Tonight, I am meeting up with Cam in his natural environment to talk about his experience as a live music photographer. In addition to following his website, I have also run into Cam taking pictures at Cafe Colonial, it's neighbor The Colony, and First Festival. Every time I saw him, he was always right against the stage, crowd roiling behind him. I've seen him wade into the thick of it camera held high, shooting away as the craziness unfolded around him.
(The man himself, Cam Evans
©Cam Evans, 2018)
This night is a little bit different, though. We meet up in the bar of Cafe Colonial, and I am greeted with a hearty smile and a handshake. Bag slung over his shoulder, we get to chatting about tonight's show, which was featuring Glass Sounds, Art Lessing and the Flower Vato, and Period Bomb. It was sure to make an interesting bill on a Monday night, and Cam seemed excited to get to shooting.
Eventually, our conversation changes gears a little bit as I delve into how Cam got into photography in the first place. He gives a nostalgic smile, and tells me,
"It started off in Las Vegas in about 2008 or 2009, and one of my step-moms noticed I was just fiddling around with the point and shoot camera we had... [Cam] was just trying to get some good angles and whatnot. She looked at me, like, ‘You know, you should be a photographer, you should look into that’. That was around junior year of high school for me…But it took me until my senior year to get fully started."
Almost from the get-go, Cam went into live music photography as his focus, but with all great things, there was a little bit of a hiccup. He explains,
“Funnily enough, when I got my first DSLR camera, I got to photograph a show that was near me…it was at this, like, cyber café [laughs], which is where I photographed my first official show…I think I photographed two shows there, and then kind of stopped…I started getting back into it around last year."
This gap in time proved fruitful for his photographic development. He fills me in how,
"Between that time, too, I was still trying to find my niche in photography. I looked into portraits, photographing food…"
He also adds, offhandedly, that he got work doing photos for a church directory, but all that elicited was an aggravated sigh, a head shake, and a hearty laugh. I couldn't help but laugh, too. It was so earnest, and familiar, that I couldn't help but sympathize.
Previous employment irritation aside, Cam has taken his talents all around Sacramento and the Bay Area, and people are definitely noticing. His pictures have wound up in Sacramento News and Review, SubMerge Magazine, Tube Magazine, and Berkeley-based New Noise Magazine. Just to name a few. Going all over, in all sorts of crazy crowds, I immediately wonder how he does it with all that gear? I mean, how has somebody not kicked a camera out of his hands by now? He explains, with his trademark laugh and humble shrug,
"I’m pretty headstrong about some things [laughs], especially in the pit with all this craziness going on [in the crowd]…I think most of it has to do with travelling light as well. Most of the time when I go to shows, I see people [photographers] with backpacks of gear, and large lenses. So, I try to just…keep it simple. Just a camera, a couple lenses, with one on the body and one extra, and a couple of batteries in there. That’s about it, because honestly, I just don’t want any of my equipment damaged or anything."
(The Pathogens, live at 924 Gilman St., Berkeley
©Cam Evans, 2018)
Keeping to his standards, he came equipped with a medium sized messenger bag, with all the basics nestled in it. It's quite impressive how the simple set up he brings with him can get such high quality images, especially in such low-light, high intensity situations. When I ask him how he can get such detail, he explains,
"I think for me it's just being prepared, because you got to deal with a lot of hit going on all at once...I just try to keep my aperture low, and my shutter speed around 1/60 to 1/125 of a second."
This, coupled with the proper Lightroom and Photoshop work, leads to some stunning, high intensity shots that capture the tone of each live performance he shoots. With all the running around he does, I was curious about some interesting stories, from a live photo perspective. He lists off Las Pulgas, local Sacramento Punk Rock outfit, and speed metal/punk legends, Municipal Waste. That second band threw me for a loop, to be honest. Cam explains,
"I saw them at a biker bar...There was this little space, past the stage edge, and I managed to stay there for their entire set [laughs]…[The crowd] was totally crazy… I got some good shots from there, too! [laughs]."
(The night in question: Municipal Waste, live in Sacramento.
©Cam Evans, 2018)
"Be versatile, have some variety. Not with just the whole photography thing, but with music as well. Don’t go out and, you know, photograph punk show, after punk show, after punk show, mix it up a little bit! Go check out a jazz show, go check out a hip hop show, an indie rock show, etc…"
Ultimately, that attitude is reflected across most of his portfolio. It is filled with rock shows, punk shows, hip hop shows, burlesque nights, and all sorts of stuff like that. We both head back into Cafe Colonial, where I get another beer as he tweaks his camera's settings before we make our way towards the stage. From the back of the crowd, my vision went back and forth between theCam and the band. He was all over the place in front of that stage. Crouching, reaching, and bending, he was a man on a mission. Through all three bands that night, he repeated this process, all with a smile on his face and a winning attitude. Eventually he sat down at a table and pulled out his laptop, revealing a whole kaleidoscope of images he was working on.
No rest for the weary, that's for sure. With another friendly handshake, I head on out into the cool night, excited to see what shots he wound up from this particular night. Be sure to follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and his Website, for regular photo uploads and updates.
No comments:
Post a Comment