Litwin Takes Photography to Professional Level

 

As the band takes the stage, the crowd erupts in applause and cheers. The music begins to play and the show starts. One member of the audience snaps photo after photo of the band, trying hard to get the best shot of the group as possible.

  The  photographer is none other than SKHS senior Sam Litwin.

  Litwin goes to dozens of concerts each year, taking photographs of the musicians while they perform, and sometimes interviewing them. Litwin also operates his own website called “Arsenal of Sound.”

  This website documents concerts from around New England through photography and reviews. Litwin attends concerts of many musical genres, including rap, hip-hop and rock.

   “About 98 percent of the time I spend photographing. Sometimes I’ll interview bands before or after the show, and sometimes I write reviews,” Litwin said of his experience at most concerts.

  Litwin said he also goes to some concerts for the pure enjoyment

  Litwin’s talents have been recognized by many, including Rolling Stone, which featured his photograph of Ben Gibbard, the lead singer and guitarist of Death Cab For Cutie. Litwin took the photo for a Rolling Stones article titled “Death Cab For Cutie Dry Off New Songs In Providence.”

  In addition Litwin has also sold photographs to newspapers like the Providence Phoenix, as well as various record labels.

  According to Litwin, he averages about ten to twelve concerts per month, all while keeping up with his schoolwork and a job at Colvitto’s, not to mention other activities.

  “I like to do the same stuff any teenager,” said Litwin, adding that he plays some guitar and enjoys going on bike rides.

  Litwin says that he got into concert photography when he was 13, after talking to a photographer at a concert. After this, Litwin’s interest in concert photography grew, and eventually became a major part of his life.

  Litwin’s biggest influence as a photographer is a man named Jeremy Saffer, a fellow concert photographer.

  “He was at the first concert I ever photographed,” said Litwin. “His work is fantastic.”

  Saffer has photographed many bands, including 30 Seconds To Mars and Atreyu. He also photographs models.

  After taking the dive into concert photography, Litwin set up his first website, titled Entertain New England. The website was successful, and he kept it up and running for two and a half years. His current website, Arsenal of Sound (www.arsenalofsound.com) was set up a year and a half ago, and it now holds all of his concert photos, along with interviews, reviews, event schedules for Southern New England and information on local bands.

  Some of Litwin’s most recent concerts have included such bands as Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte and Gogol Bordello. For each of these concerts Litwin takes many photographs in an attempt to capture the passion and excitement of the musicians as well as those attending the event.

  There are certain perks to being professional concert photographer according to Litwin, such as the free tickets.

   “The band just puts me on a guest list. It’s a nice little perk,” he said.

  Even though he technically works at the concerts, the SKHS senior said, “it’s lots of fun.”

  Though Litwin had intended to take the photography class at SKHS, he decided not to when he discovered that the class does not focus on digital photography

  Litwin plans to go to college for photography and eventually turn his passion into a career.

  “Columbia University and the Barton Institute are the big two schools for me now,” said Litwin, who hopes to one day take pictures across the globe.

  Though Litwin mainly focuses on concert photography, he does reviews and interviews as part of his website.  He said that though he likes to meet and interview musicians, he finds it to be “a little more tedious than photography, because you have to transcribe everything.”

  There are not many people who can say that they had a teenage life similar to Litwin. He goes to more concerts in one year than many can say they have gone to in their whole lives.

  Litwin has done something that many teens dream about. He has turned a hobby and a passion into a career.

  As a photographer, Litwin has done many things and taken many pictures. But, when asked what his biggest success has been in photography, Litwin replied, “probably that I’ve been able to do it all by myself.”