02/11/2025
As we approach mid-February, I find myself reflecting on the absolute whirlwind that was 2024 — a year that pushed my photography activities to their limits. Saying it was the busiest and most exhausting 12 months I’ve ever had behind the camera would be an understatement.
Over the year, I worked on three music cruises — Monsters of Rock, Cruise to the Edge, and On The Blue — along with eight massive music festivals: Summer Breeze Brazil, Welcome To Rockville, Sonic Temple, Inkcarceration, Rocklahoma, ProgPower USA, Louder Than Life, and Aftershock. Does that sound like a lot? That’s because it was. I walked hundreds of miles, flew thousands more, and pressed the shutter an astonishing 269,423 times. By the time I wrapped up two back-to-back Iron Maiden shows in early November, I was running on pure adrenaline — and maybe some energy drinks.
Through it all, I had the privilege of working alongside some of my favorite musicians and bands, as well as the most passionate and genuine label reps, PR professionals, fellow photographers, designers, writers, and friends (you know who you are!). I captured images that I’m incredibly proud of, and more than anything, I cherished every single moment. If there’s one thing life has taught me, it’s to never take these opportunities for granted — I remain deeply grateful for every experience.
Looking back, it’s impossible to choose just a handful of favorite shots from 2024, so I’ve decided to break this retrospective into themes. If I had to describe my year in one word, it would be FIRE. And fittingly, the first theme is just that — FIRE. These images are among the hottest of the year and trust me, there’s plenty of flames to prove it. Now, don’t be shy; show me your best fire shots from 2024!
PS: Here are some tips if you wanna up your game when capturing flames/pyro the next time:
* Photographing on-stage pyro presents a challenge due to the flames' extreme brightness and fast movement. Since flames are the brightest part of the image, you must meter for the highlights to prevent them from overexposing and losing detail.
* Don't be afraid to underexpose, even if your photo looks dark (in case you are using mirrorless and you can see the scene in front of your eyes before pressing the shutter). You will be able to recover shadow detail in post-processing.
* Flames move quickly, and a fast shutter will capture their shape and texture. 1/500s or faster is ideal for freeze motion. Also, use burst mode and fire a bunch of shots. Why? As the flames move up, their brightness change, and also you wanna capture them at their peak "formation" in the air. It's nearly impossible to wait and press your shutter once, to "freeze" the right moment, as everything happens too fast for your senses to react (unless your camera has a pre-capture feature)
* Use a smaller aperture (higher f-number, like f/5.6–f/11) to help control brightness. Keep the ISO as low as possible in conjunction, without turning your image pitch black.
* Be prepared to lose the opportunity to capture any other "cool" things happening on stage if you really wanna nail down the moment with the flames. You can't properly expose two things happening second apart with totally different lighting conditions.
* Needless to say: shoot RAW and in manual mode. Any "Auto" modes may adjust exposure unpredictably due to the sudden brightness of pyro.
* If possible, learn the cues for pyro bursts by paying attention to the song's timing or choruses so you can be ready with proper exposure and framing. Pyro often creates strong backlight behind performers, so exposing for silhouettes can be a creative choice
