As 2008 comes to a close, one simple sentiment sums it all up for me: it’s been a great year. 2008 has been filled with fantastic events, exciting opportunities, and the chance to connect with great people. Here’s a rundown of some of what we’ve been up to at ishootshows.com in 2008.
Gallery Exhibit
2008 was off with an exciting start with my first gallery show in January, a solo exhibit where I had the opportunity to display ten pieces of concert photography. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to kick off the year than the exhibit’s opening, which was the first of many events that made this year so memorable.
Publication
In May, I had the pleasure of photographing Radiohead, an event that was exceedingly good to me in terms of opening doors and gaining publication. The high point of this coverage was placement of an image from the show as a double-page spread in SPIN’s Soundcheck section, which marked my first major publication.
Other highlights to follow in 2008 included placements in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Alternative Press, and Harper’s Bazaar.
House Photographer for the Chaifetz Arena
In April, I was contacted by the general manager of the newly constructed Chaifetz Arena, a 10,600-capacity, multi-use venue, about the position of house photographer. A week later, I shot the arena’s inaugural event, Barry Manilow, as the house photographer.
Over the rest of 2008, I had the opportunity to photograph artists such as Lil Wayne, Carrie Underwood, and Stevie Nicks in the new position.
My first shoot of 2009 will be at the Chaifetz Arena, once again photographing Lil Wayne on his “I Am Music” tour.
My First Rolling Stone Assignment
At the end of June, I was contacted by Rolling Stone to photograph Warped Tour for an online feature. Aside from getting to introduce myself as a photographer for Rolling Stone (I have to say, it felt good), one of the best and most interesting parts of the assignment was the task of delivering a number of backstage portraits.
These portraits, many of which were arranged and shot under very tight schedules, would later spur me on to pursue band portaits with a keen enthusiasm toward the end of the year.
My First CD Cover
September Will Kick Your Butt, Part 1
In terms of interesting twists, September was the full of the most dramatic. During that month, I wrapped up negotiations with Live Nation and Dave Matthews Band for use of one of my images as album art, which marked my first CD cover.
The image was made when Dave Mathews Band performed at the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis. After shooting the first three songs, a few photographers were allowed to shoot from the upper deck, looking back over the field to the stage and the skyline.
Official Festival Photographer
September Will Kick Your Butt, Part 2
A few days later, I photographed Pointfest 23, an all-day radio station-sponsored music festival, where I acted as the event’s official photographer.
In addition to photographing a number of live acts, this gig was a great opportunity to do quick portraits with a number of bands, including Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Apocalyptica, Puddle of Mudd, and others.
The Best Job In The World
September Will Kick Your Butt, Part3
The day after Pointfest, I flew out to New York City to photograph the Laurie Berkner Band at Avery Hall in Lincoln Center. I covered the group’s two back to back performances and delivered a set of images for promotional use. The Laurie Berkner Band makes fantastically catchy music for children and the two performances marked the release of their latest CD.
While I was short on sleep from the festival job the day before, and spent as much time in airplanes and in airports as I was in NYC, the assignment was an incredible experience for a number of reasons.
One aspect of the job that made it so incredible for me was that I had no prior contact with the band, their label, or publicist. Rather, it was word of mouth that connected the group to me. When I found this out, I was a little blown away – I think I owe someone a very fancy business lunch.
While Laurie Berkner Band rocks a slightly different demographic than those at my normal events, the Avery Hall gigs symbolize where I’d love to be in the near future in terms of contracted event coverage, and makes me excited to see what 2009 will bring.
Band Portraits
Encouraged by experiences at Warped Tour and Pointfest, I set up a number of portrait shoots toward the end of the year. Rather than backstage festival sessions, these were scheduled with bands farther in advance and negotiated with management.
One great thing about the experience of setting up these shoots was the higher level of access and trust granted by the bands’ publicists, and it was a pleasure working more closely with the people representing these groups.
While I feel at home in the pit, band promos and group portraits are new territory for me, and I’m incredibly excited about the opening to expand my experience in this area in 2009. We’re going full-service, folks.
Concert Photography
In all, I photographed about 103 events this year, ranging from small basement shows to multi-day, multi-stage festivals. Among the larger acts I covered this year, I had the privilege of photographing Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, NIN, Bruce Springsteen, and Metallica.
While it’s impossible to include images from every show or even all of my favorites, here are a few images I made over the last year.
Articles and Tutorials
In addition to the regular write-ups of the events I cover, I posted a number of articles and tutorials on concert photography. Thanks to you, the readers, I’ve had the great pleasure of watching ishootshows.com grow to host some great discussions on these posts.
Here’s a selection of some of these features:
Exposure for Concert Photography, Pt. 1
Exposure for Concert Photography, Pt. 2
Concert Photographers: Wear Earplugs
Choosing Lenses for Concert Photography
8 Tips for a Great Photography Portfolio
For 2009, I have a number of new articles planned, including a comprehensive tutorial on concert photography.
Thank You
To everyone who comments on posts, helps answers questions, and is otherwise engaged in this site, I owe you my sincerest thanks. You make ishootshows.com a joy to write.
To all the publicists, managers, and editors I’ve worked with over the last year, thank you for all you’ve done; my work wouldn’t be possible without you.
Happy new year from ishootshows.com!
PS: If you have any suggestions for features or other content you’d like to see here in the new year, I’d love to hear from you!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 2:37 pm and is filed under News and Info and tagged with 2008, 2009, best concerts of 2008, concert photography, top concerts, year in review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
[...] You can read about the rest of my 2008 here. [...]
2008 Year in Review – A look back at the past year and all the events and opportunities that made it so memorable: http://tinyurl.com/72dhqf
[...] first big breaks came in late 2007. The year ended with the good fortune of landing a solo photography exhibit of [...]
[...] the beginning, I knew that I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to top 2008, which itself was a killer year. So, how did 2009 stack up? Here’s a rundown of some of the things that has made the year [...]
Welcome to ishootshows.com, the premier site for music photography featuring daily concert coverage, portrait features, and photo advice from professional music photographer Todd Owyoung.
Every time I see Dir en grey perform, it feels like a spectacle. Even though they’re touring r
Hanging out in the hot, hot sun on Warped Tour 2010, Chris and I met up with electro-pop wiz kid Gra
Both the new Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S and Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR have long been rumored, and they’ve
It’s hot, the summer solstice has come and gone, and, more importantly for many young music fa
Just a quick link to say that your truly was featured on Photoshop guru Scott Kelby’s Kelby TV
My name is Todd, and I love the rock show. My work has appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, the New York Times, Alternative Press, Metal Hammer, Entertainment Weekly, and Billboard Magazine. I'm available for worldwide travel for editorial and commercial assignments.
Hey todd,
happy new year! Reading your post made me realize how similiar our year was. kinda wierd actually. i had my first music gallery exibition, had my first photo published in a major magazine(radiohead shot, just like yours was), got my first assignment from Rolling Stone, and became interested in doing portraits from a one day assignment i had from RS(Siren Fest).
Just thought i’d shart because i found i interesting!
forgot to mention that i signed to retna too. didn’t you sign with them at the beginning of this year?
Hey Chris,
Happy new year! Sounds like you had a good year, too, nice too hear it. Hope your 2009 is as eventful as 2008 was. Nope, I didn’t sign with Retna in 2008.
Hey Todd,
Dude, thats awesome. I love how you put this all together here. Over 100, thats phenomenal…lots of dedication in that number…I’m glad I got to shoot a few alongside ya!
Rock on!
Hey Keith,
It was great to shoot a few gigs with you this past year (and nice to meet you in general, too). We’ll see how many shows 2009 holds.
Amazing year Todd!
Honestly hope you end up as successful as you can possibly be, love checking out your new images….always inspiring
Put together a collection of images for myself, not nearly as enjoyable as this post….hopefully some (ANY) success comes my way in 2009
Happy New Year,
Dan
Hi Dan, thanks very much for the support, I really appreciate it. I checked out your 2008 roundup and you’ve got some great work collected there. Best of luck in 2009 to you.
Happy New Year Todd! I’m very happy 2008 was a very successful year for you! I hope 2009 brings you even more success and happiness! Thank you for representing and being a great rep of my hometown of St. Louis in a wonderful, fun filled, adventurous light!
Hey Jane,
Thanks for the good wishes, happy new year to you, too! I really appreciate the support.
Congratulations on a fantastic job in 2008! And I wish you all the best in 2009!
Happy new year,
Chad
Thanks, Chad. I appreciate it!
Congrats Todd. I enjoyed this post. I’m going to have to tell those “I knew you when…” stories. Hope you have time for more Winslows Home lunches in 2009. Here’s to a prosperous new year.
Hey Christine, I’m really glad to hear you enjoyed the post. Hope your 2009 is a great one, I’ll definitely be free to grab lunch.
Todd, congrats on a kickass 2008 – and we’ll all be watching for more awesomeness in 2009.
Jason
Hey Jason, thanks very much for the support, I really appreciate it.
Congratulations on an incredible year, Todd. As a fan/admirer of your work and a budding photographer myself, being able to connect with you and your work via this blog has been an awesome experience. I only hope we can meet (again!) in the near future. You deserve all the glory you’ve achieved. Hopefully Rolling Stone or Spin or whoever contacts you more often in 2009. I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for you. Keep in touch!
Hi Brian, thanks a lot. It was great to meet up at Lollapalooza, I hope we get to catch up soon this year. I thankful for the support, we’ll definitely keep in touch.
So, um, can I be you when I grow up? Because holy crap you kicked ass this year. Here’s to an amazing 2009!
Hey Sara,
You’re already shooting shows way before I ever brought a camera to a gig, so I’m sure you’ll be ahead of me! Thanks for the good wishes.
Happy New Year Todd and congratulations on an amazing 2008 – just what I expected from you ;-) It is always a great inspiration seeing your work and I can’t wait to see what 2009 brings!
Best of luck,
Stephen
Hey Stephen, thanks very much! To be honest, I think it’s going to be hard for 2009 to top all the excitement of the past year, but I’m certainly ready for more.
Thanks again, and great to hear from you.
Hey Todd
Congrats on all your success! That’s major! I’m sure 2009 will be even better to you. I work in music at a talent agency in LA and go to about 3 shows a week. If you’re ever in town to cover a show, hit me up.
Hey Julian,
It’s great to hear from you, thanks so much for the support. I’d love to visit LA in the coming year and will definitely hit you up when I do!
Great to see your progress in 08, I can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for 09.
Thanks, Jordan! 2009 is off to a slow start, but at least there are two big shows to start off with: Lil Wayne and AC/DC over the next week and a half.
wow. i’m in awe, just having found you through Countessian on Twitter. as a fledgling photog, i have a secret fantasy to photograph concerts like these. will be back to visit and see what you’re doing this year!
Hey Melissa,
Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the kind comment. I hope you’ll enjoy the other posts this year!
Cramming your entire year into one post like this makes it look even more spectacular! Great stuff, excellent photos. You certainly deserved all the attention and publication you got in 2008. It|s been exciting to follow, and I’m looking forward to seeing what 2009 will bring!
Hey Thomas, thanks very much for the comment and the support, I appreciate it.
It’s a little surreal to think that the negotiations for some of these things took place when I was visiting you in Norway.
I hope I get to see you soon in the new year.
this is great. im so glad you had such a great year. i had seen the shots of the academy is… before, but i must say, i love that one of lil’wayne. its epic.
Hey Rachel, thank you. Glad to hear you like that Lil Wayne shot, it’s one of my favorites from the past year.
Yeah, I’d have to say that this was a pretty full year for you. And man o man you got some nice gigs in. Gotta say it, yir gonna be the one everyone in America contacts, pretty soon. Just gotta seal the deal with CHKCHKBOOM! Get that up! Can’t wait to see it, yo. Good luck with you’re future gigs, hope to catch up with you in June or August. Happy new year! A tad bit late :)
Hey Chris, thanks a lot for the note. It was definitely a pretty full year filled with some great shows.
I’m just going to try for it one gig at a time; I’m still waiting for the next Rolling Stone assignment! ;)
I’ll keep you posted about ChkChkBoom, should be up soon, we have a new time table for that project.
I may be visiting the UK sometime this year, so if it happens in the spring, maybe we can meet up. Happy new year!
Yeah man, if you get to the UK, hit me UP! I’d definitely be up for London, Dublin or something.
And I didn’t know you did those shots for the rolling stone until this article. That is so dope. Keep meh posted!
Hey Chris,
Will do. Yeah, the Warped Tour shots were for RS. It was pretty surreal getting an email through ishootshows from an editor there.