A Three-Day Showcase of Live Performance Photography + Live Music

 “My passion for shooting live music is like a hunt, I search the stage looking for moments then I go in for the capture!” 

MARK WEISS was a 14-year-old kid from New Jersey when he made a deal with a neighbor to cut his lawn in exchange for a 35 mm camera. Thus began a lifelong journey of rock and roll mayhem that continues to this very day.

“I had a steady list of customers, but I was always looking for more lawns to cut. The next day I knocked on the door of a neighbor with a seriously unkempt lawn: “Hi, my name is Mark. I live down the street. I noticed your lawn is a bit long, can I help you by cutting it?” The neighbor told me he mowed his own lawn. I kiddingly replied, “It doesn’t appear that way.” He smiled and told me if I mowed his yard for the season, he’d give me a camera. Then he went inside and came back out holding a Bell & Howell Canon FP. It looked like it was worth a million bucks to me. I said, “Sure.” After a few cuts, he gave me the camera in good faith.”

“I loved everything about photography – directing, developing film, and most of all, printing and giving the photos to my friends and family. But high school began and, in time, I started to lose interest in taking photos. Aside from shooting a few family events, my camera took its place on my shelf as a paperweight. Then, at the end of my first year of high school, I saw the light. My older brother, Jay, surprised me with 10th-row tickets to see Eric Clapton and Santana at Nassau Coliseum for my birthday. My parents bought me a 200mm lens. On June 28, 1975, Jay and I made the two-hour trek to Long Island. Though I was stopped by security after shooting just a few frames, I managed to get a couple good photos of Clapton. I knew then and there I wanted to be a rock & roll photographer.”

“Subject, light, composition, gesture. If these four come together I may have a pretty good image.”  

For 30 years Frank Veronsky has photographed an eclectic array of celebrities, personalities, executives, notables and outstanding unknowns, that are all just as dear to his heart.  

He aspires to utilize his gift of photography, natural good looks, and sense of humor for his own gain, and the good of mankind, whenever possible. 

He lives with his wife and business partner Jennifer Pierce,  and their two sons, Nicholas and Alexander. 

Frank has worked with The Rockefeller University, NJ Monthly, Glamour, Young Audiences, Adweek Magazines, Comedy Central, Good Housekeeping, People Magazine, Simon & Schuster, Reader’s Digest, Doubleday Publishing, The Wall Street Journal, Thomas Edison University, Cambridge University Press, Adventure House, Holt Publishing, Robert Woods Johnson University Hospital, People en Espanol, Infashion Magazine, Vanity Fair, Money Magazine, Fast Company, New York Magazine, Business Week, Swimsuitsdirect, Digital Photo Academy, Manfrotto, New Jersey Monthly, Penton Publishing, Spy Magazine, Psychology Today, Lyons & Associates, Hub International, ChooseNJ, Windup Records, Working Woman Magazine, Sesame Street, Sony, Data Color, Lensbaby, Parham/Santana, Rolling Stone, Corbis, Joe Jackson, Parade Magazine, and too many more to list. 

“I want to capture what I love.”

Laura DeSantis-Olsson is a music portrait photographer from the greater New York City area. For the past twelve years she has been creating poignant images of artists and musicians in the rock, metal, pop, and alternative music genres. Her portfolio of work includes such headlining bands as Rush, Incubus, and Guns N Roses; solo artists including Madonna, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Rihanna, Cher, and Vance Joy; as well as artist from the likes of Billy Joel and Nils Lofgren of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. 

Laura is as passionate about their music as she is about these artist’s themselves. “I feel empathy towards The Boss’ lyrics as he paints lyrical portraits of our human story. I enter a light hearted romance with Vance Joy and a dance party with Shakira.” 

Reaching further into the psychology of music, Laura works with The You Rock Foundation (yourockfoundation.org). A non-profit which aims to capture video statements of encouragement and support, given by music artists, to help anyone struggling with low self-esteem, depression and sense of separation. The foundation’s artist testimonies let anyone who is struggling know that life goes on and “gets better.” “Pain is Temporary” – Corey Taylor (Frontman, Slipknot/Sone Sour)

“As the photographs I take are posted on social media or published in magazines they are only seen and understood for a brief period of time. Instead, if these images are printed and placed on display they become more lasting as they are viewed on a regular basis.”

“It’s in my blood! From the stage to the pit.” 

Gino DePinto is a New York based photographer specializing in portraits and live events. He has photographed hundreds of actors, musicians, and celebrities over the past ten years. 

Having been on the other side of the lens as a guitar player for Dragpipe (Interscope Records), his love and passion for creating photos with attitude and movement are in his DNA.

 “As a pop culture fan, I like capturing this moment in time in the entertainment world” 

Noam Galai is a commercial celebrity and entertainment photographer based in New York City. He specializes in studio photography, live events, concerts and red carpets. 

Noam is a Getty Images and WireImage contributor and photograph entertainment-related assignments for them on daily basis. His work has been published in all major outlets in the US as well as internationally – to name a few: People Magazine, USA Today, LIFE Magazine, National Geographic, The Rolling Stone, Vogue, Us Weekly, Sports Illustrated, and Time Magazine.

“Aside from photography, I’m a big sports (basketball and soccer) fan, and I love anything related to mainstream and pop music. I also like eating and cooking.”

You may know Noam from his kind of crazy story about ‘The Stolen Scream’ – a self portrait that became one of the most used images of our time. In early 2006 he took a self portrait showing himself screaming and posted it on his website. Fast forward to today, this once-private image is now one of the most used images of our time. What started as a low (no) budget photoshoot in his NYC apartment is now an iconic image used around the world in protests, products and advertising, or just for art. Noam’s face/image became part of popular movements that brought down several world leaders, in places he has never been in. Not to mention, all this happened without any of his knowledge or permission.  You can view images on his website under “The Stolen Scream”.