Rain City Collective

In June, my friend and fellow photographer Tony and I launched Rain City Collective, an online site that focuses on the diverse, talented community of artists in the Pacific Northwest. We have an admittedly expansive view when it comes to art and artists. We think there are a lot creative people, organizations, and venues doing cool things around here, and we’re interested in telling their stories.
It’s a new site, new project, and we’re still working out where we want to go with it. Safe bet that music and musicians will be the steady anchor. Tony and I met at a Sarah St. Albin show in Ballard that also featured Tobias the Owl. We both like shooting live music. It’s tough to beat being at a venue with other people, listening to a musician or band go for it. I don’t know how they do it. Writing songs, putting them together with a band, and then having the courage to get up in front of a crowd to perform.

Shooting live music is also great practice for photographers. Working with the often challenging lighting and angles to get a shot that captures the performance. I think we’re both more interested, though, in the before and after shots in the music world. Getting great shots of green room moments, photos that depict life on the road, and working with musicians and bands on profiles.

Here’s a shot Tony took at Sarah St. Albin’s benefit show for Legal Voice at Conor Byrne on 6 July 2017. It’s a photo of three cool, talented local musicians – Sarah St. Albin, Anna St. Lee, and Heather Edgley. It was cool to watch Tony work on the fly. There was a lot going on, several bands rotating here and there, and Sarah was involved in all of it. They worked quickly to put this portrait together. I think it’s great.

We have a few posts up. Come check it out. Bookmark the site if you like it.

I’ll leave you with two shots I grabbed Monday night at Chop Suey. Anna St. Lee and Elijah Dhavvan are two of my favorite local musicians. Solo and together (in Tobias the Owl) they make incredible music. I like getting a little lost (in a good way) in their lyrics.