Performances & Events

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Thievery Corporation @ Showbox  •  Seattle, 2021 

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Pearl Jam @ Fenway Park   •   Boston, 2018

Everyone has a story of when they were there...  A concert that blew their mind, the joy of seeing old friends unexpectedly, the amazing experience of completing a challenge they weren't sure they could do...

These are super dynamic situations - people come together, something happens on a stage or in a field or a room, a moment occurs...and then it's gone. Striving to capture those moments is at the heart of great performance & event photography.

I've captured photos of thousands of live music performances at concerts, festivals & studios since 2007. I started at KEXP radio in Seattle and have grown to work all over the US and in countries around the world. I love it and continue to cover music nearly every week.

Capturing music photos presents a pretty unique combination of challenges. The light varies wildly, often moment to moment; subjects move all the time; getting access with permission takes a lot of advance work and a deep network to draw on; stage pits are often crowded with multiple photographers and other people playing differing roles (security, video crews, publicists, etc.). And most times, limits require you to find evocative moments within the first 3 songs, when both band and crowd are just getting warmed up. Getting great shots in these circumstances can be tough, and is super satisfying.

Building on the skills developed shooting live music, I've expanded to so many other types of events that I do on a regular basis:  Corporate events. Benefit dinners. Fundraisers. Vaccine clinics. Theater dress rehearsals. Sports events.  Glassblowers working.  Museum openings.  Red carpets.

Whether my client is a wire service, a band, a major business or a local non-profit, everyone wants photos that cast the moments they care about in the best possible light. Photos of full rooms, of people enjoying themselves, of the details that tell the story.

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Vaccine Clinic @ Southeast Seattle Senior Center  •  Seattle, 2021