SHOTS THAT ROCK:​ ONE PHOTO, ONE STORY Brent Smith of Shinedown Reaches Into the Lens. Tinley Park, Illinois, 2018

By: Evan J. Thomas

With the new album EI8HT being released today I felt like I should highlight this epic photo I took in 2018.  As you kno, concert photography is often about anticipation.

You watch the stage, study the performers, learn their movements, and hope everything comes together in a fraction of a second and you have to nail it.  

On a hot summer July night in 2018 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Illinois, I found myself in exactly that position while photographing Shinedown.  At that time it was my second opportunity to photograph the band and on a huge stage.  

The band was firing on all cylinders. The crowd was packed, the lights were intense, and Brent Smith was commanding every inch of the stage with the energy and charisma that has made him one of rock's most recognizable frontmen.

As the set progressed, I moved through the photo pit looking for that one image that would stand out from the thousands of concert photos taken every year.

Then it happened.

Brent stepped directly toward the edge of the stage and locked eyes with my camera. For a brief second, the massive production disappeared. It wasn't a singer performing for twenty thousand people anymore it felt like a one on one interaction.

Bathed in deep red lighting and covered in sweat from the performance, he leaned down toward the crowd and extended his hand directly toward the lens. I instinctively raised my camera and fired off a burst of shots.  I didn't realize that he reached out to shake the hands of ALL the photographers in the photo pit, I happened to be the first one so I was caught off guard.

One frame stood above the rest.

The gesture looked as if Brent was reaching through the photograph itself, pulling the viewer into the moment. The intensity in his eyes, the vibrant red lighting surrounding him, and the connection between artist and audience all came together in a single image.

The entire interaction lasted only a few seconds.  But that's the beauty of concert photography.

Hours of waiting and years of experience can all come down to one split second when everything aligns perfectly.

Every time I look at this photograph, I'm reminded of why I fell in love with live music photography in the first place. It's not just about documenting a performance it's about capturing the human moments hidden inside the spectacle.

For one brief moment in Tinley Park, Brent Smith wasn't performing to the entire amphitheater.

He was performing directly to my camera.  And thankfully, I was ready.