BNARLY

Half Past Two

benjamin — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 05:20:34 +0000

The Slackers and Starpool

benjamin — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:27:53 +0000

so you want to learn to shoot concert photos?

benjamin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:01:00 +0000

When I started shooting concert photos a few years ago, nothing really existed to talk about the ins and outs specific to shooting at shows. You had to study photography and learn all the rules or (do like I did) and do a little googling, grab the gear you owned, and wing it. Well, now there is a really great kick-start course to the gear you need, how to handle press credentialing, and taking great concert photos. Watching the dvd alone wont produce stunning photos, but it will show the most common pitfalls with this “job” and how to overcome them, because a lot of the time things will go wrong when the gig is huge, not small…link is below, check it out

http://alanhessphotography.com/

http://kelbytraining.com/course/hess_diussa_concert_photography/

Mustard Plug

benjamin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:48:03 +0000

This is the second in the “back home in Chicago for xmas concert photo series”…since these guys are almost never on the west coast, it was a treat to see them again, especially since it has been a few years since the last time…

The Get Go

benjamin — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:30:55 +0000

Normally, my photos are based out of the Los Angeles area, but as some of you are aware I am originally from Chicago, IL. In a recent holiday trip back home, I heard about my homies in the Get Go playing a one-off in a small club, and decided to pop by and shoot some photos. Fun times were had, enjoy the pics

Fishbone, Starpool, and Trenchtown

benjamin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:37:19 +0000

Theophillius London and Friendly Fires

benjamin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 23:18:27 +0000

Big D and the Kids Table

benjamin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:17:41 +0000

Peelander-Z

benjamin — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:52:39 +0000

I thought the Aquabats had the most zany, insane live show. That was until I saw Peelander-Z. They hold the top prize now. From bowling with a giant squid, to chant-along rhymes, to replacing the band with random audience members, it was absolute chaos. In a good way

A Joy Formidable

benjamin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:32:15 +0000

Although I’ve never seen them live, I will put this band in the same category as the likes of Florence and the Machine. Not just because they have a female lead singer, but because they have both an interesting and powerful sound. Just their stage setup, putting the drummer on the floor that close to the audience, says something interesting about their viewpoint as a band and a group. The crowd was kind of wishy-washy, but that goes for most LA shows in general. But, I will say this: when the hits came on (“Whirring” being one of them), everyone cheered and sang along…and if that’s not the goal, I don’t know what is…

Red Hot Chili Peppers

benjamin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:58:30 +0000

Had the immense pleasure of shooting the world famous Red Hot Chili Peppers @ Club Nokia…RHCP has long been on my bucket list of bands to see, but I’m not quite sure if this counts because it was only three songs, hah! Still a real epic show, gives me goosebumps to know I was 1 ft away from Flea…FLEA! Also, the show was a benefit for the silverlake music conservatory, a really great organization that helps teach kids about music…and who knows, one of those kids might be in the next Red Hot Chili Peppers

Motion City Soundtrack and Garfunkel & Oates

benjamin — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 20:23:55 +0000

Talk about a night full of surprises! Not only MCS come out and kill it with their first two albums (I was almost certain they would play one of the newer ones also, wrong I was), we were treated to Garfunkel and Oates, one of the funniest comedian duets I have heard (not that i have a huge list of comedian duets I like, but i digress)…plus a little intro from Doug Benson before MCS!

Koo Koo Kangaroo and The Aquabats

benjamin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 04:48:40 +0000

COMICON! Koo Koo Kangaroo was described to me as hardcore kids music, but really its techno rap songs about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hugs. Two crazy white guys, an ensemble of dancing condiments, and a thousand balloons everywhere dont even come close to describing the utter chaos and insanity that is the Koo Koo bunch. But, don’t try to abbreviate the band name like I almost did. The Aquabats were The Aquabats, only way more cool free stuff at their show (including the smokey bubbles)…Kind of missed a lot of the cool stuff from their Coachella appearance, including the scissor lift, big friends, dinosaurs, and Danny Divito. But the life-size cardboard cutouts and aqua-ice sculpture made up for it in spades…

Graffiti6, Fitz and the Tantrums

benjamin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:12:29 +0000

Thanks to Graffiti6 for having us out…it was great for them to pull a last minute hail mary and get us in, so thank you. It was also great hearing the band who’s song is on alt nation all the time. The G6 show was very chill, as they played an acoustic set, and I would love to see them play an electric set one of these days…it was a nice foil to Fitz who was ridiculously high energy. The only thing that didn’t jive with me was the crowd. As G6 performed some of their songs, hitting soft emotional sections, the buzzing of the crowd took away from the experience. I can only imagine if the room was quiet, if you could hear a pin drop, how the moment would have been a lot more poweful. But, thats the way it goes sometimes with the LA audiences.

A House for Lions

benjamin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:04:22 +0000

just updated the home page

benjamin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:37:48 +0000

I plan to add a cool intro video featuring photos whenever I have time to switch it up…enjoy the awesomeness!!

Incubus

benjamin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 07:29:51 +0000

Have you ever heard of them? Turns out they’re a little band from the southland who just put out a new album…I survived carmageddon to get up to santa barbara to shoot these photos, and all I can say is it was a godsend how easy it was to compose some of the best photos of my carrear…every artist in every band needs a spotlight and a huge lcd screen to light them from behind…made a world of difference, and it shows…enjoy, thanks aya for pulling the strings on this one

Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto round 2

benjamin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 07:28:48 +0000

Night 2 of RBF and Streetlight…I’m amazed I got the photos I did, seeing as how i was operating on 4 hours of sleep and 2 nature valley bars…still a rad time, a bit less intense than the show in OC, but that kind of goes with the territory…

35000 photos

benjamin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:56:06 +0000

I can’t believe it. Since I started shoot concerts and events, I have amassed 35,000 photos. In compiling the photos for this site and going through the old ones, I started to look at my progression as a photographer and where I’m headed personally. And, I feel like this site is a reflection of the path ahead.

The main goal of this site is twofold. Mainly, we’d like to promote the bands that you see here. A lot of bands are kind enough to have us at their show, and Warped Tour has us out every year to shoot, so we owe it to them to provide images that are not only well crafted, but offer something a bit more.

This site is not going to become another LA Weekly or Scenestar. They have their place for promoting every show in the southland and I feel like they do a great job of that. But, where they fail (and the slack I intend to pick up) is that their images lack a certain kind of soul. They capture the band playing, and they capture the people there, but I feel like they tend to miss the moment, the experience. They tend to miss the heart, the soul of why people pay money to see a band or rock out and run into each other in a circle pit.

Do I feel like I am producing material that is better at this goal. Not necessarily. But, I am not looking to shoot a photograph because it has a famous face. I feel like there are parts of the concert experience that are (in general) missed by many photographers and this is my attempt to try and capture those moments in a creative and fun way.

Plus, I would really like this to become a hub. For the event to be seen by hundreds of eyes, via multiple cameras and cell phones, so that the moments captured can be shared in a more dynamic way.

The goals are lofty, but you have got to start with the first step. And this is gonna be a big one…

Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto round 1

benjamin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 07:25:11 +0000

This may be the 10th or 11th time I’ve shot the fish (and 20th-30th i’ve seen them live), and I have to say they are still a fun time despite the recent departure of long time trumpet/guitar player Scott. I immediatly recognized the fill-in sax player from Goldfinger (when they were on tour with RBF, how odd), and I think it’s a solid lineup and the kids will keep coming to the shows (provided they continue to play the back catalog)…

Warped Tour 2011

benjamin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:53:40 +0000

Ahhh, another year gettin sweaty with the warped tour ppl…I won’t mince words, but I tried to shoot as many bands this year as I could muster, skipping sets of bands to shoot others on either a whim or recommendation of a friend…glad I caught the wonder years and a day to remember, tho I have a feeling this hardcore punk thing will grow on me more (I know, my checkered vans and I are scared also)…

POWERSERGE and Seven Year War

benjamin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 06:05:34 +0000

Everyone’s favorite 80′s glam rockers…is that a pen in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

GOGO13

benjamin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:56:04 +0000

Starpool and Suburban Legends

benjamin — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:36:16 +0000

I couldn’t be happier to see the guys from Starpool go from playing local shows in a bar to selling out the House of Blues in Anaheim…phenomenal show, but if you were there you don’t need me to tell you that…

Yellowcard

benjamin — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:18:43 +0000

There are two things that are universally true with Yellowcard: 1) LP (their drummer) has more than 2 arms and 2) paper walls did not get enough credit…

btw side note: their new album, “When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes” was not out at the time this show occured, but now that it is out i have to give it a 3/5 star rating…great sound, the usual business from the yellowcard guys, but doesn’t have the earworms and hooks that paper walls has…still quality material if you’re a fan tho…

Zebrahead and Lit

benjamin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 02:43:50 +0000

Clearly I’ve been busy, because these photos were shot over two months ago :/…anyway, this was a fun one, really small crowd for a MFZB/Lit show, but thats what you get when promoters don’t do their job…lets hope for a hometown show, maybe?

Reel Big Fish, Suburban Legends, Starpool, Chase Long Beach

benjamin — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 03:33:40 +0000

This was at the homegrown show @ the grove in anaheim, the finale show (I guess they do a series of local bands)…fun time, lots of skankin!

Bosstones, Cobra Skulls, Chase Long Beach

benjamin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:05:37 +0000

Great to see the Boston boys play another fun set…plus a surprise appearance by Jimmy Kimmel (not really a surprise, he was hanging out by the bar with his bass clarinet the entire set)…and very cool to see Karen playing with CLB, don’t know if it’s a permanent thing or not, but I’m sure we’ll find out sooner than later…

Warped Tour 2010

benjamin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:38:43 +0000

Pretty good lineup this year, including Motion City Soundtrack, Bouncing Souls, Andrew WK, We The Kings, Sum 41, and a ton more…and even though it was overcast the entire day I still got sunburned…damn you UVA rays!!

Big D and the Kids Table

benjamin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 04:29:05 +0000

Another fun night from the (other) boston boys…sorry about your hand dave!

Starpool

benjamin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 04:39:39 +0000

Alkaline Trio and Cursive

benjamin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 04:54:43 +0000

New Found Glory, Saves The Day, and Hellogoodbye

benjamin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:59:45 +0000

The Aquabats and Suburban Legends

benjamin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:17:50 +0000

Less Than Jake

benjamin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:10:51 +0000

Army of Freshmen

benjamin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:16:03 +0000

Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, All American Rejects

benjamin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:32:28 +0000

Warped Tour 2009

benjamin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:15:03 +0000

Chelsea Girls

benjamin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:51:18 +0000

Flogging Molly

benjamin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:53:41 +0000