Dear Padua #7

Concert photography (2013 - 2014)

Well, this is awkward.

Between moving to a new place, hating the internet, and trying to understand the relationship between my identity vs photography, I accidentally took a hiatus from the newsletter. I don’t know why I need to justify myself to you - no one cares!

To ease myself back into this bouquet, I thought I might continue writing about my path in photography, and less about myself (roll eye). At least, I’ll try.

Geneva @cartoonfuntime

eventually you too will get bored of public vulnerability and become interested solely in making your apartment nicer

The year was 2013 and my parents had recently bought me a Canon 550D. It was also the last year of high school and I should’ve probably been more worried about the final exams. But at that point, dear reader, I didn’t give a shit.

I clearly didn’t care about having good hair either.

In a weird turn of events, I got a job as an assistant photographer at a concert venue. To my mind, I was already such a pro (lol), but managing to take one good photo proved to be extremely challenging. I didn’t get my settings in time, didn’t have the right gear, didn’t have the guts to maybe throw some elbows.

On the plus side: free concerts and tons of experience. A few friends. A musician boyfriend too many.

The Soft Moon, my very first show.

This is really the best I could do. Who knows what their faces looked like? Not you!

That’s when I discovered subpar photos were better in black and white.

Not always though!

Pharmakon

Mac DeMarco was a highlight, wish I could’ve done him more justice. It looks like he’s spitting galaxies.

I took photos for the whole duration of the show, which was probably unnecessary. I would also find myself being more interested in what was happening in the audience.

One of my most popular photos on Tumblr. Not my favourite.

Concert photography is tough. It’s not a genre I excelled at. I believe it takes a different personality and greater attention to technique. As a photographer, I’m all about intuition.

Fine Before You Came. One of my favourite bands at the time. I was feeling this photo.

Fine Before You Came.

Gazebo Penguins, another fav. Sorry about the watermark. I still like this one!

My short-lived career as a concert photographer ended in the summer of 2014, and I believe that by the end I was an overall better photographer. For that, I am grateful.

Mount Kimbie

Lali Puna

Do you have a favourite concert photographer? I’ve been enjoying Zachary Gray’s photos for Paramore. By the way, if Paramore is reading this, I’m ready to dedicate the rest of my days to concert photography if I can take your photo.

See you next time!

As always, thank you for being here.

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