Photo Gear I Use

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about photo gear I use and I finally have a little free time to put together a post linking everything I use all in one place!

The links in this post are amazon affiliate links and I will get a tiny percentage if you do decide to purchase anything on this list using the links on this page.

CAMERA BAGS

Tactical Sling Bag - link

Holds one body and three lenses

Brevite Jumper Bag - link

Holds a laptop, two camera bodies and four lenses.

CAMERA BODIES

Sony A7III - link

Canon 6D MKI - link

CAMERA LENSES

Canon EF 50mm 1.4 - link

Canon EF 17-40 4L - link

Samyang 35mm 1.4 FE Sony Full Frame - link

Sony 28-70mm 3.5-5.6 FE - link

K&F EOS EF to Sony E Mount Adapter - link

LENS FILTERS

Neutral Density Filter - link

North Star Filter - link

Pro-Mist 1/4 Filter Dupe - link

PRISMS

4+1 Fractal Filter - link

Chandelier Prism - link

LAST DINOSAURS ON 35MM FILM

PORTLAND, OR

VANCOUVER, BC

PORTLAND, OR

SAN DIEGO, CA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

UTAH

ORLANDO

FT LAUDERDALE

ATLANTA

BROOKLYN/NYC

BOSTON

TORONTO

CHICAGO

FAVORITE PHOTOS OF 2018

I wasn’t originally going to do a favorite shots of 2018 post, because this year has consisted of me being incredibly hard on myself and my creative pursuits.

After a lot of reflection, I’ve realized that I’ve been too focused on “big breaks” and keeping up a certain momentum at all times. I have accepted that I’ve come a really long way over the course of a long period of time and series of wonderful events and opportunities, and I am proud of myself.

2018 was truly an incredible year for me and I’m beyond grateful for it all. While I’m going into 2019 with a sense of uncertainty, I have so much faith that it will all come together as it’s supposed to.

Here are my favorite photos of 2018!

Okeechobee Music Festival

I got the amazing opportunity to cover Okeechobee Music Festival for Stage Right Secrets in March and it was a truly memorable experience. While I didn’t have a photo pass, I had a media pass which allowed me to interview artists and bring in a DSLR. I shot bunch of performances from the crowd with a 70-300 and got a ton of great shots.

The Contortionist - Clairvoyant Tour - Lake Park, FLWent to three dates of the Clairvoyant Tour to see Silent Planet, and ended up falling in love with The Contortionist. After shooting all the FL dates of the tour, I felt really unmotivated and exh… — **The Contortionist - Clairvoyant Tour - Lake Park, FL**
Went to three dates of the Clairvoyant Tour to see Silent Planet, and ended up falling in love with The Contortionist. After shooting all the FL dates of the tour, I felt really unmotivated and exhausted at the idea of looking through and editing anything. I had just looked through 10,000 photos and edited close to 300 from Okeechobee Music Festival earlier that month, so I ended up sitting on a large majority of these photos. I ended up revisiting them one night and kicked myself for not editing them sooner. The colors I was able to achieve in post really floored me.

The Plot In You - Cold Like War Tour - Ft. Lauderdale, FLDISPOSE by The Plot in You was my album of the year for 2018. I was so excited to be able to photograph them and year them play all my favorite tracks. I was excited about this shot because of… — **The Plot In You - Cold Like War Tour - Ft. Lauderdale, FL**
DISPOSE by The Plot in You was my album of the year for 2018. I was so excited to be able to photograph them and year them play all my favorite tracks. I was excited about this shot because of the way the colors compliment each other.

Vans Warped Tour Day 0 - Pomona, CAThis was taken at the end of pre-production day of the last full cross country Vans Warped Tour. That day I got to see almost much everyone in the music industry I love and consider a friend, run errands, pick up c… — **Vans Warped Tour Day 0 - Pomona, CA**
This was taken at the end of pre-production day of the last full cross country Vans Warped Tour. That day I got to see almost much everyone in the music industry I love and consider a friend, run errands, pick up credentials, get free shoes, and get better acquainted with Doll Skin. After I was done for the day I walked around with my good friend Imani before she had to leave for the night and took some photos as the sunset. I love this photo because it reminds me of that wonderful day and the start of one the best summers of my life.

Doll Skin - Vans Warped Tour - Virginia Beach, VAThis is a favorite of mine because when I was younger and dreamed of being on a tour like Warped Tour with a band as their photographer, this is the type of shot I imagined being able to take. This wa… — **Doll Skin - Vans Warped Tour - Virginia Beach, VA**
This is a favorite of mine because when I was younger and dreamed of being on a tour like Warped Tour with a band as their photographer, this is the type of shot I imagined being able to take. This was an incredible day for the band, and looking back it just makes me feel super thankful for the opportunity that I got to document them.

Vans Warped Tour - Salt Lake City, UT After finishing my part of load out I walked around and took photos of the scenery around the venue. Like a lot of my photos, I really didn’t think much of it until I started working on it in post. When I was d… — **Vans Warped Tour - Salt Lake City, UT**

After finishing my part of load out I walked around and took photos of the scenery around the venue. Like a lot of my photos, I really didn’t think much of it until I started working on it in post. When I was done, I loved it. It made me feel proud of myself and everything I did that day.

I love this photo because it really embodies Warped Tour Salt Lake City. The beautiful scenery, the load in and load out over gravel uphill, with My Children My Bride playing “On The Wings Of Integrity” in the background as a pit opens up.

Alex from Doll Skin - Vans Warped Tour - Wantagh, NY Tour Managing and doing photography for Doll Skin this summer was an absolute dream. Weirdly enough I didn’t really like a lot of my live photos of them most of the time. I’m incredibly picky abo… — **Alex from Doll Skin - Vans Warped Tour - Wantagh, NY**

Tour Managing and doing photography for Doll Skin this summer was an absolute dream. Weirdly enough I didn’t really like a lot of my live photos of them most of the time. I’m incredibly picky about the work I put out publicly and am really obsessive about the color, composition, and focus of every photo. But the set from the Wantagh, NY date of Warped really excited me! I got more aggressive cutting through the crowd during the circle pit during “Punch a Nazi” and got one of my favorite shots of the whole tour. My favorite thing about it is that you can truly feel that everyone is having the time of their life in the photo.

Nicole from Doll Skin and Chase Atlantic in Atlanta, GA. Doll Skin and Chase Atlantic’s friendship on Warped Tour was one of my favorite things during the summer. I am a huge fan of Chase Atlantic’s music so it was cool to see or hear their live s… — **Nicole from Doll Skin and Chase Atlantic in Atlanta, GA.**

Doll Skin and Chase Atlantic’s friendship on Warped Tour was one of my favorite things during the summer. I am a huge fan of Chase Atlantic’s music so it was cool to see or hear their live set every day. Chase Atlantic’s last day on Warped was in Atlanta due to them being booked to play Lollapalooza that weekend. They invited all their friends and crew to come up on stage and have a party. Unfortunately, it had been pouring rain all day and the Owly stage was running a behind by about 30 minutes, and most people had no idea what set times were looking like after their band played.

After trying to stay dry for a bit, I started walking back to the RV from the Amphitheater, heard Chase Atlantic playing in the distance, and headed over in that direction instead. It was drizzling, but I shot their last couple songs trusting that it wouldn’t hurt my camera much as long as I didn’t change lenses or get water in the area near the top LCD. During their last song Nicole and Sydney came on stage to jump around to “Okay” and throw water around and it was magical.

I rarely go through photos in camera because I can’t get a real feel for sharpness and blur through viewfinders, but while editing I knew to immediately to through the photos from their last song and I found this gem. My favorite thing about the photo is that it really embodies how much fun the Doll Skin girl’s had on Warped and all the great friends they made along the way.

Doll Skin Warped Tour West Palm Beach My biggest regret from Warped is not doing more portrait content with Doll Skin. They were one of the hardest working bands on the tour. As their TM I valued their free time above all. As their photographer the… — **Doll Skin Warped Tour West Palm Beach**

My biggest regret from Warped is not doing more portrait content with Doll Skin. They were one of the hardest working bands on the tour. As their TM I valued their free time above all. As their photographer there were times I wanted to say “I have this cool concept! Let’s shoot!”.

As Warped Tour winded down, I tried to get in as many portrait shoots in people different people as possible and the band was down to let me shoot portraits with them before the end of the tour. Once we did it was so fun and easy. It was definitely a learning lesson that as a tour photographer it’s important to deliver a variety of portrait, candid, and live content of the artist and find your “when to shoot” moments early on.

I love this photo because it’s a reminder of how great Warped Tour was for Doll Skin. Additionally, Kevin Lyman was walking by during this shoot and jumped in (see below) and it was another wonderful moment.

Dayseeker - Vans Warped Tour - Milwaukee, WI Dayseeker was one of my favorite bands on Warped this summer. I caught their set almost every day. I would use shooting their set as a way to experiment with things I didn’t want to risk messing up durin… — **Dayseeker - Vans Warped Tour - Milwaukee, WI**

Dayseeker was one of my favorite bands on Warped this summer. I caught their set almost every day. I would use shooting their set as a way to experiment with things I didn’t want to risk messing up during a Doll Skin set. I started messing around with double exposures a lot and while 90% of them were trash, this one I really love.

Vans Warped Tour - Tampa, FLI took this after eating dinner with one of my best friends and talking about the entire summer on Warped from start to finish. I started watching the sunset as she threw away her plates and it just looked incredibly beau… — **Vans Warped Tour - Tampa, FL**
I took this after eating dinner with one of my best friends and talking about the entire summer on Warped from start to finish. I started watching the sunset as she threw away her plates and it just looked incredibly beautiful. On the way to dropping stuff off at the RV I joked “Damn this is what Movements was talking about in ‘Daylily’”
I love this photo because it represents a beautiful end to such a wonderful and rewarding summer.

Sunset Cliffs - San Diego, CATaken while on tour with in Your Memory. We had two shows and two off days in Southern California. We had pretty opposing interests and priorities at times on this run, but everyone agreed that going to Sunset Cliffs wou… — **Sunset Cliffs - San Diego, CA**
Taken while on tour with in Your Memory. We had two shows and two off days in Southern California. We had pretty opposing interests and priorities at times on this run, but everyone agreed that going to Sunset Cliffs would be something fun to do and provide great content. It was actually incredibly overcast that day, but I beefed up few things in post and fell in love with this shot even more.

Like Moths To Flames - O’Malley’s - Margate, FLI had been excited to shoot this show all summer and it did not disappoint. Chris Roetter called out the crowd for being on their phones, kept yelling at everyone to move around, and things got really r… — **Like Moths To Flames - O’Malley’s - Margate, FL**
I had been excited to shoot this show all summer and it did not disappoint. Chris Roetter called out the crowd for being on their phones, kept yelling at everyone to move around, and things got really rowdy. I went flying across the room at one point, **but** before that I got this shot.
I love this shot because it’s incredibly sharp and I shot the entire show on manual focus. I was really proud looking through everything I shot that night.

Underoath - Erase Me Tour - Tampa, FLI took a bit of a silent hiatus from photography in September and was incredibly rusty when this show came around. I was nervous about how to move around and what angles to shoot at to avoid getting in other phot… — **Underoath - Erase Me Tour - Tampa, FL**
I took a bit of a silent hiatus from photography in September and was incredibly rusty when this show came around. I was nervous about how to move around and what angles to shoot at to avoid getting in other photographer’s shots and as a result 98% of my shots from this show aren’t the best. During the end of the last song I was allowed in the photo pit for I got sick of the same “acceptable/minimally invasive places” and lifted my camera over the ego riser and got this shot. It was exciting capture something like this in 5 seconds and this moment definitely re-ignited a fire in me for music photography again.

VANS WARPED TOUR 2018 - PART II

LINKS

2016 VWT BLOG | PART II

Note: If you like any of the photos in this blog and wish to save and re-post them on social media or fan pages please give me proper credit and do not re-edit any image(s) you chose to re-post. If you would like higher resolution images for promotional or personal use or to purchase a print shoot me an email at nicole@nicolestephensphotography.com.

JULY 16 - PITTSBURGH, PA

JULY 17 - TORONTO, ON

JULY 18 - CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH

JULY 19 - CINCINNATI, OH

JULY 20 - DETROIT, MI

JULY 21 - CHICAGO, IL

JULY 22 - MINNEAPOLIS, MN

JULY 23 - MILWAUKEE, WI

JULY 24 - INDIANAPOLIS, IN

JULY 25 - DARIEN CENTER, NY

JULY 26 - SCRANTON, PA

JULY 27 - MANSFIELD, MA

JULY 28 - WANTAGH, NY

JULY 29 - COLUMBIA, MD

JULY 30 - CHARLOTTE, NC

JULY 31 - ATLANTA, GA

AUGUST 2 - JACKSONVILLE, FL

Ruel is also an incredible photographer who took the lovely photos of me below that low key put mine to shame.

A huge storm that would cause a flash flood about to hit

Cameron upset with Grayscale for singing "Let It Rain" as a storm is approaching

Doll Skin's set got cancelled so we went to Waffle House at 7 pm and drove to Orlando right after

AUGUST 3 - ORLANDO, FL

Nicole pitting to Don Broco

DOLL SKIN

The only in focus shot I got of New Found Glory

AUGUST 4 - TAMPA, FL

AUGUST 5 - WEST PALM BEACH, FL

VANS WARPED TOUR 2018 - PART I

2018 has been something else! From working festivals on weekends while working 9 to 5 at an event / tour production company during the week to Tour Managing Doll Skin on the final cross country run of Vans Warped Tour. I am exhausted but also ready to keep busy and keep creating.

I'm still incredibly grateful for the opportunity to kick off my "band world" touring career on this tour. Not that my first experience on Warped was terrible by any means, but this year was tenfold better than when I did the full tour back in 2016 with a sponsor. This time around I had a lot more freedom to shoot and in turn made way more friends. I'm so thankful for the people on the this tour that acknowledged my existence and always stopped me to say hi and chat about our day's every day amid the circus level craziness that is Warped Tour.

I'm also so so so SO thankful for everyone who started following my work this summer either through Adam Elmakias or Doll Skin socials and liked it enough to stop me and say so. While such a small thing it helped me stay inspired to edit and go shoot bands when I felt very physically and creatively exhausted.

Overall, I'd like to thank all the ladies in Doll Skin (Alex, Meghan, Nicole, and Sydney), their incredible parents Holly, John, Temre, Gina, Matt, Dora, and Seth, Doll Skin's incredible merch manager Cameron, their manager David Ellefson, all of the women that run Warped Tour, every young woman that participated in the GBTRS x Doll Skin Roadie for A Day Program, the Accounting/Production plugs Matt, Ryan, and Kerry, EVERY HUMAN THAT WORKED ON THE OWLY.FM STAGE AS CREW, FOH, MANAGEMENT YOU MADE MY LIFE SO EASY I CAN NEVER REPAY YOU, Kami Thomas, Imani Givertz, and every single friend I made on or reconnected with on this tour.

With all that being said, I will be splitting this blog into two parts. I spent the first half of the tour not making taking photos for Doll Skin a primary focus and the last half of the tour that became an additional focus in addition to managing everything regarding the band's day to day routine. A lot of my favorite photos from this tour I took during the last half and I think there is a shift in my work in the second half. I'm choosing to do two seperate blogs for that reason.

LINKS

2016 VWT BLOG | PART II

Note: If you like any of the photos in this blog and wish to save and re-post them on social media or fan pages please give me proper credit and do not re-edit any image(s) you chose to re-post. If you would like higher resolution images for promotional or personal use or to purchase a print shoot me an email at nicole@nicolestephensphotography.com.

JUNE 20TH - PRE-PRODUCTION DAY - POMONA, CA

JUNE 21 - POMONA, CA

Garrett doing guest vocals for "Sleep In The Sea PT II"

Sydney, Alex, Nicole, Meghan - Doll Skin

JUNE 22 - SAN DIEGO, CA

JUNE 23 - MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA

JUNE 24 - VENTURA, CA

JUNE 28 - PHOENIX, AZ

JUNE 29 - LAS VEGAS, NV

A photo of me in Vegas before I went to bed at 10 pm.

JUNE 30 - SALT LAKE CITY, UT

JULY 1 - DENVER, CO

JULY 3 - MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO

JULY 4 - KANSAS CITY, KS

My good friend Kami and I got festive on the fourth of July

JULY 5 - BONNER SPRINGS, KS

JULY 6 - DALLAS, TX

JULY 7 - SAN ANTONIO, TX

JULY 8 - HOUSTON, TX

JULY 10 - NASHVILLE, TN

**JUAN PARDO DOING GUEST VOX FOR DAYSEEKER**

JULY 11 - OFF DAY - ASHEVILLE, NC

JULY 12 - VIRGINIA BEACH, VA

JULY 13 - CAMDEN, NJ

JULY 14 - HOLMDEL, NJ

JULY 15 - HARTFORD, CT

Stay tuned for part two!

FAVORITE PHOTOS OF 2017

2017 has probably been the least structured year of my life. I've always been the type of person that knows exactly what they are doing next and has a plan for everything, but this year it seemed that no matter what decision or plans I made nothing would really go how I expected it to. When life threw me a curve ball in June, I had 0 idea of what to do other than just have fun going to shows, and work on becoming the best photographer I could be. While compiling this post the contrast from the first half to the last of the the year is pretty amazing and I can honestly say I've improved more this year than I have in the past 6-7 years I've been shooting. I'm proud of my progress and can only hope for more in 2018!

January

I didn't shoot much in January but I did meet up with Marcia for the first time and did some astrophotography.

February

Went to the "LIT AF" tour and and I was elated that Polyphia had a lighting design for their live show. It was my first time going to a show at O'Malley's and learned there were no photo pit or photo rules so I brought my camera and shot from the crowd. I didn't get many shots, but I wanted to include this because it was the first show I shot in 2017.

Made some cool shirts and took a bunch of photos of pretty people wearing them for the online store. It was my first time shooting portraits in a very very long time.

March

My friend Rosario was on tour with The Color Morale for a couple weeks, but she was dropping off the tour a little before it came to FL. I was really excited for her to come to FL for the first time and was bummed she wasn't going to be at my date of the tour. She was nice enough to get my a photopass through TCM and I had a ton of fun shooting.

April

I moved to Boston for a field marketing job for a tea company and was really really apprehensive about it because the music/entertainment/creative industry is what I am the most passionate about. I feared losing touch with "the scene" and falling behind while working a "Real job" so I made sure to still try to catch and photograph at least one live show a month. I was able to get a photo pass to shoot Roam and As It Is and had a ton of fun experimenting in and learning new things about Lightroom while editing.

May

While working for the tea company, I was by myself most days which at first used to drive me crazy at first because I'd think about sad things from 2016 and start listening to Mac Demarco on a loop, but by May I hit a point where I found something really liberating about going out to places by myself. When I was in Long Island on a day off I went to Montauk State Park when it was drizzling and really windy. It was such a fun excursion and I wish I took more photos.

July

June was a mess and I don't have any photos I like from that month. The next month I got to shoot Warped for some cool organizations and was the most excited about this shot.

August

All my photos from this show weren't the best but during the last 30 seconds of their set I captured this and it's one of my favorite shots I've taken at a show all year.

Crashed my friend Marcia's shoot with her friends Blair and Dominic. This shoot really inspired me to pursue doing more portrait shoots.

September

In September, I was genuinely bummed about career stuff, I missed touring and was feeling pretty negative about the future. But, In a interesting turn of events I ended up getting to photograph Riot Fest and Self Help Festival, and had my work featured by Underoath on their instagram. At a time when I was feeling very discouraged, it was definitely the boost I needed to keep going.

October

I got to photograph three dates of the No Sun / No Moon tour thanks to Silent Planet. At the time I didn't really like any of the photos I look, but looking back, these are definitely my favorite set of live images from 2017.

November

Circa Survive at The Filmore Miami Beach

December

I only shot portraits this month and didn't end up going to all of the concerts and events I was interested in going to. To be honest, I've felt kind of burnt out and uninspired shooting shows because am not too sure where to go with it next. As of late, conceptualizing and shooting portraits makes me feel very excited and I feel a lot less stuck when I think about "What next?". I hope in the new year I'm able to do more portrait work with people and feel inspired while shooting shows again.

Here's to better photos and more shoots in 2018! :)

MILK BATH PORTRAIT SHOOT

VANS WARPED TOUR 2017

While I am not on Warped Tour 2017, I was able to go to all three Florida dates this year. Prior to touring in the summers I would only do two of the three dates because it just seemed like overkill. I wasn't wrong. After getting rained on in Orlando, seeing every single friend on the tour, and sweating what felt like half of my body weight out in St. Petersburg date, the third day felt unnecessary, but I got an awesome opportunity to volunteer with Safer Scenes that I couldn't turn down. All in all, was great to see my friends on the tour doing their thang and being a spectator of the whole thing versus a crew member.

Too Close To Touch

Fit For A King

Neck Deep

Silent Planet

Nevershoutnever

American Authors

Knocked Loose

Wage War

Memphis May Fire

st. petersburg, fl
vinoy park

HANDS LIKE HOUSES

BEING AS AN OCEAN

FIRE FROM THE GODS

War on Women

Carnifex

sylar

Andy Black

Blessthefall

Beartooth

I Prevail

Hatebreed

CKY

Hundredth

Movements

Silent Planet

Silverstein

Creeper

Hawthorne Heights

Watsky

OKAY USA TOUR AT BRIGHTON MUSIC HALL

ROAM

AS IT IS

MARCH OF MADDNESS TOUR AT THE CULTURE ROOM

SYLAR

THE COLOR MORALE

BLESSTHEFALL

MEMPHIS MAY FIRE

POLYPHIA "LIT AF TOUR" AT O'MALLEYS

I decided to check out Polyphia at a local venue called O'Malley's with my good friend Marcia and got a handful of decent shots.

FAVORITE SHOTS OF 2016

2016 was a great year for me! I got the gear of my dreams, spent six months on the road on Vans Warped Tour and High School Nation with truth, thousands of images more than I did in 2015, and learned so much about editing and workflow.

Here are my favorite images from this year!

COHEED & CAMBRIA MARCH 2016 ORLANDO, FL

I got approved to shoot them day of the show and was so grateful. I hopped in a car and made the 4 hr trek to Orlando to shoot them and the show is still one of the most memorable shows of 2016 for me.

SILENT PLANET JULY 2016 SYRACUSE, NY

This was my fourth time shooting Silent Planet and third time catching them on Warped. I got pretty complacent and actually thought "I'm pretty sure I have every shot imaginable of this band... I'm going to go find some chill" then during the band's last song their vocalist, Garrett, did something I had never seen him do before during their set. He got in the crowd, scaled the sound booth, then jumped back into the crowd and ended preforming the song in curled up on his knees. I ran over and snapped this and was immediately stoked on it.

ANTHONY AUGUST 2016 PHOENIX, ARIZONA

I shot a lot of photos with my friend, Anthony, who happens to be a really incredible producer and DJ, for his sponsorship with Staple Pigeon. On an off day in Arizona he had gotten stuff from a skateboard company he wanted to try out a sponsorship with so we just started goofing off and shooting around the beautiful resort we got to stay at.

NATASHA MIAMI APRIL 2016 SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST

While on High School Nation Tour with truth, Melissa, our lovely marketing director, took us hiking after work to find a natural hot spring in the San Bernardino National Forest. I was hilariously unprepared for the hike other than having a swim suit on under my clothes. Regardless of that, the hike and the springs were incredible, I got a bunch of cool photos and videos, and I can't wait to go back some time in the near future.

SELF PORTRAIT MAY 2016 DIY HOME STUDIO

I had to have a decent photo of myself to submit for my Warped laminate photo so I set up all my lighting in my bathroom and shot a bunch of photos. I didn't end up using this one for my laminate but it was my favorite of the entire set. The photo next to it is a double exposure I made during a bout of hotel boredom on an off day this fall somewhere outside of Philly. It was my first attempt at breaking out of my comfort zone when it comes to editing and it's my favorite experimental edit from this year.

KELLIE JULY 2016 WISCONSIN DELLS, WI

Karina did some killer makeup on Kellie to recreate the design on one of truth's T shirts and helped me stea--borrow light bulbs from the hotel for my soft boxes. I was really happy with the final outcome and so was the PR/Social team at the office!

EMAROSA MARCH 2016 GRAND PRAIRIE

BLESSTHEFALL MARCH 2016 GRAND PRAIRIE, TX

The photo pit at So What?! Music Festival was the most packed pit I had ever shot in. I didn't want to be a jerk and reach over people for all my shots because there was always someone behind me trying to shoot. I was 100% not satisfied with most of what I shot that day but this shot and the one above it quickly became my favorites.

BAD SEED RISING JULY 2016 HOLMDEL, NJ

I kept to myself for the most part on Warped this year (something I largely regret but that's a story for a later day) but all my friends/co-workers were social butterflies and made friends with Bad Seed Rising. I remember running over to Full Sail after work with Kami (@kamithomass) to attempt to catch Silent Planet's last set of the tour, completely missing it, and ending up catching Bad Seed Rising instead. Kami had gotten pretty close with Fran, the band's vocalist, so she got all up in Kami's lens so she could get cool shots. I 110% got this shot because I was shooting behind Kami with a tighter focal length. #photoleech

DYLAN JULY 2016 ORLANDO, FL

Kami's long time friend Dylan came out to visit her at Warped and hang out with everyone at the truth truck. He ended up getting involved in a head banging competition in the pouring rain and I ended up capturing what is now one of my favorite photos I've ever taken.

WARPED TOUR FAN JUNE 2016 SAN ANTONIO, TX

It kills me that I don't remember this person's name and lost their info. I met them after a rain storm and could not stop staring at their hair color. It was the most impressive hair color combo I had ever seen and it was just executed so well. I snapped a portrait of them after our chat to remember them and their experience hanging out at the truth truck. When I developed the shot in post I ran to show the only person on the bus that was awake at the time and asked them what they thought because the photo made me feel things (really happy and nostalgic about my youth) I remember going to so many rainy warped days, still being stoked on the day regardless of how soaked I got. It made them feel similar things as well so I posted it on instagram and a lot of people also connected with it.

I love this photo because it embodies Warped Tour to me. There are so many young kids having the most unforgettable days of their lives and this photo is my favorite of 2016 because I feel like this truly captures the essence of Warped youth.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

SPENCER CHAMBERLAIN JULY 2016 COLUMBUS OHIO

Underoath and Beartooth played a song together at the APMAs and I lost my damn mind. I shot for 30 seconds and then yelled the words to "It's Dangerous Business" while holding on to the equally as stoked girl next to me. It was an iconic moment for sure.

KAMI AUGUST 2016 LAS VEGAS. NV

Kami is just a gorgeous person inside and out and I think this captures just a tinnny amount of that.

DESI JULY 2016 GETTYSBURG, PA

He told me that this photo got him a lot of Tinder dates and eventually got him cast on a series that miiight get sold to Netflix. I think those are the markers of a good portrait?

SILENT PLANET JUNE 2016 NASHVILLE, TN

This was my first time seeing Silent Planet on Warped, I told all of my co-workers to come to their set to see them even if it was for a second and they all did (even our marketing director!), there was a marriage proposal, and all my photos came out like trash except for this one. I remember thinking after their set "That was really dope." and all my co-workers became fans of them as well. I like this photo but only the large blown up on my VWT blog post version for some reason.

X AMBASSADORS JUNE 2016 FT. LAUDERDALE, FL

This was the first photo I started experimenting with different color tones and when I was done I thought "What have I been doing my whole life not editing with this in mind?!"

BROADSIDE JULY 2016 SOMEWHERE IN OHIO

I remember seeing Warped Tour band photos of this gorgeous wooden amphitheater on tumblr when I was a little twerp. I made my rounds after work, took one look inside the amphitheater and immediately headed into shoot the next band that went on. It was Broadside and they played to kids watching them from 50 feet away due to a hole in the GA pit that had been created by fans jumping too hard??? I shot them and thought all my shots were trash until looking through them two months later and finding this gem.

And there you have it; my favorite shots from 2016!

VANS WARPED TOUR 2016

This year I had the pleasure of being on all of Vans Warped Tour with truth as marketer and content creator. Here is my journey narrowed down to a 100+ photos!

JUNE 21-23RD - TRAINING & WARPED TOUR PRE-PRODUCTION DAY

Truth Vans Warped Tour  2016 Team — Truth Vans Warped Tour 2016 Team

JUNE 24TH - DALLAS, TEXAS

JUNE 25TH - SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

JUNE 26TH - HOUSTON, TEXAS

JUNE 27TH - NEW ORLEANS, LA

JUNE 28TH - OFF DAY IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

JUNE 29TH - NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

JUNE 30TH - ATLANTA, GEORGIA

JULY 1ST - ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

SILENT PLANET

JULY 2ND - ORLANDO, FLORIDA

CROWN THE EMPIRE

IN HEARTS WAKE

JULY 3RD - WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

THE WORD ALIVE

TONIGHT ALIVE

SILENT PLANET

CRUEL HAND

JULY 4TH - SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

JULY 5TH - CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

EVERY TIME I DIE

HAIL THE SUN

TONIGHT ALIVE

JULY 6TH - VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

NEW FOUND GLORY

DJ CLEAN

JULY 7TH - SYRACUSE, NEW YORK

GHOST TOWN

SLEEPING WITH SIRENS

SILENT PLANET

JULY 8TH - CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY

YELLOWCARD

ISSUES

JULY 9TH - WANTAGH, NEW YORK

WATERPARKS

JULY 10TH - HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

BROADSIDE

JULY 11TH - SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA

OCEANS ATE ALASKA

JULY 12TH - SERVICE DAY IN GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

JULY 13TH - MANSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

JULY 14TH - DARIEN CENTER, NEW YORK

THE STORY SO FAR

JULY 15TH - PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

YELLOWCARD

LIKE PACIFIC

JULY 16TH - COLUMBIA, MARYLAND

JULY 17TH - HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY

BAD SEED RISING

JULY 18TH - APMAs COLUMBUS, OHIO

NECK DEEP FT. CREEPER AND STATE CHAMPS

SPENCER CHAMBERLAIN

OF MICE & MEN

A DAY TO REMEMBER FT. SCOTT STAPP

JULY 19TH - INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

JULY 20TH - CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO

A BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

BROADSIDE

JULY 21ST - CINCINNATI, OHIO

JULY 22ND - AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN

JULY 23RD - TINLEY PARK, IL

THE COLOR MORALE

COLDRAIN

JULY 24TH - SHAKOPEE, MINESOTA

WHITECHAPEL

ISSUES

JULY 25TH - OFF DAY IN LAKE DELTON, WI

JULY 26TH - MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

IN HEARTS WAKE

JULY 27TH - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

GOOD CHARLOTTE

3OH!3

JULY 28TH - BONNERS SPRINGS, KANSAS

JULY 29TH - AURORA, COLORADO

JULY 30TH - SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

ATREYU

CANE HILL

OLD WOUNDS

AGAINST THE CURRENT

PALAYE ROYALE

JULY 31ST - DENVER, COLORADO

THE SUMMER SET

AUGUST 1ST - ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

AUGUST 2ND - DAY OFF PHOENIX, ARIZONA

AUGUST 3RD - DAY OFF PHOENIX, ARIZONA

AUGUST 4TH - PHOENIX, ARIZONA

AUGUST 5TH - SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

WAKA FLOCKA FLAME

VEIL OF MAYA

ALFREDO

SET YOUR GOALS

AUGUST 6TH - MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA

REAL FRIENDS

PALAYE ROYALE

AUGUST 7TH - POMONA, CALIFORNIA

ATREYU

AUGUST 8TH - OFF DAY LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

AUGUST 9TH - LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

SECRETS

AUGUST 10TH - OFF DAY TWIN FALLS, iDAHO

AUGUST 11TH - NAMPA, IDAHO

WAKA FLOCKA FLAME

AUGUST 12TH - AUBURN, WASHINGTON

VANNA

WE THE KINGS

CHELSEA GRIN

AUGUST 13TH - PORTLAND, OREGON

X AMBASSADORS, THE MOTH AND THE FLAME, AND FOREIGN AIR

I had the chance to shoot X Ambassadors before leaving for tour and I had a blast.

SO WHAT?! MUSIC FESTIVAL - GRAND PRAIRIE , TX

I had the opportunity to shoot So What?! Music Festival this year in Grand Prairie, TX for my publication Speed of Sound Magazine and it was a blast! I filled up every single memory card in my possession each day and this was my first show since upgrading to the 6D. I also got to share the photo pit with a ton of awesome photographers whose work I follow religiously, but I'm incredibly shy and only worked up the courage to meet four...

COHEED AND CAMBRIA AT HARD ROCK LIVE - ORLANDO, FL

I haven’t shot a non festival concert in almost a year (Yelle at Mezzanine last April was my last non-festival show) and it doesn’t even feel that long ago. I was lucky enough to get approved to shoot Coheed and Cambria last Friday in Orlando and wanted to kick off my blog with these images.

CAMERA BAGS

CAMERA BODIES

CAMERA LENSES

LENS FILTERS

PRISMS

PORTLAND, OR

VANCOUVER, BC

PORTLAND, OR

SAN DIEGO, CA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

UTAH

ORLANDO

FT LAUDERDALE

ATLANTA

BROOKLYN/NYC

BOSTON

TORONTO

CHICAGO

January

February

March

April

May

July

August

September

October

November

December

Here's to better photos and more shoots in 2018! :)

Too Close To Touch

Fit For A King

Neck Deep

Silent Planet

Nevershoutnever

American Authors

Knocked Loose

Wage War

Memphis May Fire

st. petersburg, flvinoy park

HANDS LIKE HOUSES

BEING AS AN OCEAN

FIRE FROM THE GODS

War on Women

Carnifex

sylar

Andy Black

Blessthefall

Beartooth

I Prevail

Hatebreed

CKY

Hundredth

Movements

Silent Planet

Silverstein

Creeper

Hawthorne Heights

Watsky

st. petersburg, fl
vinoy park