the never @ local 506, originally uploaded by minervacat.

Sometimes I think that I should give more credit to the bands that I shoot over and over again, for being patient with me and always infinitely intriguing photographically. Local bands in the Triangle have given me such great opportunities to hone my shooting through repeated exposure to them, and Jonny, Joah and Noah of the Never have been some of the most patient of those bands, not to mention the fact that Jonny (seen here) is not only an absolute hyperactive blast of a drummer to shoot, but he’s also quickly become one of my most vocal, enthusiastic fans.

Shooting the same bands, and in the same venues, on a regular basis makes me work harder, sometimes, to get new shots that have the same energy and freshness as my first shots of a group, and it makes it easier and easier to work in venues with bad or strange light. (Of course, I also have to admit that I said to Jonny, point blank, “Those lights will not work, go turn up the blues and the whites,” on Friday night, which is another benefit to shooting the same bands all the time: freedom to boss them around.)

So consider this a thank you to the boys in the Never (and to the whole Trekky Records crowd, actually) for being patient with and appreciative of my camera, for never mugging at me from stage, and for always, always making me sing along. Which is the point of music, in the end.