On August 26th at 8:14 p.m., I was sitting in my three hour Death & Dying night class when I got a notification on my phone. One of my favorite photographers, Brittany O'Brien tweeted: "if you're a photographer and want to shoot the whole set on dream tour - will be picking one photographer each night to give tips and let shoot!" I internally screamed, screenshotted the tweet, and sent it to my mom freaking out. Half an hour later I booked it back to my dorm, bought two tickets to the concert, and emailed Britt my portfolio. The next day at 1:20 p.m., I got an email from her. I had got it. Now, this was not my first photo pass, but this was one of the most special. This was special for a few different reasons. First, Finish Ticket performed at my first non-convention concert, the first real concert I had been to, and the first real concert I had photographed. Because of this, Finish Ticket and their album Tears You Apart has always been pretty special to me. Second, this was not a normal photo pass. As Britt explained to me, this was an AA photo pass, I could shoot the entire set. I didn't have to move back after three songs. I was so unbelievably excited.
Fast forward to September 26th. Three other photographers and I picked up our photo passes and entered the venue early to talk to Britt and figure out where we wanted to stand. I started in front of the right side of the stage for the opening bands, but when Finish Ticket took the stage I saw that the front left would be better for them. I snaked my way through the crowd and ended up at the left corner of the stage. From here I had a great view of Brendan Hoye (lead singer) and was so excited. From here everything just kept getting better and better. I had a great view, they played my favorite songs from Tears You Apart, and I got one of my all-time favorite photos. Brendan's arm swung out towards the crowd and so a fan held his hand. It was unexpected and sweet, and it made him laugh. I had already had him in the frame as he was singing a song I loved, and so I was able to capture this moment on camera. These moments are what I aim to capture when I photograph concerts. I want to capture the emotions and the sweet moments that make a concert memorable for both the band and the fans.
At the end of the night, I thanked Britt a couple more times and talked to her about whom to send the photos to, and how many she would recommend sending. I spent the entire drive back to my dorm downloading and sorting my photos. I stayed up a couple more hours doing a first pass through everything. The next day I edited my photos of the first two opening bands, and then went to a Jazz performance for my Jazz class. Then the entire two-hour ride from that show to my home I finished editing all of the photos. That night and submitted them to Britt, and then on the 30th posted them to my Instagram and website.
This was one of my favorite concerts and such an incredible experience that I will never forget. That concert was one of the nights that reminded me why I love photographing concerts. Sometimes it can feel pointless when there are so many concert photographers in the business, and you can't help but compare yourself to them. But this experience and that photo reminded me that I do this for myself and the band members. If I give up just because this is a hobby, moments like that could go unphotographed and be forgotten.
Side note: If you haven't listened to Tears You Apart by Finish Ticket, set aside an hour and listen to it. It really is a special album.
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