I’m a high school teacher. That’s my career. That’s how I pay the bills. Music photography is just a hobby. If it started feeling like a second job I don’t think it would be as much fun.
There is a certain vibrancy to Sam’s photos that I’m just obsessed with - is it just the seemingly ultra sharp focus? The intense intimacy? The colors? Whatever it is, his dedication to documenting seemingly every show that rolls through the LA area these days is certainly enviable and what an amazing body of work it is - stumbling across his photos has really made me rethink how I shoot and what I look for when trying to set up images. I was, obviously, a little overjoyed when he agreed to answer my questions. Be sure to check out his work via CrownCityKid
How did you get into punk/hardcore?
I discovered punk in the early 80s by listening to the Rodney Bingenheimer show on KROQ 106.7FM here in Los Angeles. The station played mostly new wave but they gave him a show on Sunday nights from midnight to 3 AM where he could play whatever he wanted and he was the first DJ in LA to play punk. That’s how I learned about British bands like the Sex Pistols and The Damned but also local bands like X, Agent Orange, and Suicidal Tendencies.
I also had a friend up the street who was the same age but had an older brother who was really into punk and he would turn us on to new bands. In fact, it was the older brother, Dan, who took us to our first punk show during the summer of 1983. He took us to an anti-nuke benefit (this was the Reagan years) at the famous Olympic Auditorium where Wasted Youth, MIA, and The Iconoclast played among others. Listening to the music was one thing but seeing it live was totally different and I was hooked. Growing up in Los Angeles in the 80s I got to see most of the greats in their prime including Fear, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, The Minutemen, Saccharine Trust, The Dickies, and Descendents just to name a few.
How did you get into photography?
In college I had to take an art class to fulfill my undergrad requirements and really enjoyed it so I stuck with it after the semester ended, doing mostly street photography. This was before digital so it was all film and I got really into shooting medium-format. The problem with medium-format though is to do it right there’s a lot of setup usually using a tripod so I never really even thought about taking my camera to shows.
Do you should film, digital or a mix? Do you have a preference and why?
For shows, I shoot digital exclusively, mainly because it’s cheaper but also because I go to so many shows, usually 2-3 a week with 3-4 bands per show, that I need to turn things around fast or it starts to become overwhelming so I don’t have time to wait for processing. Additionally, many of the venues I go to are really dark DIY spaces so digital is more forgiving.
Why did you start shooting shows?
I had always casually snapped photos at shows, first with disposable film cameras and then later with my iPhone. But I really only started shooting shows seriously about four years ago when a hometown friend, an older skinhead I’d looked up to as a kid, got his band Doug and The Slugz back together after 20 years. I documented their reunion show and things just kind of took off from there. So long story short, the main reason I started shooting shows was and continues to be to support my friends’ bands and bands I like and, hopefully, expose them to new audiences. For me, the greatest compliment is when a band tells me that they met some kid on tour in another city or state and the kid said he/she discovered them through my photos on Instagram.
This whole music photography journey that I’m on has never really been about me or my photography. In fact, if you look at my Instagram bio, I don’t even refer to myself as a “photographer” and I don’t advertise for bookings. It has always been and will always be about the bands and their music. That’s also why I never charge bands. If a band wants to hook me up with some merch that’s fine, but I don’t want their money. The only time I accept money is for out of town gigs or if I’m working for a record label or promoter. I know how hard the struggle is for up and coming bands so why would I want to add to it? I’ve had some professional music photographers give me shit for not charging and if I actually considered myself a “photographer” and were trying to earn a living doing this, I can see why they’d be upset but oh well… I’m a high school teacher. That’s my career. That’s how I pay the bills. Music photography is just a hobby. If it started feeling like a second job I don’t think it would be as much fun.
Are you interested in photography beyond music?
Definitely. I still love street photography–especially photos that capture the darker and more raw aspects of urban life. I just don’t have much spare time these days to pursue it. Lately, I’ve also really become fascinated with architectural photography. The idea of using a building(s) to tell a story is pretty cool.
What do you look for when you are taking photographs?
The main things I look for are emotion and interaction. I love it when band members interact with each other and the audience and the passion they have for playing music is on full display. It’s really boring when band members are spread far apart on stage and stay in their own spaces and just power through the set like it’s a job.
What are you trying to convey? What is your edit process like?
My goal when shooting a show is for the people viewing my photos to feel what it was like to be there–to feel the band’s passion for what they do and the audience’s love for the band. My technical knowledge of photography is pretty limited so I’m never going to wow anyone with the technical quality of my photos.
My shooting approach is pretty simple–shoot wide, crop tight. I use Lightroom to edit and spend a lot of time trying to get the color correction right. Color is really important to me.
Do you prefer your final images to be in black & white or color or a mix and why? If a mix, how do you decide if an image should be in one or the other?
My final images are almost always in color. When I started doing this seriously, I surveyed what everyone else was doing and most of the punk/hardcore photographers I’m surrounded by do black and white. I totally understand why they prefer black and white. Like I said previously, a lot of the venues here in LA are DIY spaces with really crappy lighting so black & white is way less time consuming to edit than having to color correct. But at the same time, I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing so I decided from the get go that I would focus on color and try to get good at it. It’s definitely still a work in progress.
The only time I convert to black and white is if I’ve tried everything in my editing skill set and was unable to make a photo look decent in color.
Which image of yours is your favorite and why? What makes it a successful image?
This will always be my favorite photo. It’s Kristine, the lead singer of S.O.H., performing at the 2022 Fear of Noise Fest in San Diego. This photo will always be special to me because it got the attention of the band and was the beginning of our friendship. From this photo on, Kristine and her partner Andy, who is the lead guitarist in S.O.H., have been two of my biggest supporters.
It’s a little out of focus but what makes it a successful image is that it conveys Kristine’s energy and passion for her art. In addition, she’s obviously beautiful, but also tough as nails, and I think both of those characteristics are on full display in this photo.
What photographers do you admire the most (not just music photographers)? What is it about their work that appeals to you?
Growing up in the Southern California punk scene–Edward Colver is at the top of my list. He’s largely self-taught which I can totally relate to and I love that his early photos had so many technical imperfections but the composition and subject matter was so awesome that it didn’t matter. It’s like the art brut approach to photography–so imperfect that it’s perfect.
I also really admire the work of Albert Licano and Rob Coons. I love Albert’s wide fisheye shots. Sometimes fisheye can be cheesy but I’ve seen photos where he has made the tiniest venue feel like a large concert hall! Albert is also great at using light effects to convey motion. As for Rob, he is the master of the jump shot! The guy has like a sixth sense about it. He always seems to know when a band member is about to jump. Rob also shoots some of the best crowd shots.
Outside of music, I have become really interested in architectural photography lately. Here in LA there’s a photographer named Benny Chan who does amazing work in this area. The way he can take a three-dimensional structure and make it two-dimensional, while also connecting it to a larger space is pretty amazing.
Have you had your work published (self or by others)? A photoshow?
I’ve participated in a few art shows here in LA but quite honestly, I’ve turned down more invitations than I’ve accepted. I really stress out about having to select which photos I want to print and display–so much so that it makes it not fun. Once I’m at the show and my work is up, I have a good time but all the prep leading up to a show is a bit much for me. I’m also an introvert so I don’t really like to draw attention to myself.
I haven’t published anything myself but I have had photos featured in several bands’ album/cassette artwork. Most recently, my photos were featured in the insert for Chain Whip’s latest release.
What would be your top three goals with your work?
The first goal, which was also my New Year’s resolution, is to get more crowd shots. I have a tendency hyper-focus on the bands and miss out on what’s happening in the pit and background. The audience is just as important as the artists and I need to do a better job of capturing that aspect of shows.
The second goal is to start documenting the venues and promoters. Venues come and go, seemingly overnight in Southern California, so it would be nice to have a visual record of those spaces. And, there would be no shows without promoters so it would also be cool to feature the folks behind the scenes who curate our musical experiences.
The third goal is to finally put a photo book together. Friends have been bugging me to do it for a while but I’ve been avoiding it because if having to select a dozen photos for an art show feels overwhelming, I can only imagine what having to select a hundred or more would feel like. I’ve also been unable to decide on a layout format. I don’t want it to just be a static photo book. Ideally, I would like it to somehow tell a story.
Anything to add?
I would just like to encourage others to pick up a camera and start shooting shows. You don’t need extensive knowledge or a fancy camera to do it–I’m living proof of that. And, just do you. Don’t try to mimic another photographer’s aesthetic. The whole point is to capture the subject as YOU see it and feel it. If you go to enough shows and take enough photos, your own style/look will emerge.
Crass Commercialism Alert:
Just got an update from Max 625 that he unearthed a few copies of the Stockholm Syndrome EP and that our friends over at To Live A Lie are down to the last copies of the LP. For the unaware Stockholm Syndrome is a band I did with my friends Max (Spazz, Capitalist Casualties, Scholastic Deth, What Happens Next? etc), Spencer (Baader Brains, Mothercountry Motherfuckers, etc), & Tim (Young Offenders, etc) - it was a sort of attempt at a Heresy/Ripcord sort of thing. Go grab either the EP or the LP, they’re pretty cheap.
Also, as I’m always happy to make prints of anything you see on my Instagram. Here are my prices for the most commonly requested sizes, in inches:
4x6 - $10
8x12 - $30
12x18 - $75
16x24 - $150
24x36 - $250
Prices do not include postage, which will need to be calculated dependent on where you located and how many images you would like.
All photographs are professionally printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper with a lustre finish. I can offer prints of fine art papers if you would prefer - get in touch for a quote on that.
Thanks again for all that support this project - it is greatly appreciated!