ONE DROP; photo Andy Ortega

This year’s One Love Reggae Cali Fest once again, did not disappoint. The annual three-day reggae music concert festival at the Queen Mary Park from Feb 7-9 in Long Beach is SoCal’s most popular show for the world’s top reggae artists including Pepper, Dirty Heads, Matisyahu, Iration, Katchafire and more.

BLACK UHURU; photo Andy Ortega

Arriving at one of the festival’s designated parking lots was easy with clear signs pointing the way as you head towards the Long Beach Convention Center. It’s possible to walk from the parking areas, over the bridge and to the Queen Mary Park but the event offers a shuttle service to and from locations that will pick people up every few minutes.

SOJA; photo Andy Ortega

There are three stages and you’ll see signs throughout the festival with the concert lineup to show you where you can find the artist you’d like to experience. Besides music, there are lots of food trucks and several areas for alcohol. You’ll even find some shopping with merchandise tents, hemp-related clothing, CBD creams and products, etc.

J BOOG; photo Andy Ortega

Friday’s lineup included Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, Collie Budz, Pepper, Matisyahu, Sublime with Rome, Dirty Heads and newcomer, 4th and Orange. On Saturday, I was able to cover One Drop, Half Pint, Alborosie, Fortunate Youth, and Wailing Souls, among others.

With my coveted photo pit pass in hand, I was lucky enough to enjoy these bands from the edge of the stage so I could get a few shots of each artist. Maneuvering through the photo pit can be tricky but this year there were significantly less photographers covering the show.

COMMON KINGS; photo Andy Ortega

This made getting in and out of the photo pit area much easier and I could do my job with less stress or worry. When the rain started coming down, as it does every year during the One Love Festival, I pulled out my raincoat and kept working away. Be sure to dress warm and expect rain!

Then on Sunday, I caught performances from The Green, Mike Love, Common Kings and J Boog. One of the things I love about festivals is that you’ll probably get exposed to new music or even a new genre.

THE GREEN; photo Andy Ortega

This time around, I became obsessed with The Green after their talented performance. The Green’s music is a blend of modern reggae, with a Hawaiian vibe. Their songs include lyrics about love, the islands, and religion.

During Common Kings’ set, I made a self-discovery. I can take pics while dancing in the rain. Common Kings put on a wonderful show that had the Sunday afternoon crowd moving to their music, rain and all!

TAKING BACK SUNDAY; photo Lauren Ratkowski

Camera charged. Lens cleaned. Press confirmation ready. All I needed to do was hop in the car and make the 2-hour drive to San Diego from Orange County. Now, I don’t make these drives for just any band. Taking Back Sunday has served as a pillar in my love for rock music as long as I can remember. Tonight’s show was extra special. Their current touring cycle is in honor of their 20-year anniversary – something not many bands get to celebrate.

TAKING BACK SUNDAY; photo Lauren Ratkowski

Last time I shot Taking Back Sunday, I was covering their show at The Observatory in Santa Ana, The Observatory North Park’s sister venue. That show had also sold out. I remember how crazy packed it was inside the venue – we photographers barely had any room to get out of the pit once our 3 songs were up. Needless to say, I was expecting the same for tonight!

I arrived early to make sure I got inside to catch the openers on this tour- Frank Iero and the Future Violents. Without getting too far into my music listening history, I’m sure we all know Iero was the guitarist in My Chemical Romance. Eleven-year-old me wouldn’t believe that we would get to see AND photograph his new band in addition to Taking Back Sunday!

TAKING BACK SUNDAY; photo Lauren Ratkowski

Only two photographers were in the pit alongside me for the first act. I was surprised by this, as well as by the sheer size of the pit at North Park. I usually compare the photo pit to a trench, but this pit was at least 7 feet wide! More room is always a plus as it gives more space to shoot from different angles and catch more action both on and off the stage. I used this basically empty pit to shoot from both close up and far away. A lot of red tone lighting gave a challenge, but that just meant I had to speed up the shutter and kick up the ISO a bit to be sure that the photos would capture sharp movement. Correcting red lighting was going to be for editing in post- something I’m more than accustomed to now!

Adam Lazzara-TAKING BACK SUNDAY; photo Lauren Ratkowski

Once it was time for Taking Back Sunday to hit the stage, the venue was packed! More photographers had shown up now. This made me ultra-grateful for the larger photo pit. With a pristine multicolored neon of the band’s logo behind them, the performance was bathed in a blend of red, blue, purple, and yellow light. The first few shots I took had me concerned – there was a lot of back lighting action going on. However, I knew this would just take patience. I had to wait for the right moments to snap. I raised my ISO until I found where I needed to be, as well as continued to change shutter speeds with the different lighting schemes of each song. In addition to the band, I always try to keep an eye on what’s going on behind me – what are the fans doing?

Audience at Adam Lazzara-TAKING BACK SUNDAY-Observatory North Park; photo Lauren Ratkowski

If you couldn’t feel the energy in the room when TBS launched into “Cute Without The E”, I would think you were broken. The crowd immediately SCREAMED along (myself included!). I turned my back to the stage for a moment, knowing there were some great photos to be made of the audience. Once our three songs were up, I spent some time getting some more broad shots of the scene from the back of the venue. It felt amazing to see such a blend of fans, many of which had been there for all 20 years of the band’s history, still supporting and participating in the TBS community. Is there a better way for a band to celebrate?

Immortal Guardian; photo Reuben Martinez

Having never been to The Parish Room at House of Blues Anaheim or having never seen Immortal Guardian before, I did my research on the band and was very curious on how they would sound live.

This band from Texas made headways with their music exposure on ESPN’s X Games and performing at NAMM Jam in the past which brought them to open for major name bands in the business.

While NAMM 2019 was in full bloom in Anaheim, Immortal Guardian opened for guitar God Marty Friedman. Trying to get in, there was a huge line at the box office to get my credentials, since Metal Allegiance was playing next door. Finally walking into this small venue, it was hard to get up front to take photos since the place was packed.

Immortal Guardian; photo Reuben Martinez

When Immortal Guardian came on, they blew me away! Guitarist Gabriel Guardian, playing both guitar and keyboards simultaneously, played a short instrumental before singer Carlos Zema came on. As a powerhouse on vocals, he kept impressing me. Everyone in this band brings pure talent to the table, Thad Stevens on bass and Cody Gilliland on drums. You could hear in the reaction of the crowd after each song that the applause kept growing louder and louder. Immortal Guardian sounds like a six piece instead of a four piece. As a guitarist, my eye was drawn to Gabriel soloing on two instruments.

With a couple of albums under their belt the latest came out late 2018. But nothing compares to seeing Immortal Guardian live. Even after the show the band hung around the merchandise booth, shaking hands and signing autographs. As I was saying before, it was so hard to get up front to take photos with a full crowd, but I was thankful for a good zoom lens. Often as a photographer I run across a band that I’m covering and get totally impressed. Immortal Guardian is one band that made me a fan. Be on the lookout for this band to make more waves.

CURTIS HARDING; photo Andy Ortega

I love the El Rey Theater and taking pics of Curtis Harding’s show there made my day epic. If you’ve never been to the El Rey, it’s on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, around the corner from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art a.k.a. LACMA. Getting there is fairly easy. There’s paid parking in the surrounding areas but the El Rey offers valet parking for only $10. There was no line when I arrived at the entrance, so I went straight up to the window and presented my credentials in exchange for the coveted photo pass. Security checked me and my bag thoroughly and then I was in.

CURTIS HARDING; photo Andy Ortega

I made my way into the venue and Algiers was just getting started as the opening band. The El Rey has an open floor for general admission and there’s also a balcony. One of the ushers there told me that VIP ticket holders can get access to the balcony, but they usually come right back down because it gets warm up there.

CURTIS HARDING; photo Andy Ortega

There is no photo pit, which means that photographers don’t have a special spot in front of the stage. Instead, you just need to be in the front early or work your way in. Since the El Rey has the best staff members, one of the usher/security personnel turned on his flashlight and created a path for me to get in front of the stage. Thanks bro!

CURTIS HARDING; photo Andy Ortega

Curtis Harding’s set immediately had fans dancing and moving. As I started to frame my first shot, I was happy to see that the lighting was nice and bright. This gave me the ability to turn up my shutter speed, so I can get clean, sharp pictures. When I wanted to get a different point of view, I gently squeezed my way to the other side of the stage. Once I had enough close-up shots, I moved back and took a few pictures for a wider view so that I could get the whole band. Then I put the lens cap back on my 50-200mm Nikon lens, took off my earplugs and enjoyed the rest of the show.

JAPANDROIDS; photo Andy Ortega

Japandroids at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever on May 30th was off the hook!

Normally when I do a “Tale from the Photo Pit” article, I’ll share my experience of a show as a photographer. But boy do I need to back up a bit and address the elephant in the room. I’ll just come out and say it – this concert was at a cemetery. That’s right. Now that you know, you won’t be as dumbfounded as I was when I arrived.

JAPANDROIDS; photo Andy Ortega

The guard at the entrance chuckled as I said, “I must be really lost. I’m supposed to be looking for a concert venue”.

Then he let me know that Hollywood Forever is the right place, you can park anywhere (and it’s free parking), and points to the venue entrance. “That’s where you want to go”.

I grab my camera bag and head over while wondering what was in store for me. Would there be some goth girl taking tickets and giving out media passes, or would it be a guy in a suit whispering like they do at funerals?

JAPANDROIDS; photo Andy Ortega

Well, the inside of the Masonic Lodge was a bit spooky but other than that, no ghouls, no Twilight-looking hipsters, no girls wearing all black. Oh wait, I lied. The opening band was just getting started and they actually did fit right in with the venue and vibe. The women of L.A. Witch did a great job to get the good times started.

During the break, a security guard tells me that someone complained about how loud the sound was. This is the second time I reach complete utter confusion today.

JAPANDROIDS; photo Andy Ortega

The time arrives for Japandroids to begin their set. There’s no designated photo pit area at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever so I make my way as close to the stage as possible. Brian King and David Prowse, the two members of Japandroids step onto the stage and the crowd erupts in cheers and applause. The music of Japandroids attracted a full house and lots of energetic fans.

Not all venues have good lighting, but the Masonic Lodge did not disappoint. I was able to get some great pictures with clear detail.