Top 10 Music Images of 2013

2013 was a busy year for music.  It was stellar!  From the UK to the land down under to right here in the good ol’ US of A, music bountifully flowed like champagne on New Year.  The variety of tuneage was diverse enough to keep audiences intrigued, as well as their toes a tappin’ and their heads a bobbin’.

I’m sure there were however plenty of front row arm crossers cynically emoting a ‘show me what you got’ countenance, but so what?  I may have been guilty of such snobbery a few times myself.  (How do I make a ‘sorry, oh well’ emoticon?)  8-0/|\[{??? (probably not.)

So trying to find my 10 favorite images from this year, took some time.  It involved getting into this zone/state of mind.  It’s the same zone you (should) get into when you declutter your house…an unattached, unemotional, antipathy for the mundane, and apathy for the subject matter state of mind.  That way when you find an image that makes your brain go WOAH!-Joey-Lawrence-the-Blossom-years style, you know you’ve got a listmaker.

So here are my top 10 ‘WOAH!’ music images of 2013…enjoy!

10.  Peter Hook (and the Light).  I love how the light just traces the contours of his face.

*****

9.  Firehorse (aka Leah Siegel).  I just love her hand and arm in this photo.  I don’t normally like shots where the mic covers the singer’s face, but her hand seems to make the image for me.

*****

8.  Boxwood (aka Jose Ferrer).  I also enjoy the occasional intense facial expression when an artist feels his/her music.  His eyes aren’t as expressive as his mouth though, still, I like this shot alot.

*****

7.  City Riots.  I enjoy using flash, especially when I can use it to make special effects.  His fingers just seem to multiply.

*****

6.  We Are Scientists.  This photo just cracks me up.  No silly, that’s not a bear…that’s Keith.

*****

5.  Black City Lights.  I like how the disease-like light freckles her face and hands.  I also like how the cord from her mic makes the image look more graphic and less photographic.

*****

4.  PAWS.  I was getting artsy fartsy here.  I love experimenting with texture and tone, and I just wanted to make this image look like a painting.  I like looking at this shot while squinting.

*****

3.  Palma Violets.  Light/Shadow/Contrast.  I love the lighting here.

*****

2.  FEMME (aka Laura Bettinson).  Her troubled facial expression, arm gesture, and lighting make this image almost seem like a Hitchcock film poster.  Dial M for music!

*****

1.  Tricky (aka Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws).  This shot with an emotionally, intense facial expression, amazing tattoos, and a striking pose is what makes this image my very favorite of 2013.  Neck veins!

*****

Well, I love light.  I love the way shadows and highlights can make a simple image quite interesting.  My style tends to be more portrait like, with the occasional jumping/action shot (though none this year made the list), but I love making portraits, especially when I can write with light.  Hey!  Isn’t that after all what photography is?

And so…as I always say:

Happy {Insert Current Year Here} and BEYOND!