About Me

I have been taking pictures ever since I was could afford film, circa ~ 1975, I have probably taken more photos than anyone should, but that’s just me.

I was an artist in my youth but gravitated towards photography as I grew older, never going anywhere without my camera. Since I purchased my first digital camera in 1998 I have taken over 250,000 digital photos, crazy I know, last year alone I took over 65,000 shots.

I became much more serious about the art/science of photography since 1998 when I bought my first digital camera with a whopping .5 Meg file size. My first DSLR was a Nikon D50. Since I was living off the grid in the middle if a forest my primary focus was landscapes, wild flowers and wildlife. I spent many hours crawling around on hands and knees shooting tiny little wildflowers in the golden hours, one hour after day break and one hour before dark. You can see these photos on my nature website and blog www.whiterockstradingpost.spaces.live.com. I literally wore out my D50 in less than a year and replaced it with my trusty Nikon D90.

One day on a whim I decided to photograph a concert. It was like true epiphany, I cannot fully explain the feeling of being in a photo pit and taking photographs of live music. I show and I was hooked, but I was lacking a fast low light lens, I made the crucial next step and bought the best concert lens in the world a Nikkor f2.8 70-20 and a couple fast prime lens.

The rest, as they say is history, in the last year alone I have shot over 130 bands such as Dave Matthews, The Black Eyed Peas, Elvis Costello, Michael Franti, The Allman Brothers, Mars Volta, M. Ward, Rufus Wainwright, The Doobie Brothers, Susan Tedeschi, The Fray, Brett Dennon, The Wallflowers, Gogol Bordello, Thievery Corporation, Incubus, Ben Harper, Gomez, Ani DiFranco, Buddy Guy, Paolo Nutini, G. Love and Special Sauce, Gomez, The Black Keys, The Wailers, Andrew Bird, Michelle Shocked, Big Head Todd and The Monsters, Devotchka, Matisyahu, Blind Pilot, State Radio, Th Band of Heathens, Jackie Greene and many others.

I am a not just a photographer, I am also a musician, I play blues/rock guitar, I am a music recording engineer with my own digital recording studio in my home and I am an audiophile as well with a vast music library, so music means a great deal to me. Trying to capturing the passion and emotion of a live performance is incredibly challenging, sometimes frustrating but always rewarding experience. The constant movement of the performers, the changing light patterns and the very brief time alloted to get your shot, normally three songs, make for a very intense experience, maybe as close to actually being totally present as I ever get, this is my passion.

I feel like I have a different perspective on a live show based on my own experience performing music, you can judge for yourself by looking at some of photos. I loathe the current industry standard 3 song rule ie. 3 songs and you’re out, most bands are barely getting warmed up by then and in my opinion sweat on the performers goes part and parcel with Rock and Roll, or any music played passionately for that matter.

I do freelance work for the Denver Post, GrooveMine.com and Oniracom / Oniric Records and several other media outlets and artists, my primary area of focus is the Rocky Mountain Region with a special interest in Denver, Las Vegas and the Utah’s Wasatch Front. I am available for virtually any musical or extreme sport assignment.

Lewis Calvert Cooper