2017 CV Music Awards “Best Band Photographer” Nominees

This year’s 2017 CV Music Awards promises to be bigger and better than ever! In our 5^th year, and the 4^th year at the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs, we have many surprises in store for everyone. For this week’s issue I wanted to highlight the photographers that go out to the music events and catch the bands and musicians in their natural habitat: performing. These photographers also do band photos for their EPK’s and promotional tools. This year we had to grow the nominees from six to eight nominees.

While the CV Music Awards focuses on handing out awards to the musicians we also feel it is important to honor those behind the scenes that help make them successful and that includes photographers, promoters, bookers, managers, music writers and the venues at which they get to perform. So this week we salute the Photographers. Deadline to vote is this Thursday, May 4 by midnight at www.coachellavalleyweekly.com. For more info about this year’s awards go to pages 4 and 6.

Best Photographer Nominees Bio’s

George Duchannes is an Event and Musician portrait photographer based out of Southern California. In only three years of being a professional photographer he has been published in various online and print publications, including most recently two covers in Desert Magazine.

Ceasar Rodriguez  “I was raised in Oasis, CA. My love of taking photos has taken me to many places around the world.  I love the complicity and simplicity of taking a photograph. I enjoy taking into account all the different elements needed to take a good photo, and find happiness when that goal is achieved.  Every photo taken is an opportunity to learn something new. The simple act of pushing a button and capturing a moment in time that can be revisited and enjoyed by everyone brings a smile to my face. I don’t care what the subject is, if I find beauty in it, I will take a photo of it and share it with the world.”

Chris Miller, past winner of the CV Music Award for Best Band Photographer shares, “My formula for a great music shot is equal parts emotion and light.” As a principal photographer for Goldenvoice, Chris does much more than work a formula.

Esther Sanchez’ philosophy: “Being a part of the coolest little music scene on the planet has not only been a privilege, but a wild ride. I can’t tell you how often I have said that…in essence, I spend most of my time as a photographer taking photos of my friends and nothing makes me happier. To all my friends in the music scene…you are all my muses.”

Laura Hunt Little: “My interest in photography was kindled as a child when I won a nature photo contest. In the 80’s I attended art school and formally trained on film photography. Moves, a marketing career and raising kids put serious photography on a shelf until 2012 when a gift of a DSLR camera and a refresher class rekindled an old flame. I love shooting live performances and have a passion for local music. I have always strived to capture the personalities of my subjects in my photographs. Still photography freezes an instant in time and in that fraction of a second, volumes of a story can be told.”

Scott Pam: Music and Landscape Photographer since 1967 with a birthday gift of a Kodak Instamatic camera. A.A.S. W/ Honors in Photography & Graphic Design 1984; B.A. Journalism 1987.

Steven Young: “I provide a wide range of photography services. Live music performances to special occasions. My passion is to capture people’s emotions while doing the things they love and in situations that draw it out.”

Cory Courtney: “Music is my passion and my focus in photography. I don’t think I’d have got into photography otherwise. I started shooting shows to document the music scene in the desert. As a musician myself I take great pride in contributing to Rock n Roll in any way possible. I grew up listening to Punk music, most of it was from a different era, the only opportunity to see those bands in their prime was through movies and photographs. I see myself as a continuance of that tradition, maybe someday some kids will be flipping through a book or whatever and see a band I shot in their prime and it’ll stick with them, like it did with me.”