Urban Marinade

After spending pretty much the entire afternoon at the W Hotel, Rob and I decided it was time to get some dinner and relax.  We did, afterall, have the massive Anjunabeats party with Above & Beyond and presented by Made Event to attend later Thursday evening.  And since I’ve been trying to connect with Made to photograph Electric Zoo for them on an official basis, we wanted plenty of relaxation before we started the night. Oh, and did I mention this would be our first scooter run across the causeway into downtown Miami? It doesn’t sound crazy until you realize the causeway is kinda like I-95 where people race between the mainland and South Beach at 70 and 80 mph. What were we getting ourselves into?



For the record, the little trek between SoBe and downtown really wasn’t that bad. Our little scooters were pushing 55 mph, so we didn’t hold anyone up. But our evening definitely didn’t turn out the way we had expected. Upon arriving to the Ice Palace, we got our press credentials and when on inside. We went to the back stage area and quickly found a cluster of photographers standing around. Wondering why there is a cluster of photographers huddled in one corner, we investigated the situation and found the problem. There was no photo pit. What??? No photo pit???

Here’s the thing. Made puts on great parties. They operate very smoothly and I’ve never had any issues getting credentials, information, entry, etc. But a photo pit is crucial to good photography at an event like this. You’ve got 10,000 fans packed into a warehouse to watch some of the best trance DJs in the world. The fans in the front got there early enough to secure their spot and aren’t going to move for anyone. And when when you’re carrying a $2400 lens into the show, the last thing you want to do is tackle a crowd like that. So Rob and I and the rest of the photographers clustered stage left and captured the best shots we could from a good distance away.



Listen, it’s hard for me to complain when I was given a press pass to cover the show. So I’m always grateful to be there and be able to bring in such large photo gear. My only complaint is that I know I could have captured better images. I know the photos I got aren’t terrible, but could have been hundreds of times better with proper access. So my frustration comes more from not being able to showcase my skill in the manner in which we expected. To sum it up, I wanted to show Made why they should hire me for Electric Zoo. Who knows if I’ve done enough, but Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden liked my shots. And when two of the biggest trance DJs in the world like what you’re doing, than is there anything really to complain about?

Here are a few more shots from the night.







The last photo was shot by my boy Rob. He waited and waited for the spot light to hit at the right time and snapped away. Sick photo Rob!!!