I am very excited to share this with you, since it is the biggest and most personal project of my career so far.

I have been working as a freelance photographer for the Philadelphia Music Scene since 2004. In this short period of time I have become one of the most sought after photographers for live music events and promotional photo shoots in the Philadelphia area. It is much more than a job. I am also a huge fan of the music. I truly believe that Philadelphia musicians make some of the best music that is around these days. I have become not only a fan of these musicians and their music, but also a friend.

Very rarely will you see me without my camera, even if it stays in the bag at a show. I try to make it out to as many shows I possibly can in between being a full time single mom, and a wedding photographer.

In December of 2008, Andrew Lipke had a cd release party at North Star Bar. The turnout included many people in the Philly Music Scene. A few of us were standing around noticing this and recommended a group photo that included EVERYONE in that room. I decided to run with it.

I made the decision that the Philadelphia Art Museum would be the most logical place to gather the people, and that due to the location, early in the morning would be the best time of day (due to parking and lighting).

I also made a decision to include everyone in the Philly Music Scene. Not only the musicians, but also the club owners, photographers, producers, etc.

The date was set for December 24th, 2008 @ 7:30am. I thought this would be a good idea since the holidays bring musicians home. Unfortunately due to a dangerous ice storm, I cancelled the photo shoot at 5:30am. That morning, I still showed up to make sure the message reached everyone, and that if anyone did show up, at least they knew I was serious, and was going to do this again. I decided that day to reschedule the shoot for Sunday February 1, 2009.

I posted this information daily on myspace bulletins, blogs, facebook, and my personal website.

I had no idea what to expect and was hoping for good weather.

The night before I knew it was going to be a cold day, but it would be bright and sunny. I was up at 4am tossing and turning due to being nervous and excited, and was out of the house with my son and my boyfriend by 6:30am.

158 people including dogs and a few children, including my son, showed up for the shoot. I shot the actual shot between the time of 8am-8:15am. It was freezing, organized, and historical. Due to 158 subjects, please note that not everyone will like what they look like, or have their eyes open. I tried my best to find a photo where everyone looked their best, and was looking in the direction of the camera. Please forgive me if it is not to your liking. I tried my best. I wish it was a perfect photograph.

There were so many people I knew, and a bunch of people that I have never met and never heard of. I have been very impressed with their music after searching for them online.

It was pretty cool to be able to bring all these amazingly talented people together in one place, and see the excitement they were feeing, by seeing friends they never have the opportunity to see, due to gigs.

I think everyone was so impressed that I got that many musicians out of bed and at the location in the cold at that time of day, at least I was.

Thank You!

I will have the photo available through me.
I will have more information on that in the next few days.
Prints will be $20.00 for each 8" X 12" print.



to see the big picture...click on the small picture above. It is in the featured gallery on my website.