You see this beautiful soul? This is Ashley Osborn, an awesome photographer and music business lifer with more experience than many of her peers. Ashley was recently hospitalized while touring overseas and is now facing mounting medical expenses. We want to help her get back on her feet, and we’re hoping you will too.
Here’s a little more information about her work and her current situation, courtesy of Third String Productions founder Mike Ziemer and Ashley herself:
If you know Ashley, you know she is a very strong and amazing person, but you also probably know she’s a little bit stubborn when it comes to allowing other people to help her. For the last 2 weeks, I’ve spoken to her every day while she’s been in the hospital and she’s kept high spirits and positivity about her situation. However, today, she was handed the bill for her stay and it’s finally come to the point where I’ve convinced her to allow others to help. She needs us right now. Not only does she have medical bills piling up, but her medical condition will keep her from being able to work for months. If you would like to donate and help out, that would be incredible. Ashley will also be putting up a print store if you’d like to wait and help by supporting her art as well. Below is her statement and updates about her condition.
“Now that all of my immediate family knows what’s happening. Here we go.
Never wanted to be that guy but I really need all the positive vibes in the world. I’ve been having issues with my hand and wrist for a few months. It’s a very long story but once I flew over to Europe on the 25th of October things got dramatically worse. I started tour on the 29th and the night after the first show my hand swelled up so bad it was purple and I had lost all feeling. I was in and out of various European hospitals that all diagnosed it as carpal tunnel. I couldn’t deal with the pain and I knew staying on tour meant further endangering my health so I left on the 7th and flew to the U.K. To figure shit out. I had a doctor refer me to a orthopedic specialist. I came to Leeds on Tuesday and he took one look and knew immediately that CT was not the case. He ordered an urgent ultrasound of my arm and I left feeling very positive because I thought physical therapy would be the fix.
Wednesday morning they called and I went back to Leeds for the ultrasound. They ended up finding a huge blood clot in my shoulder of which now we know has spread variously down my arm. This happened because I have a rare cervical rib which overtime caused compression around my neck / shoulder. With flying and repetitive motion for photography overtime made it worse.
They immediately brought me to the ER and I’ve been in the hospital since getting various tests.
Today I met with two vascular surgeons and they feel that starting me immediately on a treatment where they put a tube through me up to my shoulder so medicine can drop down and dissolve the clots in my arm is the best option to start. They aren’t sure how much it will help since the clot is at least a few weeks old but they believe it will clear it up enough to get feeling back into my hand / so the surgeon can get in there safely. I will be heavily medicated and out for up to six days so I kind of wanted to let everyone know what’s happening. I also need surgery to remove cervical rib.
Basically this month has been my own personal hell. I’ve been very quiet.
I have no idea what this means for my future or my career’s future. But I need all the positive vibes right now. I just want to use my hand again.
I’m going to be selling prints once I’m out of here to help me cover my medical costs so if you want to help please keep an eye out.
Ashley now owes $10,000 for her treatment, and Ziemer has setup a GoFundMe page to aide her recovery efforts. If you have money to spare, please take a moment and support this wonderful person.
We have dedicated a lot of blog space over the last two years to helping make you, the reader, a better music photographer. Those efforts will no doubt continue in the future as we believe the role of education in someone’s life is one that lasts from the cradle to the grave, but today we are turning our focus from the ins and outs of the industry to those who are currently setting the standard for professionalism. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of photographers covering the world of alternative music right now, and in time we hope to highlight as many of them as we possible can. Right now however, we want to focus on 10 people with unique perspectives on the current music scene that we feel everyone should know and follow online. You can learn from them, or you can just enjoy their work. Either way, please support these hard working people:
At the risk of overstating his current level of influence, Adam Elmakis pretty much sets the bar for photography in the alternative music scene. He has photographed everyone you can think to name, but he’s best known for his work with A Day To Remember, Of Mice & Men, and Pierce The Veil.
Harnessing the power of social media to further her presence and influence like few have been able to accomplish, Ashley Osborn is an innovative photographer with a perspective on life like no other. If anyone works harder than her to make photography their life I have yet to meet them.
Sometimes photographers rise to popularity by capturing dozens upon dozens of artists at every level of stardom, but that is not the case for everyone. Grady has been around the music industry, as well as the modeling world, but he’s probably best known for capturing the rise of rapper G-Eazy from underground clubs to sold out stadiums, both on stage and off. His notoriety rose right along with G’s stardom, and today it’s hard to talk with anyone in photography or music without one of their names coming up.
If you’re a fan of Mayday Parade there is a good chance you have swooned over the talent of photographer Thomas Falcone once or three dozen times over the last few years. Thomas can capture any artist in a way that makes you drop your jaw, but his time on the road with the men of Mayday has allowed him to work with them on an entirely different level. It’s both personal and professional, making you feel as if you’re right next to the band no matter where they happen to be around the globe.
Most the photographers on this list so far have become synonymous with artists who are currently able to headline all over the world. Molly Louise Hudelson works with that level of talent as well, but her best work is done when capturing the artists still trying to cut their teeth in this crazy business of entertainment. If you want to see the artists who will be headlining in one or three years from now, Molly’s work is a good place to start.
Vince Dwyer spends a lot of time on the road with The Word Alive, which offers him unique access to the world of hard work and metal that (lucky for us) he then shares with people around the globe using only his camera. Like others on this list, his talent has grown along with the artists he’s dedicated his life to capturing, and with each new tour it seems he only gets better.
It’s not easy making it as a freelance music photographer in 2015, but Nick Karp has somehow found a way to make it work while also living full time in New York City. His ability to hustle day and night, show to show, is right up there with the hardest working bands in music today. On any given date he may be capturing anywhere from one to ten bands at one or more shows in various corners of the city, and once summer arrives with festivals every other week his schedule only grows more hectic. Nick also has a heart for education, as anyone familiar with this blog has seen through his numerous columns on music photography basics, so really there is no reason for you not to follow his work from this point forward.
We hate not being able to use someone’s real name in a feature like this, but the photographer most commonly referred to as Sedition has chosen to keep his identity a bit harder to come by than most. What we know for certain is that he spends his days driving your favorite bands from show to show, and at night he uses his Canon 70D to capture moments that will make your heart skip a beat. His work with models is pretty incredible as well, and with Warped Tour fast-approaching, you can expect a wealth of new images to be produced in weeks ahead.
You would be hard pressed to find a single person in music, maybe even the planet, with a bad thing to say about Mike Wilson. The world may have a shortage of truly good people, but Mike is a hard working guy who also happens to be incredibly kind and ridiculously underrated. He spent the beginning of 2015 with Cartel, and the work he came back with will make you fall in love with the band even if you know understand why everyone lost their mind over the release of Chroma. His work is that good, and even though he has a few years of experience under his belt it’s clear he’s nowhere near reaching the peak of his abilities. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Mike found himself where Elmakis is at today within five years time, if not sooner.
Originally a name synonymous with PupFresh, Teri Cwiek has become a brand all her own over the last two or three years. She can currently be found touring around in vans with bands on the cusp of taking the scene by storm, and all day everyday she shares scenes from her time on the road through her various social networks. As the average age of our team here at Haulix is around 30, we are not always familiar with the artists Teri is working with, but that doesn’t really matter when you see the beautiful images she is able to produce. Like the hustle shown by Nick Karp, Teri has the kind of driven, business-oriented mindset to actually make her passion her life, and we encourage everyone to seek out her work as soon as they are able.
There is something about the way Matty Vogel captures live performances, especially those of rapper Hoodie Allen, that defies explanation. Regardless of the place where the photo was taken, Vogel finds a way to make every concert photo look as if it captures a once-in-a-lifetime moment. His behind-the-scenes work is no different, offering intimate access to some of the biggest names in music today. He’s a favorite of our entire staff, and we cannot wait to see what he produces while on tour with Wiz Khalifa, Fall Out Boy, and Hoodie Allen all summer long.
Hello, everyone! Welcome to the beginning of a new work week that promises to be filled with thrilling content and insightful conversation. We have been looking forward to this particular week for several months, mostly because it coincides with the launch of our latest tool in the continuing fight against digital piracy. You can expect to learn more about that as the week carries on, but for now we are going to take a look at what it’s really like to be a professional photographer in the music industry. If you have any questions about the content of the blog, or if you would like more information regarding the distributional services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Every week I find myself engaged in conversation with young people who are both excited and a tad bit nervous about the future of the music industry. In each of these conversations I try to find the time to ask what the person speaking with me sees at their ultimate career goal, and nine times out of ten the response I receive involves spending excessive amounts of time on the road. Sometimes they want to be a tour manager and other times it’s front of house sound, but without a doubt the response I receive most often is that people want to find a way to make a living taking photos on the road. Call it a tour photographer, or a group archivist, or simply a freelance music photographer, whatever the title you slap on it the desired work environment is the same: See the country through the windows on a van/bus and capture every moment along the way.
I wish so very badly that we could provide a step-by-step guide to achieving this goal, but the fact of the matter is that you have about as good a chance of becoming a professional tour photographer as you do winning the lottery while simultaneously being struck by lightning. There are literally thousands of aspiring music photographers across this country, including several hundred who contribute to so-called influential music blogs. The difference between one photographer getting landing a dream tour gig and another not has as much to do with hard work and talent as it does networking and blind luck. The best advice we can offer is to work hard, keep an updated portfolio, and constantly challenge yourself to try new things. Once you have a handle on all that, talk to everyone who will listen and learn to promote yourself without coming across as desperate. In time, people will notice your work and opportunities will begin to come your way. All you will have to do is be prepared for the challenges they will no doubt present.
It’s incredibly important that you understand up front there is no such thing as an ‘easy job’ when you are part of a touring group/festival. Everyone who is not performing on stage nightly has to handle multiple tasks, some not related in the slightest to their job title, in order for the entire production to successfully move from city to city. If you find yourself in a position to join a tour, you too will be expect to chip in daily to help with tasks and challenges as they arise.
To help emphasize and further explain just how demanding life on the road can be for someone hired as a professional photographer, we have partnered with current touring photog Ashley Osborn to present a rundown of what a typical day looked like on her most recent outing with hard rock favorites Chiodos. This was the group’s first tour since 2012 and demand for tickets were extremely high. Ashley took photos, sold merch, and did a few dozen daily tasks in between. The tour lasted several weeks, with each day presenting a similar-yet-unique set of challenges. You can view her daily routine below:
11:00 AM: Bus arrives at venue.
11:30 AM: Wake up, check out the day sheet for the day and evaluate it for a good five minutes to plan out my day. For those of you who don’t know, a day sheet it basically all of the information you need for the day.
12:00 PM: Roll out of bunk and kind of try to make myself presentable to society.
12:01 PM: Grab phone, open google maps, search for nearest place to consume as much coffee as possible.
1:00 PM: Load-In (AKA be back at venue to bring in all of my merchandise). This is when I go in and figure out not only my own spot, but all of the support bands’ merch spots for the night as well, gather up tables and chairs for everybody, etc. I tried my hardest to make it as easy as possible for all of the other merch people.
1:30 PM: Begin setting up displays and merch area. Usually this involves sorting all sizes and making the day’s sheet. Then I figure out what I need to restock for the day.
2:30 PM: Restock merchandise. For people who don’t do merch (haha) this basically means I bring it what I need for the day. Things we sold a lot of / out of the night before. Then I bring it back in and count everything I just pulled from the trailer, add it to my sheets and sort it all into it’s right spot.
3:30 PM: Gather up supplies and make VIP laminates for band’s acoustic meet and greet.
4:00 PM: Find food because usually by this time I haven’t eaten today. Vegan treats were always the #1 most wanted.
4:10 PM: Usually I change and ACTUALLY make myself kind of presentable to society?
4:20 PM: RUN AROUND LIKE A CRAZY PERSON DOING LAST MINUTE THINGS BEFORE 5PM ACOUSTIC MEET AND GREET BEGINS. AHHHHH. Usually during this time a merch rep comes to find me and has to count me in or asks me to send them all of my merchandise sheets or something kind of annoying and last minute (it’s okay because they are just doing their job). I’m just always mega stressed during this stretch of time.
5:15 PM: Meet and greet. Every day I took all of the meet and greet photos.
6:00 PM: DOORS. Now it’s sell time! Hang out and talk to fans, sell merchandise, make new friends with cool fans and edit, show off my semi-cool fanny pack, upload and update photos on the band’s social accounts. Priority other than selling merchandise during this period was trying to get all of the meet and greet photos finished.
9:15 PM: Typically time to go find all of the band and take behind the scenes shots before their set begins. This was my favorite part of the day every day!
9:30 PM: Set time! Shoot, shoot, shoot!
9:45 PM: Run to merch and begin uploading photos to computer, switch memory cards and run back to set to keep shooting.
10:00 PM: Run back to merch again, upload those photos that I just took and edit photos, upload at least 10-15 photos for the band to post after the show. I did all of this while selling merch during their set. This was the most insane part of my night… somehow I managed every single night to have photos done for the guys before the set was over. They never TOLD me I had to do this – so don’t get me wrong. I just thought it was important for us to do this. Fans loved seeing all of the images from their show and it makes the experience that much more personal. I love that! Makes me so happy.
11:00 PM: End of the night mad rush. At least 100 kids come to merch after the show to buy things so it’s just a really crazy (somehow fun) rush that happens in a matter of 10 minutes.
11:15 PM: Begin counting out all merch. This basically means I count every single item at my merch table, enter it into my sheets and boom. While I do this I also pack up bin by bin that way when I’m all done, I’m ready to roll my things out and put them in the trailer.
11:40 PM: Settle out with the merch representative at the venue. For those of you who don’t know, every night most venues take a percentage of merchandise sold from every band on the tour. It ranges from 10-20%. Sometimes they take state tax too. There’s some paperwork, etc I have to do with the venue during this time as well. Sometimes it takes five minutes, sometimes it takes twenty.
12:00 PM: Hang out with tour manager in front lounge while eating dinner (I loved making grilled cheese and tofurky sammies on the bus) and work on finalizing merch sheets for the night, count money, make sure everything matches up then send everything off to management/accountant, edit more photos, catch up on life, watch movies, etc. Winding down at the end of the night is always nice.
4:00AM: Go to bed sort of. This means laying in my bunk and texting friends, tweeting, reading, etc.
As you can see, there is a lot more to being a tour photographer than waking up and taking pictures. We will be partnering with several other photographers in the weeks ahead to present you with their daily routines, but I will tell you right now most are fairly similar to the one described above.
If you want to become a professional photographer, we highly suggest spending some time on our series dedicated to mastering the various aspects of live event coverage. Click the links to read parts one, two, and three. We expect additional installments to be released in the coming weeks.
Welcome to the second Haulix Blogger Spotlight of the week. This time around we are headed to the windy city known as Chicago, Illinois to speak with talented young writer who is working tirelessly to create a new kind of music site that is sure to please those with a nostalgia for the glory days of entertainment magazines. She is not alone in her pursuit, and in the months ahead we plan to feature a number of people working alongside her, just as we have done with multiple sites in the past. If you have a writer you would like to recommend for a future installment of this column, please email james@haulix.com and share your story. You can also contact us via Twitter and Facebook.
Today’s highlighted talent is the co-founder of a digital publication that has taken the idea of a modern webzine to places none of the other sites featured up to this point have dared to explore. She and her team are amongst those leading the online music journalism evolution, and it is a truly pleasure to share her story.
Highlight Magazine is not your typical music blog. They feature similar news coverage and exclusives as any other site, but once a month they also publish a digital magazine offering in-depth reporting and gorgeous pictorials (for free, no less). They cover everything that falls under the category of ‘could one day be on Warped Tour,’ and in a little over have attracted a dedicated online readership built thanks to solid marketing and strong word-of-mouth. Leading the team (along with her two co-founders) is Ashley Osborn, a Chicago native with a passion for music and photography that is second to none. We spoke with ashley about the inspiration for Highlight Magazine, balancing her rising popularity as a photographer with her commitments to the site, where she sees the industry headed, and much more. You can read about her adventures in music below.
If there is one thing to take away from Ashley Osborn’s story it’s that hard work and good networking skills are key to success in the music industry, and that goes for musicians as much as it does members of the press. Talk to people, not at them, and learn about their journeys in the business. You never know where your connections may lead, and even if the go nowhere you’ll at least have a new friend who can relate to your struggle.
Ashley Osborn can be found on Twitter, as well as in the photo pit at major music festivals across the country. Those of you looking for latest music news can find it on Highlight Magazine’s official website. If you would like to see some of Ashley work as a photographer, click here to view her portfolio.
H: For those unaware, please state your name, the site you work for, and your role at said site:
H: I believe you’re the first blogger based out of Chicago to be highlighted in this feature. What was the first album you fell in love with, and when did you know you wanted to work in the entertainment industry?
AO: I hate being that guy (hehe)! But I’d have to say Fall Out Boy’s Take This To Your Grave. It came out when I was in one of the most awkward stages of my life. A close family friend that used to babysit me (I was 11 at the time) was a scene kid and had me listening to all of this incredible music starting at the age of around… eight. But that album was definitely one that caught on. When I was around 11/12 I began going to shows a lot more with her and by the time I hit 7th & 8th grade I was definitely way into the Warped Tour scene. Never looked back. Started joining street teams for labels and assistant managing some local bands with social media/marketing. I just loved it and I loved that the community was such a family!
H: Being a blogger is about more than just typing, and one of the things you’re probably most known for is photography. Where does your interest in this medium come from?
AO: When I used to go to bigger shows I used to see this local Minneapolis (hometown) photographer, Joe Lemke, and he always intrigued me. I literally ALWAYS had an obsession with awful point and shoot cameras. I’d go to shows and all I ever really cared about was having photos to remember. I’d always snap way too many from the crowd (so weird). And eventually at a Paramore show in late 2009 I talked to Joe and he told me about what he does and that’s when I was like, “Holy shit, I’m going to do that.” After that night I saved up to get my first camera.
H: First camera? What you use now?
AO: I got a Canon Rebel XS in 2010 and then a Canon EOS 7D in 2011, worked with a 5D Mark ll for a while and I just bought a 6D!
H: Back to the site. You’re one of the co-founders of Highlight Magazine. How did you and Cara (the other co-owner) meet?
AO: We actually met at a Bayside / Saves the Day show at House of Blues. We were always in the photo pit together (Cara is an amazing photog who used to shoot for Beyond The Barricade with her co-founder, Jenna) and we never talked. Randomly this night we did and the rest is history!
H: So you meet, and we assume you became friends shortly thereafter, but where did the idea to start a website come from?
AO: I was actually at Chili’s (the best restaurant on earth) with our other co-founder McKenzie (Mackie) Hughes. Her and I had talked about our love for the industry and how I wanted more opportunity to work with (shoot with) artists because I was getting really serious about my career. We basically discussed the state of the industry for hours over endless chips and salsa + diet coke. Mackie and I knew that we wanted to start a magazine that was unlike the rest of the zines out there. One that only focused on positivity and overcoming struggles. One that could help the underdog and spread ideas/lessons across the board. I knew that Cara had interned with Alternative Press and I loved her work so I immediately brought her up. I remember telling her this idea that night and she was in!
H: Unlike most blogs, Highlight Magazine is actually available in magazine form (digital, of course). Can you tell us a bit about the decisions that lead you to create something more than your typical music blog?
AO: A lot of it was the actual magazine part. Something people could read through page by page and hold in their hands. Since we wanted Highlight to be a community we knew this would be fitting (in our minds at the time). I also was sick of all of the same old styles out there and I knew we could create something brand new. I’ll never forget the night Cara sent over the first draft of Highlight at the end of Feb 2012. I actually teared up because it was so amazing and I was so excited. She created it all from SCRATCH.
H: In addition to the digital monthly magazine, Highlight also features daily news updates, exclusives, and the like. How do you decide what content makes the magazine and what is better left on the newsfeed?
AO: Jenn Stookey is our managing editor and Anjel Lopez is a goddess who literally helps with everything. Her and Jenn coordinate all of the online side of things. When publicists come to us with pitches I try to accommodate the best I can – especially with the up and coming acts since that’s what we are about. But I send out more press requests than I can even calculate sometimes. We aim really high. 75% of the emails I get back are still no’s but it’s okay – makes it interesting!
H: How far in advance do you plan the cover articles for Highlight Magazine? *Bonus points if you reveal next cover star*
AO: Anywhere from five months to five days. Things get pretty insane… Nothing is ever set in stone. Somehow September’s cover artist (I can’t say who but I can say they are from Australia) has been planned for about two – three months now!
H: When you’re interested in discovering new music, where do you look?
AO: Honestly? My inbox. I also search around on random spotify playlists a lot!
H: What advice would you offer aspiring new talent hoping to be featured in a future issue of Highlight Magazine?
AO: Please do not Facebook message me. Email me! I read everything – truly. And if I can’t help I forwarded it to Jenn and Anjel! But I can say that you should make sure your band has solid support behind you. That sounds weird. But it’s hard for us to feature really small bands because we aren’t a huge world-wide publication (yet). We need your help with promotion and we need your fans to be excited you are joining our family.
H: When it comes to receiving music for review and feature consideration, which services do you prefer and why?
AO: I know this is a Haulix interview but I love Haulix… When I dabbled in starting my own PR company I even used it! It’s very easy and it let’s me see everything I need use and download to all at once. I also use dropbox (the entire magazine runs via dropbox).
H: Highlight Magazine is currently a free publication. Do you have any plans to monetize your efforts in the foreseeable future?
AO: We made an attempt actually in June to have $1 digital downloads. It’s weird for me to talk about this but here it goes. Highlight averages 18K impressions an issue, when we tried to monetize it we didn’t get near that. It was never our goal to make money. Sure it would be really nice and we do have plans to push it more with advertising. But we want to keep the magazine free because we want to reach new people and continue to build this community we have created. We were founded on those principals and I want to keep those values going.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
AO: I’m not exactly sure. I’d have to think about this long and hard. But I will say that Warped Tour this year was sad. When I was home in Minneapolis there was barely anyone there and that’s pretty terrifying considering I grew up around that scene. I guess I hope that this up and coming generation gets converted over to rock and roll instead of electronic and pop music. I may be 21 but if Warped Tour ever ended… I have no idea what I’d do. Just wouldn’t feel like summer.
H: Before we let you go, can you tell us a bit about what you have planned in the months ahead?
AO: In regards to Highlight, the team is ever growing. One of my writers just stepped up to manage our digital marketing. I can’t really say that I’m thankful for the team enough. We’re incredibly small but we are all passionate about the industry and have the same vision. I’m very proud of what we have done. We won’t stop until we get Fall Out Boy, Paramore or One Direction (Cara, Jenn and Anjel really want One Direction – hehe).
In regards to my photo work, it’s been pretty all over the place. I’m just trying to focus on landing a tour that I can afford to take because all I’ve ever wanted to do was document that side of the industry. I just have so many ideas and I want to keep pushing myself in every single way I can. This year I’ve been lucky enough to have done a few short tour runs and it was so nice to get my shoes wet… But I really want a full US or UK/Europe. As of now I’ll just be in Chicago working my boring day job and traveling a bit working on some small projects.
