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.

This has been under wraps for a while now. I am so happy that I am finally able to share it on my blog. This is the first portrait that I have had used inside a CD package. I had agreed not to post it until after their CD Release Party.

They are a good group of guys and I look forward to working together again to create some more imagery for them. Check out their music on myspace!

This past Thursday, The Junction was in town to play the LiVE Lounge. Before their show, I was only familiar with what I had heard on their myspace page. Based on that and their performance I had to pick up their latest release ‘Another Link in the Chain’. I have been listening to it constantly since. Although I didn’t get it until 2011, it is definitely one of my top albums for 2010. Give it a spin when you get the chance, and make sure you check this band out the next time they hit Ottawa!

Also on the bill were Teenage Kicks and The Strain. I hadn’t heard either of these bands before. Teenage Kicks delivered a very energetic set with some great tunes. I was only able to catch the last couple of songs from The Strain, who have just recorded an EP with Bryan Ruckstuhl. If they get their way, you’ll be hearing more of them through Live 88.5’s Big Money Shot competition this year.

This was another show, where the only lens I used was my 50mm 1.8. It has seen a lot of use over the last week. I don’t ever recall using it so much in a short period of time. I am definitely more comfortable with it now, and will probably consider bringing it out more often from now on.

In the end, another great night of music. You can check out more performance photos at www.spotlight.com.

The Junction

Teenage Kicks

This past Saturday I headed out to The Rainbow to catch performances by Colin Moore, Lindsay Barr and the Bullies and Riktah. I of course went with my camera in hand. This was the first time I shot for an entire evening with my 50mm 1.8 lens. It really is a good lens, but I would have been really frustrated had I not been able to move around to compose my shot. When your movement is limited, a zoom lens really does come in handy.

It was a great night of music. Here are a few photos from the evening. You can check out more photos at www.spotlightottawa.com.

Colin Moore

Lindsay Barr and the Bullies

Riktah

Ottawa has a vibrant music scene. We have a lot of great local music being created and performed in Ottawa. We are also lucky to have a great number of artists visit our city to perform for us and entertain us. I created Spotlight to help promote the local music scene. Please check it out and let me know what you think. I hope I can help you discover some new artists and music.

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.