120 Shots from the summer
39 shows / 53 days
Sony a6300 // Sigma 16-35m f/1.8 // Sigma 50-100m f/1.8
Well, give or take a few. 120 was my original number of photos for this blog, but a few were taken out, a few were added, well, maybe more like 15-20 were added, but who's keeping track? I tent to edit and shoot too much at times (wait, is that even a thing?), but I had well over 2k+ of edited / usable photos, so even narrowing it down to this was a challenge.
This summer I worked with Alternative Press Magazine on the Vans Warped Tour. My jobs included; gathering photo / video content for daily use, filming segments / interviews with Nick Major (my partner in crime this summer), helping with sales and signings at the AP tent, set up / tear down every morning and afternoon, and social media content. *breathes. okay, yes, my summer was busy none-the-less, but, this summer was an un-real experience. I've always wanted to be apart of the Vans Warped Tour since I can remember, and I've loved Alternative Press just as long, so it was really awesome being able to cross two big things off my "bucket list" at the same time.
It was hot, the days were long, the questions were repetitive, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything else. There is so much I could say about this summer. I could write countless stories, share all the incredible memories, talk about meeting some of the best people in my entire life, and how i should have won "sassiest person on warped" award, but, i'd rather share my work, and show everyone what I worked so hard to accomplish this summer. Hands down, some of my favorite photographs i've ever taken, were taken this summer. I am very humbled and appreciative for Alternative Press having me out with them and believing in my passion.
June 24 – Dallas, TX / June 25 – San Antonio, TX / June 26 – Houston, TX / June 27 – New Orleans, LA / June 29 – Nashville, TN / June 30 – Atlanta, GA / July 01 – St. Petersburg, FL / July 02 – Orlando, FL / July 03 – West Palm Beach, FL / July 05 – Charlotte, NC / July 06 – Virginia Beach, VA / July 07 – Syracuse, NY / July 08 – Camden, NJ / July 09 – Wantagh, NY / July 10 – Hartford, CT / July 11 – Scranton, PA / July 13 – Mansfield, MA / July 14 – Darien Center, NY / July 18 – Columbus, OH **APMAS** / July 19 – Indianapolis, IN / July 20 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH / July 21 – Cincinnati, OH / July 22 – Detroit, MI / July 23 – Chicago, IL / July 24 – Shakopee, MN / July 26 – Milwaukee, WI / July 27 – St. Louis, MO / July 28 – Bonners Spring, KS / July 30 – Salt Lake City, UT / July 31 – Denver, CO / Aug. 02 – Oklahoma City, OK / Aug. 03 – Albuquerque, NM / Aug. 05 – San Diego, CA / Aug. 06 – San Francisco, CA / Aug. 07 – Pomona, CA / Aug. 09 – Phoenix, AZ / Aug. 11 – Boise, ID / Aug. 12 – Auburn, WA / Aug. 13 – Portland, OR
Now, I present to you; 120 of my favorite photographs I shot over the summer, including the Vans Warped Tour 2016 & the third annual Alternative Press Music Awards Show in Columbus, OH. Everyone of these photographs has a story behind it. A few are written out. Feel free to share. Thanks for looking.
(Click on any photo to enlarge / read description)
First off, we have to start with where I lived all summer, and who i lived with! Most the bigger sponsors on the tour buy bunk spots for x-amount of people working with them over the summer, and these are the busses that fill those spots! Production busses! We lived in a "slave ship", but there are many other names. So, normal tour buses usually have 12 bunks, a back lounge, and a front lounge. Our bus was able to host 23+ people. 12 normal bunks, plus 5 bunks in the back lounge, two "suicide" bunks in the front, and the tables / couches all converted into two bunks each. We had; Alternative Press, Feed Our Children Now, The Entertainment Institute (TEI), Ernie Ball, Cool Gear, and Britney, the volunteer coordinator for the summer. Made some great friends this summer, and all 13 of these people are definitely the best ones. Bus 14.
June 22nd, 2016 // Probably my favorite shot of the summer.
Devin "Ghost" Sola of Motionless In White. Shot in New Orleans, Louisiana
These are a compilation of my favorite photos I shot over the summer. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
July 13th, 2016
The third annual Alternative Press Music Award Show in Columbus, OH
During the APMAS, Taco Bell had a food truck set up behind the red carpet, so when artists were waiting in line to walk the carpet they were handing out tacos. I saw Brian and Jess (The Summer Set) standing at the front of the truck and went over. There were a few different photographers around them, and when i walked up i heard Brian telling them "no no no, i'll open it but i really don't wanna eat this! hahaha". I just met Brian back in April when I started touring with The Summer Set as their photographer. We became pretty good friends over the few months we toured together, so i thought i'd give it a shot. "C'mon Brian, just one bite!" I yelled as I walked up. "Alright, fine, fine! Just because its you, i'll take a bite! NO! I wont eat the whole thing". And here comes this shot, Brian Dales of The Summer Set eating a Taco Bell taco he is 100% not into. Bravo, Brian!
I wanted to end the APMAS segment with this photo. This is Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside and Chris Cerulli of Motionless In White. If you don't already know, last year The Ghost Inside were involved in a fatal bus accident that left all of them in the hospital, and most unable to walk. This was their first public appearance since that accident, and there were a lot of emotions that night because of it. This photo is full of raw emotion, and they stayed embraced for a solid 45 seconds. This music scene is full of different types of people. Different beliefs, values, outlooks, but everyone came together in this bands time of need, and humility was shown, by everyone. This made the night so much more beautiful than it already was.
Emarosa / Salt Lake City, Utah / July 30th, 2016
Emarosa is one of those bands that I wanted to see every single day, but rarely got around to shooting their set. Like a majority of the bands I shot over the summer, I was only able to catch them a handful of dates. I knew the moments I wanted to capture. I had watched them in passing, online after the shows, and from other photographers. It all came together so well in Salt Lake City. They had a great set time for my schedule, so i was able to stay and shoot the entire set (thank you Ashley Osborn). I'm so happy with these four photos captured that day.
Favorite full-band shot from the summer. The Summer Set in Denver, CO
May I present to you, the other two members of the AP WARPED CREW (that was our group chat name); Nick Major (APTV Correspondent), who handled running snapchat everyday, signings at the tent, and our correspondent for on camera interviews / daily recaps. And, our tent manager, Natalie Dickinson., who has sweet dance moves and sweet shades, Natalie Dickinson! Our AP Warped team was pretty solid this summer. Everyone became really close and really good friends, so everyone got along so good, and had so much fun. We all busted our butts this summer, and still had a great time doing it. LOVE these two.
If you made it to the end
Thank you so much for reading this and seeing the moments I was able to capture this summer. I hope you enjoyed the photographs and small write ups. Once again, thank you to Alternative Press Magazine for having me out, and Kevin Lyman for putting on this massive festival.
Thanks for reading.