Louder has joined forces with with image editing software Affinity Photo to find the best new rock photographers of 2020. The competition runs over six months with a series of monthly challenges: Challenge 1 was on live photography and won by a shot of prog singer Damian Wilson crowd-surfing. Challenge 2 was all about Crowd & Venue Scenes: new, original unpublished live shots of audiences that capture their reactions, enthusiasm, as well as the scale of the audience, or the attitude, style and fashion of the fans.
And the winner is...
This shot of the crowd at a Machine Head concert at London's Roundhouse fitted the brief perfectly. Taken by London-based photographer Katie Frost, the shot captures the passion and energy of the live experience, where it the action is not just always on stage but also in the faces of the fans.
"I was photographing Machine Head at Roundhouse, Camden," says Katie, "and there were a lot of crowd surfers coming over the barrier into the photopit. I turned around and took this picture of a guy looking like he was having the time of his life.
"His expression sums up the joy of live music for me – sailing over hundreds of people towards your favourite band. A moment of pure joy! I don't take a lot of photos of the crowd when I am shooting live music as often there is not enough light to be able to capture them as well as I would like, but on this occasion there was just enough light, and I was really pleased with this shot."
Congratulations to Katie and thank you to everyone who entered – again, the standard was incredibly high.
Affinity Photo picture-editing software is about speed, power and precision - and so is the best rock music. This photo competition is about finding new photographers who capture the spirit of rock’n’roll and helping them to get the best from their photographs.
The competition will run over the next six months with a series of monthly challenges based around different aspects of music photography: live shots, portraits, shooting in black and white etc. The competition is free to enter and there are monthly prizes for the winners of each category. At the end of the six months, the judges will choose one overall winner who will receive:
- iPad Pro 11” + Apple Pencil + Affinity Photo for iPad
- The opportunity to go on assignment with Louder/Classic Rock/Metal Hammer/Prog photographer Kevin Nixon (OR - if geography makes that impossible - doing a Skype/online workshop with Kevin).
- The winning pictures will be published online on Louder and in our sister magazines (Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog).
Additionally, all entrants will be able to buy the award-winning photo editing software Affinity Photo, on PC or Mac, for less than half price - £23.99 instead of the usual £48.99.
Affinity’s John Atkin says: “Even the best photographers adjust their images before publication, and Affinity Photo is perfect whether you want to make quick corrections or complex, multi-layered edits.
“The low one-off price and no monthly subscription means it’s ideal for photographers on a budget, or who might not be using it all the time, while still delivering all of the editing capabilities the top pros require. And it’s all backed up with a whole load of free, easy-to-follow video tutorials that can help make you a better photographer.”
Challenge #3 will be launched later today.
