September was a big month for the Ottawa music scene. For 3 nights, Ottawa music fans were treated to some great performances by 15 local bands. It was 3 great nights of music, made possible by LiVE 88.5 and their annual Big Money Shot competition. Below you will find my favourite photos over the 3 nights of shooting.

If you’d like to see more, or read up on some of the bands, you can check out the full sets from night 1, night 2 and night 3 over at my music blog – Spotlight.

If you’ve been following my blog, you are well aware that I have been photographing the Big Money Shot competition in Ottawa over the last few years. Earlier this year I was contacted by the folks at LiVE 88.5, who have become aware of my photographs of their competition. They were in the process of putting together Volume 5 of their Live at The Live Lounge series. Volume 5 was to be a Big Money Shot 2010 compilation. They were looking to use some of my photos from the 2010 Finals, 1 for each of the 5 bands that performed that night. The photos were chosen and the cd artwork was put together.

I am happy to say, that my photographs have now been featured in 2 cd packages this year. The first instance, was for Become the Sun’s debut cd.

Lead singer Alan Charlton has a great scratchy voice and a very expressive face when he sings. This was great for me, as I love going in for the close up of the singer. Check out some of their music on their Myspace page.

While The Watters Brothers didn’t walk away with one of the big prizes in this year’s Big Money Shot, they didn’t walk away empty handed either. They still received a cool $5,000 from Ottawa’s LiVE 88.5.

This wasn’t the same band I saw at the competition last year. They switched from a 2 piece to a 4 piece. The change has definitely given them a fuller sound. Their performance was also livelier than what I remember from last year’s competition.

My Favourite Tragedy also walked away from the LiVE 88.5 Big Money Shot Finals with $75,000. They’ve made big strides since I saw them in the competition last year. They were one of my picks at the start of the night to walk away with a financial boost to their musical journey, and the judges agreed.

Anyone familiar with the Ottawa music scene knows that lead singer North Easton has been at this for a long time. I’m sure his vast experience will help the band put their winnings to good use.

The Balconies claimed the second place prize of $75,000 in talent development and support in the Big Money Shot Finals. They didn’t disappoint, hitting the audience with a high energy performance and a collection of great songs.

With the exception of a half song for some closeups, I spent the majority of their set shooting with my wide angle lens to capture as much of the action as possible. Having seen them at the Round 2 Finals, I knew going in that lead singer Jacquie likes to move around.

Not to take anything away from Autumns Canon, who were deserving of a top 3 spot on this night, but my vote was for The Balconies. Unfortunately for them, I wasn’t judging. I look forward to catching them live again sometime soon, and I suggest you do the same. Check out the band’s Myspace page for a sampling of their music.

The big winner at LiVE 88.5’s Big Money Shot this year was Autumns Canon. They walk away with $150,000 in talent and development support. I enjoyed their performance more this time around as I was now familiar with some of their music. When I last shot them at the Round 2 Finals, I had not heard them before.

If you haven’t heard them before, you can check out some of their music on their Myspace page.

Congratulations to Autumns Canon, this years winner of the LiVE 88.5 Big Money Shot contest and $150,000 in talent and development support. Also winning $75,000 each were The Balconies and My Favourite Tragedy. The finals are one of the biggest nights of the year for Ottawa’s local music scene. As always, it was an entertaining night of music.

Check back for photographs from the performances of all 5 bands this coming week.

The final band to perform this evening was Become the Sun. They had one of the biggest crowds of the night and delivered an energetic rocking set. In the end, it wasn’t meant to be.