Festival photographers are one to a million at the moment. Free entry, special photographer zones and interaction with artists are some perks, sure. But a few of these photographers are standing out with their work and how!
That zone between the stage and the audience? Youโre sure to find a crowd of people with their fancy DSLRs, swinging between their various lenses like suave bartenders and essentially being cooler than anyone else out there. But in the crowd is borne the need to be dramatically different than the others. Only a few photographers have broken that clichรฉ to emerge with some great collection of festival photographs. Today, we round up the most interesting of the lot. Take lessons, kids.
1. James Marcus Haney
Cinema is often considered an offshoot of photography. Taking off from where photography seems to stop. Seamlessly bringing the two together is James Marcus Haneyโs work. A filmmaker, who is an active photographer, his images stand out due to their highly cinematic element, making them look like probably screenshots from a moving video! After meeting indie sweethearts, Mumford and Sons in Coachella, heโs tracked them as a band created a profound visual of their work, which is a striking body of work in his already cool collective.
(images source: http://www.jamesmarcushaney.com/)
2. Samantha Marble
Samantha Marbleโs work can be best described as that that lacks pretence of any kind. Prepare yourself to be exposed to shocking close-ups of artists in their elements. The kind of intensity that is sure to hit you, even from across your computer screen. Itโs daring work, one that doesnโt flinch from expression! And thatโs the way, you go all out.
(images source: http://www.samanthamarble.com/)
3. Ebru Yildiz
A musical performance does not only emotionally move the audience, but also the performer. Itโs a extremely pure expression that Ebru Yildiz does well capturing. There is intimacy in her work, one that presents the performers in their most human form of expression. Most often, photographers tend to lose this, as theyโre caught up with the grandness of a performance. And Ebru Yildiz does well capturing that detail, that is often missing.
(images source: http://www.ebruyildiz.net/)
4. Deneka Peniston
Deneka Peniston gets the โliveโ behind music festivals as perfectly as one can. Her images are quick remains of high-octane action that goes on, on the stage as the musicians gyrate to their tunes like they do! What sets her work apart is her decisive moment. She knows just the moment that needs to be captured, making her images brilliant takeaways from the concerts that were.
(images source: http://penistonphotography.com/#/)
5. Shane McCauley
After music, the second most essential component to making a live performance tick is the people. The people, whose vibes, energy and personalities make up the show to what it is. Capturing this perfectly is Shane McCauleyโs lens. His images seem to perfectly absorb the revelry that goes on, hand in hand, with music.
(images source: http://shanemccauley.com/)
6. Khadija Bhuiyan
Itโs no simply point, focus and shoot with Khadija Bhuiyanโs photographic work. What instead happens is dramatic light play, engulfing the artist in question, in an almost surreal cloud. There is so space for subtleties here, as she takes over-the-top snaps that work perfectly with the levels of excitement doing the rounds at a festival. Her light plays are seriously ingenious. And her work will probably get you to use those stage lights like you should!
(images source: http://khadijabhuiyan.com/)
7. Ernest Estimรฉ
Ernest Estimรฉ has figured out the mantra that musical lovers cum photographers must, long time ago. The mantra to pick a genre one loved, and milk it out completely. ย Ernest Estimรฉ got his kick from shooting hip-hop and covering it like few other photographers out there. The dark, sometimes hilarious, mostly notorious nature of the genre has crept into his work, making hip-hop artists look glorious in all their music.
(images courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ernestime)
8. Andy Barron
Andy Barronโs photographs perfectly encapsulate the grandness behind a concert. The stage, the size of it, the instruments on it, and the musicians rocking them, along with the vast expanse of crowd outstretched maniacally! But his largeness never seems like a gimmick. It comes across as awe-inspiring, goosebump-inducing, just how the aftermath of being in the midst of a music festival must feel like.
(images source: http://andybarron.com/#/Gallery/WORK/WORK)
9. Jonathon Mannion
Capturing hip-hop, Jonathon Mannionโs work reflects age, a sense of maturity in concerts that is often missing in the more contemporary work one sees these days, style over any kind of substance. But Mannion on the other hand brings to fore this inherent grace that finds itself oft repeated in all his work.
(image source: http://jonathanmannion.com/works/browse/music)
10. Rahul Lal
Rahul Lalโs work is dark, chaotic, noisy but replete with drama, making his work stand out amongst other festival photographers in India. His use of grime is delicious, and the resultant work is edgier and cooler than you can imagine. If you want to stand out a festival photographer, selecting a unique style as Rahul will take you a long way!
(images source: Rahul Lal Photography Facebook)