The newest installment of A Year of Pandemic: Catching up with Central Ohio’s Concert Photographers features Matt Ellis! Matt is known for his photographs the Columbus Crew and live shows for Columbus Underground.
The idea for this series is to reconnect with the local photographers we see at the stadiums for international tours as well as the local concerts at small clubs and basically to give everyone some love with some fun Q&A questions.
Instagram: 3songsandgone
Shows are slowly coming back but will be different. What do you see changing for songs in the long run?
I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit and to be honest I’m a little worried that photographers may not get to enjoy the access we once had. I hope I’m wrong but I do think we’ll see more back of house or soundboard shoots and maybe a cap on the number of photographers at shows. Hopefully, if those things do happen, it’ll be a short term thing as we keep on heading towards normal again.
How have you been spending the pandemic? Have you been shooting or involving yourself in some other creative activity?
I bought a drone last spring and I’ve been enjoying that a lot. So far I’ve had five different ones. I’ve crashed one in a river, one in a tree, one into a wall and another that just wasn’t that great. But the fifth one, well that one has been great. Drone photography wasn’t really a thing I was interested in until I started playing around. It’s also probably the ultimate social distancing photography.
I’ve been lucky enough to continue photographing Columbus Crew too. We had to photograph in an empty stadium and with challenging shooting restrictions but it was just another thing to adapt and roll with in what’s been a whacky year.
What is keeping you inspired?
Currently it’s the stream of concert announcements that are coming thick and fast that’s making me excited about getting back to shows and thinking about upgrading a lens or two from my aging collection.
What was the last show you shot?
I got to shoot Fitz & The Tantrums for one of the drive-in shows out at Westland in the fall and that was a pretty bizarre experience. Turning around to look at the crowd and seeing a bunch of parked cars and people dancing on their own isn’t a thing I ever want to be normal.
The last actual real concert I shot was The Glorious Sons at The Newport. That one feels like it was a lifetime ago.
What show were you most looking forward to that was cancelled or rescheduled?
Probably Airborne Toxic Event as they’d been gone for a few years and their comeback basically got put on hold.
Local H were another band to release an album early in the pandemic and not be able to tour it so I’m really looking forward to that one when they come to Columbus.
What are you most looking forward to in a post-pandemic world? (Whenever that may be)
I just want to go to a bar and be able to order a beer without having to scan a QR code or yell through a screen. It’s the simple things really.
