1. Hiya, what's your preferred name and pronouns, and whose country do you live on?
Hi my name is Nate, he/him and I live on the land of the Yugambeh people.
2. What's your rig rundown?
I’m a Nikon guy, my primary camera is a Z6ii. For shooting shows I prefer zoom lenses as I find they’re more versatile for that setting. In my gig bag I usually have my Z6ii and Z fc bodies with a Nikkor 24-70mm Lens, Viltrox 16mm prime for those wider angle shots. I also have a Tamron 28-75mm for a back up lens because you never know what’s going to happen at a hardcore show. I also pack in a my Nikkor 50mm prime just incase because it’s a great lens for portraits. I also have a few fun filters I like to have in my bag like a starburst and halo filters.
3. How did you get into shooting live music?
I’ve played in hardcore bands for over 20 years and back in 2022 my longtime band In Ashes decided to call it a day, so to stay creative I decided to get a film camera just to take photos of my kids, adventures and stuff. I quickly learnt that shooting film only was going to be very expensive so jumped over to digital haha.
Not being in a band anymore I also wanted to stay active in the scene so I thought I've got a camera why not try and shoot some shows, so I started taking my camera to shows at Vinnies Dive and people seemed to like my photos so I kept at it and haven’t looked back since. Shoutout to Vinnies Dive for allowing me to ply my trade in their venue love ya guys.
4. What/who are some of your influences in photography?
Photography has always intrigued me even before I picked up a camera, growing up I always loved all the old photos from the punk and hardcore scenes from photographers like Glen E. Friedman and Alison Braun. The early skateboarding photos from Dogtown that Glen as well as Craig Stecyk took inspire me.
I also really love The LA street style portrait photos of Estevan Oriol, his work is just amazing.
I was always drawn to the way they captured people and the moments, their photos just looked and felt special, so when I decided to pick up the camera I wanted to capture things the way they did. Everything was caught on film back then so that’s what influenced me to start with a film camera and then when I went to digital I wanted to mainly shoot in black and white, I lean more towards colour these day though but you still cant beat then emotion of a black and white photo.
As for live music photography I’ve always loved Kane Hibbard’s work and another influence is one of my good friends Shane Oliver. Kane’s work with the Soundwave festival and Shane’s documentation of the local scene influenced me to want to do the same. There is a bit of influence from all these guys I’ve mentioned in the way I capture photos
5. Do you have a favourite show that you've photographed, or a favourite memory from a gig you've shot? Or maybe a particular favourite photograph that you've taken?
I can’t pick one favourite show but any packed hardcore show at Vinnies Dive is always a fun but dangerous show to shoot haha. You have to be on full alert at all times dodging flying bodies, windmilling arms and spinning roundhouse kicks to get the shot and hope that nothing connects with your gear.
6. What else do you like to photograph outside of live music?
I take a camera everywhere, I shoot film photos of my family and just like walking the streets looking for interesting and cool things. My favourite thing to do is take photos, so you will find me doing it everywhere.
7. How can folks reach out to you if they'd like to get in touch?
Crew can mostly reach me at my insta profiles
@wholelottarosie__ for everything music related or @naterosephotography for everything else or you can send me an email at naterosephotos@gmail.com for anything.
