Photographer: Alan Hunter
Site: ahunterphoto.com | blog.ahunterphoto.com
Based in: Seattle
ONE
VELNIUS – Seattle (Ballard), WA
This is a shot of Velnius’ drummer taken at one of the first shows I photographed, back in 2009; it was also the first Addaura show I attended. This pic makes me laugh; it reminds me how seriously the Velnius bros took themselves. I was standing off to the right of the stage most of the set and during sound check either the bassist or guitarist—I don’t recall which—kept telling me to “watch the fuck out” and “stay out of [his] way” and “don’t break [his] shit”, even though I had hardly moved from my spot on top of a chair and he was tripping over his own gear. As a show photographer I always watch where I am, keep out of the audience/musicians’ way, and rarely, if ever, use a flash as to not disturb the musicians. I couldn’t believe he was saying that stuff when I don’t think I was ever within 5 feet of him, not to mention there were a number of drunkards practically falling on the mic stands. I dig their tunes and respect them as musicians, but anyone who’s going to say that to me when I’m there shooting their show out of my appreciation of the music, is an a-hole in my book…we’re all there to have a good time. That’s the only time a band has ever been rude to me while shooting a show; most bands are generally gracious and appreciative of the photos. Needless to say, I didn’t send Velnius the pictures, but if they’d like them they’re welcome to contact me.
TWO
AGALLOCH – Portland, OR
I took this picture of Don from Agalloch during an epic set at the Fall Into Darkness Festival 2009. I guess there’s not much of a story behind it, but the elements—Don’s crucial stance, the amp, the lights, the fog—that make this image scream “heavy metal” me! I love it. Agalloch is an amazing band and it was tons of fun getting to see them in their hometown alongside a killer line-up. I got a few great snaps from their set, but it was also a prime example of trying to balance time spent behind the lens with time spent rocking out and really enjoying the music. Sometimes it’s tough shooting bands you really like.
THREE
ALDA – Tacoma, WA
Here’s another pic that reminds me of a funny night. A gang of us had packed into my buddy Ryan’s van (Addaura) and driven a little over an hour to Olympia to catch a Wolves In The Throne Room/Mt. Eerie show at the Hall of the Woods. It would’ve been a killer show, but as we all packed into the DIY venue for the show, the cops showed up to shut it down. Apparently Hall of the Woods was violating some building codes and the owners were supposed to have done some simple repairs. It was kind of funny watching the WITTR dudes scramble around, fussing with the cops and show-goers, but in the end was a real bummer that we didn’t get to see what would’ve been a great show. So instead, we grabbed some beers and headed to Tacoma with the guys from Alda where they played an impromptu set in their basement for a small group of us. It ended up being a pretty amusing night and we still got to enjoy some good local music. In the end those intimate shows end up producing some of the best pictures.
FOUR
ADDAURA – Seattle
This is a picture of Addaura’s drummer, Brandon goofing around at a practice session a couple months ago. I don’t shoot with strobes/lights, but Brandon was joking about me taking some token drummer-hair-swaying-to-the-groove pics and proceeded to turn on some strobe light feature on his cell phone. I snapped a couple pics as he jokingly wailed away with the phone strobing in his lap and couldn’t help but laugh when I caught his face in this one. I’ve been shooting my buddies in Addaura for a couple years now, have seen a couple line-up changes, have always thought they were an incredibly talented band, but this is the sharpest line-up they’ve had. I’m super thankful they’ve let me follow them around and invade their lives, and stoked to say I have evolved artistically alongside them.
FIVE
ATRIARCH – Seattle
Atriarch rules. They’re rad dudes who play some gnarly doom. Watching them live truly is like an out-of-body experience; the music is heard and felt. You can tell there is a lot of care and honesty put into the song writing and I hope this picture does their live performance justice. For me, it truly embodies the feeling I get when seeing them live…something almost ghostly and representative of their ancient, ritualistic performance.
SIX
YOUNG BEAR – Seattle (Ballard)
A couple weeks ago a friend of a friend contacted me to say he really enjoyed my photos, especially my work with Addaura and wanted to invite me to his upcoming show. That was Cody Davis aka Young Bear. I hadn’t heard his music before he contacted me, but having seen him now I can say he is one talented dude and a trip to watch live. I caught his killer show in Ballard last weekend, where he collaborated with Addaura’s drummer, Brandon. Not having shot live shows for very long it’s really cool when another artist contacts me to say they like my work and would like it if I’d shoot their show, especially when the show turns out to be as good as Young Bear’s was. Young Bear is spacey, heavy, psychedelic drone and if you’re in the Seattle area and have a chance to see him perform, I highly recommend it.
SEVEN
ADDAURA – Bellingham, WA
I have taken countless photos of Addaura shows, but I have to say this is probably my favorite image of Ryan (guitar, vox, percussion) to date. If Godspeed played black metal it would be Addaura. Again, there’s not some epic story behind this picture, but it really is one of my favorites. The ghostly movement in the double exposure and the intensity in Ryan’s face speak volumes about the show that night. It was one of the loudest, heaviest, best-sounding shows I’ve seen them play, which fueled me to take great pictures. His mom even told me that one of the images I took that night almost made her cry…as an artist you can’t ask for a better compliment. It was a wicked show and such a blast hanging out in Bellingham with a great group of musicians and show-goers.
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