, I really love this one because it’s more of a portrait, and a more intimate shot. I also just really like how her eyes make her look possessed or something. Super on brand, haha. I ALSO am really happy with the depth of field and sharpness of this shot, just because there are so many layers to it.

Great Van Fleet @ Red Rocks, 9/23/19

This was a special Red Rocks show, too, since it marked Greta Van Fleet’s first Red Rocks performance. I really love catching little moments like this when the artists interact with each other, and I’m really happy with the color scheme of this shot and how clean it ended up.

Don Broco @ The Marquis, 10/6/19

Is it even a Don Broco show if I don’t get a photo of Si kicking? For real though, I had been looking forward to this show for a LONG time, and I knew it was going to be challenging because it was a sold out show at The Marquis, and fighting 500 people in that tiny venue for a good shot is hell. I decided to pack light for this show and borrowed my boyfriend’s a7iii rather than using my D750. It felt really weird not using my normal setup for once, but I’m so happy that I did it. Definitely a challenge, but it absolutely paid off. Also, I wish I could kick like this.

LANY @ The Fillmore, 6/10/19

LANY shows are always a fun challenge. They rarely ever allow shooting from the pit, but thankfully, allow photographers to shoot the entire show from anywhere in the house, so I ended up packing my 200-500 and going a little overboard for this show. It definitely paid off when Paul jumped in the crowd like this and the lights hit just right. Just goes to show that you don’t always need perfect shooting conditions to get a great shot.

Local Natives @ The Ogden, 6/17/19

I have this really bad habit of watching live videos of artists before I shoot their show so I can get an idea of what to expect. A lot of the time, I end up psyching myself out when I do that, because then I end up looking for or hoping for a very specific shot that never happens and missing a lot of other good, organic photos in the meantime, then I beat myself up over it for days. However, there are some times where it pays off, and this was certainly one of those times. I noticed in live videos that their vocalist always jumped into the crowd during the first song, so I was anticipating it and was ready when he did it at my show.

Machine Gun Kellly & YUNGBLUD @ The Fillmore, 6/22/19

I feel like literally every single concert photographer got SOME kind of photo of MGK and YUNGBLUD this year because they were literally inseparable, but I’m still really proud of this shot. This was right after they released “I Think I’m OK” together and YUNGBLUD made a special appearance at the Denver show. I had a feeling it was going to happen, so I threw my long lens on and hoped for the best, and I’m really happy with this moment that I caught. Everything was just perfect.

Post Malone @ Pepsi Center, 11/10/19

Alright. This one is a little biased. I have been dying to photograph Post Malone for a long time now, and this show was everything I wanted it to be and then some. His production was stunning and he’s a hell of a performer which honestly made for a really fun, although somewhat challenging shoot. His stage was just one giant catwalk, so trying to find the perfect angle to shoot him at was difficult. This close-up photo was actually taken with a 70-200 from the far end of the pit after I tried and failed multiple times to get a wide shot of him leaning down that I really wanted. This was definitely one of those times that I went into a show with a specific shot/idea in mind and walked away without that, but thankfully something better. Just goes to show that letting go and going with the flow definitely helps in cases like this.

Tame Impala @ Mission Ballroom, 10/8/19

I had the privilege of shooting both of Tame Impala’s sold-out shows at Mission Ballroom this year, and they were two of my favorite shows of the year. I was definitely a little spoiled, because the first night was a bit of a test run and the second night, I knew what to expect and when to expect it. However, I wasn’t really planning on doing any crazy edits to my photos. I’ve always been the type not to rely on editing to make my photos strong and instead prefer to focus on capturing strong moments or striking images, but this just kind of happened and I’m really glad it did. I really want to push my editing skills and step outside the box/my comfort zone next year, and hopefully this is the starting point.

X Ambassadors @ Mission Ballroom, 10/11/19

Speaking of editing… This was kind of a last minute decision/unplanned edit as well. A few days before this show, I did a short little phone interview with Sam Harris and we talked about how they chose the artwork for their latest album, ORION because his brother Casey (who plays keys in the band) is blind, but can still see high contrast images and was able to see the artwork, which is bright yellow and black. A lot of their merch also matches this color scheme. This photo was originally just a very simple (also kind of overexposed, whoops) shot, but when I added the yellow, it kind of just clicked. It made a lot of sense to edit it this way.

The 1975 @ 1st Bank Center, 12/1/19

Alright. I’m a little biased here. The 1975 is easily my favorite band, so of course I have to include them in here, but if we’re talking about why this photo is one of my favorites, it’s because of its simplicity. I love the bright colors, the negative space, the clean background and the composition.

Frank Iero @ The Marquis, 7/29/19

If you know anything about me, you should have seen this coming. Without getting too deep into it, I’ll just say that I wouldn’t be the person that I am today without this man and My Chemical Romance. That sounds lame and cheesy as heck, but it’s true. That band inspired me to pick up a guitar, and after a few years, I realized I wasn’t all that great at it, but was still really passionate about music, so I decided to put that passion into something else - photography.

When I started photographing live music and musicians nearly 8 years ago, I always said that one day, I was either going to photograph MCR or at least get one or all of them in front of my camera somehow. Although I still haven’t had the chance to photograph the band as a whole (fingers crossed for a 2020 tour haha) I have been lucky enough to shoot Frank’s band quite a few times when they’ve come through Denver. This last show was special, though, because this time around, his team asked me if I’d like to set up an interview and shoot before the show. And damn, it was wild having something that you basically dreamed of since you were 16 literally just handed to you. We did a really quick, casual shoot inside of one of my favorite venues (The Marquis) and it was one of the first times that I managed to nail a shoot exactly how I had planned. Bonus points for Frank being super cool and accommodating.

Shit like this is what makes all of the late nights, crowd injuries and second guessing myself all worth it in the end.