These are my 6 favorite photos out of 12,515 I took this year. Each means a lot to me for different reasons. You might notice the earliest photo about to be shown was taken in June, but I had photographed around a dozen shows before that. June was when I bought the Canon 6D and truly became happy with the images I created. All photos taken before then were on a Canon Rebel T5 and although they hold many memories, the image quality is just not there compared to my more recent work.
2016 was the year I started photography, and I can't express how thankful I am for all of the opportunities my camera has brought me. I have traveled to five states to take pictures, have photographed some of my favorite bands, and met so many amazing people over this past year. Thank you to 3065 Live for giving me the platform to start music photography at their venue. Thank you to all the bands that gave me the chance to photograph them and those that appreciated my work at the beginning of my photography career, especially those affiliated with Super Moon Records. Thank you to New Fury Media for taking a chance on me and giving me the contacts needed to photograph larger shows, and Tom Cifello for getting me in touch with them. Thank you to Great American Ghost for making me feel like part of the family, and Bryan for letting me hop on the drums during some of the shows. Thank you to Canon and Sigma for making quality products. Thank you to all my family and friends who have supported me over this past year. Especially, thank you to everyone who has shared my work with their friends, interacted with my photos on social media, or even just told me they liked my work. It means more than you'll ever know. This has been quite the year, and I can't wait to see what 2017 brings. Thank you all so much.
Gear: Canon 6D, Sigma 24mm and 35mm f/1.4 Art, Canon Speedlight 430 EX II
Enjoy:
Ethan Harrison of Great American Ghost
Amityville Music Hall - Long Island, NY
June 23rd, 2016
24mm f/1.6 1/160 800
This was taken on the first date that I joined Great American Ghost on their tour with Crucible. My friend Cody and I followed GAG for three nights, traveling to Long Island, NY, Providence, RI, and Florence, MA. I remember being nervous when I met the band for the first time, but they were very welcoming and happy to have me be taking photos. Ethan is one of the best performers I have ever seen, and even though I've photographed the band seven times to date, it never gets old. At the end of their set, he hopped up on a bar and started screaming the words to the last song. I was having trouble getting my camera to focus, but I ended up with this amazing shot. I love his facial expression in this, along with the crowd holding the microphone wire for him. Ethan, Bryan, Niko, and Joey are the chillest dudes, along with their merch guy Joe. I'm looking forward to the next time I photograph them.
Jesse Barnett & Chris Rawson of Stick To Your Guns
The Palladium Upstairs - Worcester, MA
September 20th, 2016
24mm f/2.0 1/160 1600
I love getting jump shots. I love even more when I get two people with lots of motion in the same photo. It's difficult getting a composition like this. This image is completely out of luck, and when I saw it come up on my camera screen I was ecstatic. The energy on stage and in the crowd was unparalled to anything I had ever seen before. STYG has such a great message, and it resonates in their live performances. I did a report in high school on the history of punk/hardcore music, and included one of their songs in the presentation. It's wild that I was actually able to photograph them at my favorite venue, which was the first time I shot there. At the time, this was the largest show I had ever shot, and it was surreal to be on stage looking out at all the people in the crowd while photographing. This was from the Better Ash Than Dust Tour they did. I recall going in the back room and watching Stray From the Path warm up and Knocked Loose just chilling in the balcony seats on their phones, which was cool to witness because not many people get to see the behind the scenes action that happens off stage. This was one of my favorite shows I've ever shot, and I was one of only two photographers there, the other being my buddy Rick Knowles, who by the way is lightyears ahead of me in photopgraphy. I will never forget this night and those bands.
Devin Oliver of I See Stars
The Palladium - Worcester, MA
November 12th, 2016
24mm f/2.0 1/250 5000
Devin Oliver is an amazing performer. I See Stars is an amazing band. I got so many great photos from their set on the 10 Years in the Black Tour. This was taken when Devin went over the barricade and came into the crowd for one of the songs. I was already in the crowd, and had to push my way through to get this shot since I can't zoom with a fixed lens. I was pushing crowdsurfers off me with one hand, and shooting with the other. I love how his back is lit with green and everone's hands are in the air. A perfect moment in my opinion. This is why I do what I do, to capture moments like these.
Divided Life (from left to right) Kagan, Chris, Patrick, Kenny
Some beach outside of Sammy's Patio - Revere, MA
November 19th, 2016
24mm f/4.5 1.0 1000
These are my boys. Divided Life was the first band I played drums in back in 8th grade. Back then it was Kagan, Patrick, and I. We sucked. Like bad. We were young and had no clue what we were doing. But when I left the band Chris took my position on drums and then eventually Kenny took Kagan's position on bass so Kagan could be a full-fledged vocalist. Kenny was the guitarist and vocalist for another band I was in during my sophmore and junior year of high school. We all go way back if you can't tell. As of now, they have found their sound and are a hardcore band with an important message against racism and hate. Divided Life recently released their debut full-length "From Where We Are," which I designed the album cover for. All four of these guys are amazing humans and beyond talented musicians. This was taken on a beach outside of Sammy's Patio in Revere after their set. It was raining a little bit at the time. I used long exposure and a speedlight to get it to look like this, and I couldn't be happier. The lights in the background blur in such a cool way. Anyway, go check out their album and see them play live. You won't regret it.
Vincent Bennett of The Acacia Strain
3065 Live - Wareham, MA
July 7th, 2016
24mm f/1.6 1/160 1600
This show was a gamechanger for me. The Acacia Strain is one of my favorite bands, and the first date of The Common Vision Tour (which they were headlining) just happened to be at my home venue of 3065 Live. I reached out to the promoter to see if I could shoot it, and I got clearance. While there I met Trevor Sweeney, an amazing photographer from Wisconsin, who was on tour with them. We were using the exact same lens and flash which I found kind of funny. We talked for a bit about photography, and then proceeded to shoot the show. I believe that we were the only two that were photographing it. It was a hot show, scorching hot, but I didn't care. I was photographing my favorite band in the venue that I started photography in. I had seen TAS several times before, and knew that Vincent loved to throw water at the crowd. I really wanted to capture that, and I did. I edited the photo so that there was a green hue to it, which paralled with the design from their newest album, "Coma Witch." I remember I was on the side of the stage and Vincent came and put his arm around me while I was shooting which was super funny. Such great dudes. The show ended a song early because people were vaping and set the fire alarms off. They couldn't be shut off. But hey, life goes on.
Winston McCall of Parkway Drive
House of Blues - Boston, MA
October 8th, 2016
24mm f/1.4 1/250 3200
This has been the largest show I've photographed to date. It was the Boston date of the Unbreakable Tour. When I shot it, I was on top of the world. It was my first time in a photo pit, and my first time working with real lighting. The HOB has some of the best lighting I've ever seen. The composition of this photo speaks to me, since it includes Winston, the crowd, the photo pit, and a good part of the stage. I love his hand gesture and the way everything in the image just plays together. Parkway Drive puts on one of the best live performances I've ever seen, and I'm just happy I was able to be there to witness that and take some cool shots.
Thank you for viewing the photos and reading what I wrote about them. I have a lot in store for 2017 that I can't wait to show you!
- Nathan Fitzgerald