For the past handful of years I've been creating a favorite photos of the year post over at BrooklynVegan.com where I've been a long-time contributor. Click the links to see my year-end posts at BV from 2012, 2013, and 2014.
This year, however, due to a myriad of factors, I decided to stop shooting for BV once I moved back to New York in May. My last show for BV was Father John Misty for BV Chicago in April.
So, this year, I'm posting my own Photos Of The Year gallery. I've been fortunate to cover some wonderful events from South By Southwest for Spotify to Governors Ball for Time Out New York. But this year ended up being a lot of shooting for myself: go to a gig, bring the camera, make some photos. Sometimes I worked a show really hard, sometimes I made a few photos and put the camera away and just enjoyed the show.
And it wasn't just covering gigs. I flew out to California before I returned to New York. Photographed for Spotify at the beautiful Soho Desert House before renting a car to drive up Highway 1 to San Francisco. From there it was on to Portland and then Seattle - a city I've been wanting to visit for pretty much ever. I took the Amtrak Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago, then packed up my stuff and my cats and moved back to New York. I finally saw a game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and stood in awe at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.
This year has certainly felt like a transition year. Valuing myself as a photographer, reluctant to photograph things for free (and being more vocal about those who continue to undervalue photographers and the craft of photography,) returning to New York with a renewed sense of purpose and a confidence that was listing before a much-needed break in 2014.
I feel I've made some of my best work in 2015. The edits tighter, the compositions perfected, instincts sharper. A lot of that has to do with my full transition to Fuji mirrorless cameras. Starting with an x100 in 2014 and then picking up the X-T1 in February 2015, these cameras dovetail perfectly with how I see the world and how I want to shoot. It's freed me up to be the photographer I used to be back when I started shooting, now 16 years ago.
So, thank you for looking, liking and clicking on all the links at my various social media outposts. if you're a band or a client I've worked with, thank you for trusting me to cover your show, your recording session, event, etc. Hopefully, we'll work together in 2016 and by this time next year I'll be thanking even more of you.
See you on the other side,
Dominick
New York, NY, December 31, 2015