I started in 2015, when I was still living in my hometown, Warsaw (Poland). The main reason I started photographing concerts was money. I wanted to go to concerts and festivals, especially festivals abroad, but I knew that with my budget as a young adult, I couldn’t afford too much. However, to my surprise, the first event I photographed was a festival in the northern part of Finland. As I have always been interested in Finnish rock and metal music, I decided to apply for accreditation for the Qstock Festival. To this day, I don’t know why I got a photo pass – I had zero experience in photography or journalism whatsoever, and the online zine I started at that time with my friends was completely empty. From what I remember, the first band I photographed at that festival was a progressive/hard rock Finnish band Von Hertzen Brothers.

When did metal first sink its teeth into you?
What was it about the sound, the energy, or the scene that grabbed you?

It was a slow process. I started with rock music and continued in a heavier direction. Rock turned into old school heavy/doom metal (Black Sabbath will always be playing in my heart) and then it went heavier until I got to Norwegian black metal. I think it was the visual side of metal music that was a driving force rather than the music itself. Stage presence, album covers, promo photos, corpse paint – all of it fit into my dark aesthetic that became a good reflection of how I used to feel.
Music and concert photography itself have had a huge impact on my life. Finnish rock and metal inspired me to photograph my first festival in Finland, and after that, I moved to Helsinki. Seeing Satyricon live for the first time in Tampere in 2018 sparked my interest in Norwegian black metal. After that concert, I took a trip to Norway for the first time, and finally, a year and a half ago, I moved to Bergen permanently.
These days, although I still mostly photograph metal concerts, and an aesthetic of old school black metal is my thing, not much metal remains on my playlist. I’m back to where I was before, and my playlist is mostly 60s/70s rock, gothic rock, dark wave, and pop.

Your photos have a gritty vibe.
How would you describe your style, and how did it evolve over time?

For the first 2 years, I didn’t really know how to edit colors, and the camera I used to had at the beginning wasn’t at all adapted to the conditions at concerts. The photos were much noisier than they should have been. Over time, when I changed the camera, the photos started to be less noisy, but at the same time, I stopped striving for them to be very smooth. It probably started to have a direct and subconscious connection with how I create my art. I draw in the dotwork style, so I also strive for this gritty effect and ‘dots’ in my photography. Over time, I also learned to edit colors better, and for a few years I maintained a color scheme based on red, orange and blue.
However, last year I decided to change something again, because I realized that for a few years I hadn’t been photographing anything that wasn’t black metal and occasionally folk. Therefore, I decided that changing the style to black and white with a slight tint of purple would be a good idea, and it would also fit in with the aesthetic of the bands I’m taking pics of.
I also used kaleidoscope glasses a few years back, mainly at hard/ psychedelic rock concerts, because I was trying to make photos look more interesting. I haven’t used these glasses for ages, but recently I brought it to a photoshoot and both I and the artists really like the effect, so one of the photos made with use of kaleidoscope glass ended up as a promo photo on the posters.

Do you have a favourite shot that still gives you chills?
Does it have a story behind it?

Probably my favorite photo I’ve ever taken is of Carach Angren’s vocalist at Nummirock Festival in 2017. Not often you get the chance to photograph black metal in daylight. There’s not much of a story – I was extremely lucky with the lighting, wind, and gestures. I was wasted after days of parting all days and nights, that I didn’t even realise in the photo pit that I managed to take that picture.

What’s life like outside the pit? 
Do your other gigs or passions bleed into your photography?

Quite well recently. A few months ago I started tattooing, something I always wanted to do but never had the courage and opportunity to do so. Tattoing also made me meet a lot of wonderful and super talented people who are open to collaboration on different projects. Also in October last year I showed and started selling my art irl for the first time at an alternative market in Bergen, Svart Marked. In the last month, I also drew the cover art for an album that hasn’t been released yet.  Everything is connected to events and music in some way! 

Let’s talk war stories.
Ever had a totally unhinged moment while shooting – a flying boot to the face, a broken lens, or some stage insanity you’ll never forget?

I’m lucky because I’ve never smashed my camera or gotten punched in the face. The only disgusting moment was when I first photographed Watain, and my guts weren’t prepared for the smell and consistency of blood that I was wiping off from my camera for days. The smell of old dried blood and dead animal heads that sometimes appear at black metal concerts still disgusts me, so you’ll find me hiding somewhere in the back if I see that band use them . 

If you could rip a hole in time, what legendary show would you go back and shoot (no rules, any era)?

I’m a big sucker for 70s so I would probably choose Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden 1973 or one of Fleetwood Mac’s early gigs. And because I’m sentimental and the teenage version of me dreamed of going back to the 90s, I would also choose Pearl Jam with all the crazy crowd diving, Jeff Buckley and HIM during their ‘Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666’ days.

What’s your advice for someone picking up a camera and diving headfirst into metal photography?

Just do it! You will never be as prepared as you would like to. Good concert photography is a mix of skill and luck. If you are in the right place and at the right time, magic can happen.

What’s next for you?

As for photography, I will slowly give up on photographing festivals and big concerts. However, I would like to stick to photographing local artists. I think the local scene in Bergen is doing well right now, and more and more new metal and rock projects and events are slowly appearing. What I enjoy most about photography at the moment is portrait photography. It has become more interesting in a way because I do it in different places like parks, graveyards etc., with natural light, which sometimes makes the final vibe of the photos hard to predict. I would like to take photos of as many alternative people in Bergen and the surrounding area as possible. And I am not just talking about bands, but also tattoo artists, visual artists, and all those who work at the events or simply have an alternative style and are regulars at concerts here. Recently, I have also started taking photos of clients of the tattoo studio, Veles Body Art,  I work at, because they are cool af.  However, my main focus for now will be on tattooing and my art.

Forged in fire, captured in steel.

More of Aleksandra Kosa’s work:
/scythe.photography/
/churchscythe/


Author: Kimberly Baarda (baardafoto)