2/12/25
by Amal Qazi
2024 was long and hard, but it brought something unexpected. Until January of 2024, I had never held a proper DSLR, only my darling little Nikon Coolpix. I was coming off the adrenaline of interviewing Oliver Tree ahead of his Alone in a Crowd tour in D.C. and with encouragement from my friends at Cineraat, had the opportunity to get media passes for Oliver's show. In the car on the way over, my friend gave me a basic rundown on his Nikon D3300's controls, and a crash course on how to take pictures with it. I barely knew what ISO and aperture were, and I was on my way to photograph a concert at The Anthem. For my first photography gig ever.
Throughout the opener I had no idea what I was doing, every shot coming out overexposed to hell and back, and amongst the 10 other photographers scrambling back and forth the length of the pit I could feel my brain splitting in two. I don't know what changed between the opener and Oliver but I just kept clicking and somehow my friend was able to beautifully edit the pictures I took and thus began my (completely unpaid) career in photography. Over the course of 12 months I photographed 12 concerts, and though I still have no idea what I'm doing and could greatly benefit from a foundations of photography class, I think I've begun to figure it out. I edit my own photos and kind of know when to adjust ISO, shutter speed, and aperture... Maybe....
Overall 2024 was a year of getting out of my own way creatively and realizing there are things to be done outside of my own head! I love to create and I feel like I'm gaining back momentum that I've lost over the years. I'm experimenting with mediums I never thought I would and I'm figuring out ways to align my work with my passions in ways I could have never imagined. If you told me back in 2022 that I'd be one step past my beloved post at the barricade and working directly for the artists I would have lost my mind. I can't express how grateful I am for the chance to explore so sweetly what I am capable of.
2024 opened up my world and 2025 it will bloom for me.
soccer mommy
l'rain
still woozy
yung gravy
michelle
wisp
allie x
homeshake
helado negro
marem ladson
freak heat waves
violet chachki
hana vu
tobi lou
maude latour
raf saperra
carter vail
oliver tree
priya ragu
