[BTS] No.5 City Of The Sun
It's nearing the end of 2019 and I'm in a reflective kind of mood. I recently posted my 2019 wedding collection and it happened to be my fifth year photographing weddings. Two years before that, in 2012, before being a full time wedding photographer Devon was on the cards, I was in New York City on holiday. I found myself in Union Square and stumbled upon this amazing street music, a style of music I hadn't really experienced before. This fantastic sound was from a band called City Of The Sun. I must have stayed there listening for an hour before they packed up their gear. Since then I've followed them online, they quickly become a favourite band to listen to and they're a frequent listen whilst editing wedding images (my Spotify year end recap will testify!).
What's the reason for this story you might be asking? It's about the power of not being afraid to try new things and taking a punt.
Fast forward to 2019, with a happy five years in wedding photography in the bag, I see that the band are on tour, which included some UK dates. Despite my opinion of them being an excellent band, it's fair to say I didn't expect this New York band to be touring the UK, but was so excited to get my hand on a ticket for their Bristol show. But then I thought, I wonder if I could photograph the gig? I've never photographed a gig before, all I have online from a professional point of view is my wedding work. But, I took a punt and contacted the band's management. By hook or by crook, my wedding work (and some personal projects) was enough to get the job and one cold December night I found myself in touching distance of the stage watching this superb band in action again.
It was a reflective moment for me, personally. The last time I saw them I wasn't even in the job I do, and love so much, now. In that time I've built this business and at the end of a fun and busy wedding season I got to round off the year seeing a band that I initially saw busking in New York and are now on a European tour. Management could have easily said no, but I'm glad I took that punt (and even happier that they said yes).
In short, what I'm trying to articulate is that trying new things in photography is a good thing, it helps improve your overall game. No matter what your 'speciality' is, stepping out that zone every so often is a good thing. It might not always pay off, you might get turned down, but the attempt is important and there's always a lesson to be learned, right?
So, after five years in wedding photography, here's my efforts in music photography...
