The Best of 2009

My Best of 2009

Ok, so this about a week late… sorry, I had a TON of pictures to go through!  But, some good came of all the time spent going through images… I didn’t realize what a crazy year 2009 had been. One could even say it was jam-packed.  I apologize in advance for the length of this post…it’s hard to narrow down a year with so many spectacular events!


In fact, some numbers for this year:

-78 shows (+ uncounted rehearsals, recordings, etc)
-194 sets
-39 venues
-13 cities
-6 states

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite things of 2009:

I’ve shot some incredible bands:

Dragonforce @ House of Blues
(Dragonforce)

SR-71 @ Bourbon Street
(SR-71 – my favorite!)

Semi-Precious Weapons @ Bottom Lounge
(Semi-Precious Weapons)

Butch Walker @ The House of Blues
(Butch Walker)

I’ve done a bunch of backstage work (which I absolutely love doing, and want to continue in 2010):

Snowsera @ Subterranean

The Frantic backstage @ House of Blues

The Frantic backstage @ House of Blues

Kyle & Stubhy

I shot Mayhem Fest for the second year, and it remains one of my favorite festivals to shoot:

Marilyn Manson @ Mayhem Fest
(Marilyn Manson)

Bullet For My Valentine @ Mayhem Fest
(Bullet For My Valentine)

Slayer @ Mayhem Fest
(Slayer)

Killswitch Engage @ Mayhem Fest
(Killswitch Engage)

I shot all five nights of our alternative stations’ major year-end concert, Twisted:

The Used @ House of Blues (Twisted)
(The Used)

The Bravery @ House of Blues (Twisted)
(The Bravery)

As Tall As Lions @ House of Blues (Twisted)
(As Tall As Lions)

Sick Puppies @ House of Blues (Twisted)
(Sick Puppies)

Rev Theory @ House of Blues (Twisted)
(Rev Theory)

Shinedown @ House of Blues (Twisted)
(Shinedown)


I went to SXSW for the first time (although I still haven’t edited most of the photos… whoops):

2009 SXSW: Day 1

2009 SXSW: Hotel Rehearsal

2009 SXSW: Day 1

I saw Metallica for the first time. Also a first, I photographed a show with a point & shoot (oh LX3, how I love you):

Metallica @ Allstate Arena

Metallica @ Allstate Arena

After many years of being frustrated, I think I might have finally learned the timing for capturing the jump shot:

Rise Against @ Summerfest

The Frantic @ Summerfesty

The Frantic @ The Metro

I shot a stage adaptation of one of my favorite records EVER, Ludo’s Broken Bride:

Broken Bride @ Dominican University

I got a fisheye to inject a little fun into some shots:

Dr. Manhattan @  Beat Kitchen

Munroe @ The House of Blues

I did some behind-the-scenes stuff on a major label video shoot:

Company of Thieves "Pressure" Shoot

Company of Thieves "Pressure" Shoot

And somehow, I managed to squeeze a few band promos in there:

Quietdrive Promos (2009)

Joey Marcantonio

I Love 120 Film

Thanks to all the bands, publicists, and friends who have been wonderful thoughout this year!

Wolfgang Schaefer @ Subterranean

Wolfgang Schaefer @ Subterranean

Wolfgang Schaefer opened up the Snowsera/We The Living show at Subterranean. Not knowing a thing about Wolfgang Schaefer before he took the stage (aside from the fact that he had a cool name), I was pretty impressed. A singer-songwriter, it was just him and his guitar onstage. His songs were good, his voice was great, and he had a fantastic stage personality. At one point, someone yelled for “Freebird” (they always do), and Wolfgang threatened to play the whole thing, but to do the guitar solo vocally. It was a vicious threat. (more…)

Bonus: The Many Faces of Brett Hartwell

The Frantic @ Summerfest

This post came about randomly. As all concert photographers do, I take a lot more pictures than I post.  I generally try to cull images down to a handful of the best shots of each performer, so I have a nice mix that is representative of the band.  Well, as I was going through my shots from Summerfest and House of Blues, I had a hard time of getting rid of pictures of Brett.  It seemed that in each one, he was making a face, especially in the Summerfest pictures.  And not just a “drummer face” but a face.  Even backstage at House of Blues.

I realized that these faces needed their own blog time, as a tribute to the very energetic Brett 🙂 (more…)