Alec Johnson: One Shot at a Time, Capturing the New Wave of Hawaiʻi’s Concert Scene.

“There’s 3 reasons for me to be alive: a camera, diving, and love.”

With a love for Marine Biology and all music alike, from Seattle, Washington, to the ʻĀina of HI, Alec Johnson finds a new home in Hawaiʻi with a burning passion to bring all three together…

With deep roots in music, the up-and-coming concert photographer has already made it known to stamp his name in HI’s live scene. Having already captured and shot for artists and legends ranging from Katchafire, Three Plus, Small Axe, Jake Shimabukuro, High Watah, Earl Sweatshirt, and countless more…

Alec Johnson presents an infectious, burning passion and love for concert photography through a lens, style, and ‘delusional philosophy’ that has become unmistakably his own, unseen before in Hawaiʻi, with a plan to never put down that camera,

But use it to change the very scene he walks on… one shot at a time.

Who are you?

What's up! I'm Alec Johnson. I'm from Seattle, Washington, and I’m 20 years old. I'm a concert photographer by trade, but I kind of dabble in some other types of photography! I've been doing it for a WHILE… and yeah, I mean, I love it.

It consumes every part of me.

How did you get introduced to photography? How did that start for you?
It was really wild how that started! My background in music goes really far back. Like, my dad really fostered this interest in music, but my IN to concert photography really WASN’T... It wasn't something I thought about. It's because my buddy was mixing sound at a jazz club downtown, and he just got me in shooting there.

And so I was only... I think I had just turned 17.

But yeah, it was kind of happenstance! He got me in there. The first guy I ever shot was Jake Shimabukuro, and that was a BLESSING! That was REALLY cool. What a sweet guy. And then I just kept shooting all kinds of gigs there. And then from that, I met a booking agent, and then THAT booking agent got me into some festivals in kind of the Seattle area.

And then from that, I was able to build a website with some pretty reputable bands, and just use that to show potential clients. And then it was just on me to start SENDING out emails to as many artists as I could to try to get into their shows. And I would just explain that “I'm a high schooler, I'm trying to build my portfolio, and here's some of my work.”

And NINE times out of ten, they said yes, because you know, they want coverage! They see that my stuff is... I mean, I don't want to boast, but like, they were saying my stuff was cool, and I just felt super lucky.

Wow, and you said that you overall started with showing in high school?

Yeah! It really started back in high school… I had this awesome, like REALLY killer photography teacher, because I always felt like kind of an artsy guy, and then I found that I was REALLY good at THIS thing, and I just couldn't walk away. And it's been that ever since. Growing up in Seattle, I was playing music. I WAS in bands in high school, and not like anything big!

It would be like a couple of buddies and I would go down to one of their basements and just like piss off the parents upstairs *laughs.* So that was a regular thing, like the garage band kind of deal. And then, I mean, other artsy stuff, I was always kind of into drawing, other stuff like that. But once I got to photography, I realized:

"Oh my God, this is IT!" Like, dude, you're not going to be a guitarist.

You're not going to do any of that shit. Throw that away. Just like do this.

And my family SUPPORTED me, and they recognized that I was doing something kind of out of the norm... But that was also really cool. So, yeah, I mean, big, big thanks to them!

Man… and what is photography LIKE for you? To do photography in ANY sort of medium, what is that environment or different types of environment for you like, how do you do all these mediums!?

I think concert photography and photography in general, even doing weddings, I love doing weddings. You know, it's fun. Even though it's kind of a high stress environment, like something about capturing memories and really producing, for concert photography, I really look at it as its own art form.

And, it's like, it's SO creative. That's the part that I like! With weddings, you kind of have to play it by the book most of the times, do things traditional for clients. But music photography, you can do ALL KINDS of creative stuff... I think that's why I love it.

I have free range to do my own thing.

How did you make that jump from “Amateur ” to being able to monetize your own work?

It's definitely not a easy path to choose, you know. And it's certainly nothing that I THOUGHT about growing up that I was going to try to pursue... But once I started it, I KNEW I would want to.

How did you find your way to pursuing photography in HAWAIʻI all the way from Seattle?

Yeah! I'm originally from Seattle, from the north side. And then I came to Hawaiʻi actually FOR the marine biology side…

And then also because I knew I would be able to PURSUE my photography out here, it just made a lot of sense. There’s a good marine biology program, and I mean it's a beautiful place! It's going to be AMAZING to pursue the visual arts here, BOTH being: photography and film. So that's my double major right there. Marine biology and THEN cinematography.

I kind of discovered that I have this, you know, this kind of talent for composition and lighting and all that stuff with photography. And then I realized, you know, I want to try to learn video too! Before that, it was ALL STILLS. I was shooting, you know, all kinds of concerts, but just stills. And then I actually ran into people who wanted video too. They were like, "Oh, can you do hybrid? Are you a hybrid shooter?"

It wasn't even so much the concerts! It's like I KNEW I would be able to do portrait stuff if I pursued it… But also I had an IN with student media. So when I first applied to UH, I reached out to join student media because I wanted an in to shoot more stuff:

Shoot sports. Shoot campus concerts because I knew that was going to be an IN. And that’s what got me connected with the stuff out here, with Kanaka Fyah, with Twin Fin, with THOSE kinds of groups. That was JUST because I was shooting campus concerts and I would meet these guys, and then I would do the same kind of stuff I was doing in Seattle where I would share my work and get my little pitch, you know?

And then SLOWLY… kind of built into something, and I feel like now, finally this year, I've developed my music connections like what I used to have in Seattle, but IN Hawaiʻi.

That sounds kind of nerve-wracking as a photographer… can I ask what your pitch is?

Yeah, absolutely! Well, it's kind of different, right? Like if I'm shooting a campus concert, like how I got Kanaka Fiyah or somebody else, then from that, I've got ALL these images that we're going to put in the paper, and we're going to do a story on ‘em. So not only can I go talk to the band, but then I can say:

"Hey, I've got all these images. I'd LOVE to share them with you for you to promote your next upcoming gig!” So that's how I do it. I FIND their email from their website or their manager, and then I just send it over, and most of the time, they're VERY appreciative and then sometimes I get another gig out of that: “Hey, can you come down and shoot here?"

THAT’S how I ended up shooting Holo Holo for Kanaka Fyah.

What was that like the first time you ever pitched to somebody like that?

I was SCARED. The first time I EVER pitched to somebody was that Jake Shimabukuro show in Seattle. My buddy was mixing sound there, and my buddy proposed to me, "Hey, you're doing more photo. Why don't you shoot one of the gigs?" and so I just wrote up this quick email ACTUALLY in my aquarium club in high school, and I just shot it over, and the show was THAT night!

And so I started looking at ALL the artists that were upcoming on whatever list it was… and I reached out to Jake and his management, and he was performing that night *laughs*, and he still admired what I was doing! He said yes. He said they needed somebody from media, and then lo and behold… a couple days after that, my stuff was posted on HIS social media, and I was like:

"WHOA, HOLY SHIT. My first REAL gig… And now it's got a couple thousand likes…

Maybe this could turn into something. Maybe I could do this more…"

You know, I would say I got probably a little over half of what I was asking for! And that was ENOUGH for me!! I think also being a young kid is kind of, it was almost kind of inspiring to them? Like that's probably why they said yes, not because my stuff was good (because back then it probably wasn't very good).

But yeah, they see this dude who's pursuing something in the arts. “Why not give him a shot? It's free. Let's take his photos.” So yeah, that's where it started!

IT DID A LOT for me. I mean, it kind of confirmed that I didn't want to take a traditional route…

I was SO excited! And not JUST because I wanted to shoot, but I thought HE was a really cool guy to start with! At that point, I KNEW I was coming to Hawaiʻi. I had already committed, and I was like, "Hey! Man… Now I kind of have it in with this guy," so I talked about that with him, “I'm comin out! I GOTTA shoot some of your shows when I'm out in Hawaiʻi.”

*Laughs* Yeah, I gotta follow up with him about that cause that would be REALLY fun to do…

Where did your career go from there!?

AND THEN going from there, I had no website, right? I was this little kid (17) with a fuckin’ camera!

*Laughs* I was actually BORROWING the camera from my school to shoot that. So I hadn't HAD any of my gear! This is like the START of senior year, I think? Is when this happened. Yeah, my photography teacher was amazing. She was a legend. Laura Anders out there. I know you're watching this *laughs*.

She is one of my mentors. She also got me my SECOND shooting for weddings. My first time shooting weddings was with a buddy of hers! Now… I shoot weddings with that guy every summer, so she really helped me out a lot.

And kinda like coming back from the Jake show, I NEEDED to find a way that I could build off of this. So I had a SHITTY website that was built FROM that photography class. Shit, that was part of her class:

“Alright, we WANT you to be able to showcase your work.” So, we made a little WordPress website *laughs*, THAT’S what I started sharing with people. It looked so terrible, and I STILL have the URL to it! It just looked like a Word doc. It was just a bunch of photos and no story really. You could just slide down, and it was one photo after another, I remember.

So, I HAD that, and that's what I was using to then email the next people performing at that same venue. And then I think I shot maybe like five or six more gigs there? And then from that, THAT’S when I started doing some festivals. I got into The THING Festival, which is kind of big in Washington!

I got into a Seattle festival. Yeah. After the Jake show, I had some new photos that I could promote on my old shitty website, and just continued on and on from there…

What does a day of photography shooting look like for you?

I mean, it's different for, you know, EVERYTHING I shoot. For concerts. It's pretty basic, you know? I'm trying to get crowd shots. I'm trying to get each member of the band individually, nice portraits, FULL body, and, you know, something tighter. I ALSO like to do like one ultra-tight on somebody's face, normally the lead.

And then the HARDEST one is shooting drummers. I find that people kind of have difficulty with that. But, I've been kind of proud of some of this stuff I've been doing recently, like getting in between the cymbals as they CRASH and getting really close up! I LOVE that, how that looks…

And then, of course, wide shots. So trying to get, you know, the WHOLE stage. And then just now, recently, I started playing with fish eyes! So I think I'll get some more of those…

How far do you see yourself taking photography? Would you say that you have and end goal in mind?

The GOAL that I decided probably two years ago was that I want to spend my life with a camera. THAT’S what I tell people.

So, you know, however I can make that happen, I'm GOING to make it happen.

But I would, you know, ideally LOVE to be documenting marine life and promoting conservation to protect it. But music, photography is SO fun! It lights this fire in my belly that it just doesn't go away.

And yeah, weddings I love too, but there's something about music that is SO rooted in me, and it goes SO deep. Like right now, I'm wearing an Eddie Van Halen hat! Like I didn't even think about that until I got here, *laughs*.

So it's like, it just… it feels right, you know?

And I think when you find something that you care about, you just KNOW.

You just know it feels right.

And when I have a camera in my hands, OR I'm editing way late at night… and I'm on my second energy drink… and, you know, I have class the following day, there's no DOUBT in my mind that I'm doing what I should be doing.

And I’m SO delusional. I'm definitely delusional when it comes to photography because, you know, I have this DREAM... Most people are not making a lot of money, whether it be photography, yeah, and It's definitely scary, right? Like it's a field where absolutely NOTHING is guaranteed.

You're having to find clients and whether it be photography or videography in the future, it's VERY competitive. And unless you get the right kind of clientele and you market yourself the right way… you're probably going to be like underquoting people and then, you know, you're just getting by. But getting this mentor back in Seattle from my photography teacher, this dude named Lauren Callahan of Alante Photography, THAT guy, you know, he was just a kid from Seattle, and he made photography work, and now that's ALL HE DOES.

And so when I see people that have like really done it and really made it, you know, I just get way less scared because I realize this IS doable. People HAVE done this before, and if they can do it, I can do it.

What makes you Delusional in photography, Alec?

What makes me delusional is my DAD. It's like HE definitely fostered this love for the arts in me. He's a writer. And so he's always telling camp stories and stuff… It's kind of like, seeing his love for writing and his love for telling stories and his boredom with his advertising work made me want to go for something MORE...

And I had the blessing of knowing what that thing was. It was going to be photography!

And now, you know, dipping into video too, it's really just like I want to spend my life with a camera. What makes me delusional is that I have no doubt in my mind that this is going to work. CERTAINLY, there's times where it's like, “oh, man, how is this going to work right now?” But I KNOW that I love this thing… and I've kind of come to this place where I realize I AM actually good at something... A lot of my life, I was kind of a quieter kid, NOT very confident. But finding something that I actually felt good at made me really happy. And now it's like, oh, yeah, I'm going to do this for the rest of my life.

So it's HOWEVER I can make it happen…

Are there any challenges you faced as a photographer? Can’t imagine balancing freelance, photography, school…

It’s SO hard. I mean, you know. You know, bro, you know all ABOUT that. It's like it's super hard. I mean, the things that I find are most challenging are not the photography itself! I'd like to say that art is the EASIEST part, or it is for me! It's the part I love, and it's the part I care about. But negotiating PRICES, communicating with clients, reaching out to people. I find that that's more work that I actually HAVE to practice. The art comes naturally.

Luckily, I feel like I'm kind of a people person, so that's not too hard! But learning how to send professional emails, learning how to send out invoices, learning how to REALLY build a website that works. All that stuff is, I think, WAY more intimidating than the actual art of going out and creating something that YOU love, that YOU care about.

And I think EVERY artist faces a kind of doubt. I think mine is sometimes a little shorter term. I really want to make this work, and I really DO think it's going to work. That's what makes me delusional.

But the short term of like, "Oh man, how am I going to make this car payment? How am I going to do all of this stuff?"

It's like, yeah, THAT’S where the doubt sets in…

And I've HEARD other artists talk about it like they have to take breaks or they have to find something to pay the bills in the short term with the long-term goal of making this work. Just the danger is you can't put it off too far…

So it's like you find ways to fund this dream and then you just KEEP working at it. So right now I'm super lucky because I found a gig with student media! So now I can go shoot D1 athletics… and I can shoot campus concerts. And I now have the honor and pleasure of kind of teaching photography to the people who are kind of under me.

My staff of photographers is trying to show them some of the stuff I know. So now, it IS paying. Even when I'm in between gigs, in between concerts, or in between weddings, I've got still this outlet that I can use. So I'm SUPER lucky!

If you could give advice to kids who are really starting to try at photo the same way you did, what would you say?

So, my piece of advice to those who are just starting out and have the SAME goal of spending their life with a camera, whether it be photo or video, is to get ballsy. Send inquiries to as MANY people as you can... People that you KNOW are going to say no, just do it ANYWAYS because, I mean, they might say yes! That's the beauty of it, right? They might say yes.

So, take a chance. KEEP doing it. Shoot as much as you can. Build a website and then start looking for mentors. I think that's really good. Find an in, whether that's a booking agent, somebody working a venue, somebody who's ANOTHER photographer that needs somebody to do second shooting for them! OR, if it's a filmmaker, or maybe your school (if you're a student) has a cool program that you can become a part of, do that. It's really just like, you have to create opportunities for yourself when you don't see them there. I feel like THAT’s kind of what I've gotten good at.

And that's maybe why I'm starting to get some traction. It's like, I got connected at student media, I got connected when I was in Seattle, enough to do some venues and to do some festivals. And then now HERE, from my job with student media, then I've got this in with some other bands that I hope to eventually tour with.

So it's kind of like, things come naturally if you just KEEP shaking hands!

I would find that it's 100% who you know. Because if you can get in the right rooms and you can just get access to high profile clients or high-profile gigs, you're probably going to (if your work is like, okay),

They're probably going to like you. You just got to know how to come across to them. You got to know how to REALLY like sell yourself. And that's, I don't know, I think I kind of have a natural thing.

Did you ever grow up thinking you weren’t going to do photography!?

*Laughs* Growing up, and pretty much all through high school, I saw myself as and WANTED to be a marine biologist…

Ever SINCE I was a little tiny kid, I was fascinated with pretty much ANY little critter that I could get my hands on… You know, going down to the park, catching snakes, catching frogs, raising tadpoles, raising salamanders, raising hermit crabs, and then keeping aquariums. That's where it really started.

I wanted to be like Steve Irwin, *laughs* I looked up to Jacques Gusteau, you know, as my idols. I wanted to have my own TV show and document, you know, natural ecosystems and bring maybe creatures that people would think are scary or kind of weird to the forefront. Like he did with crocs, I WANTED to do that kind of stuff with all the creepy crawlies under the water.

Those guys, even though Steve is a marine biologist, he's more of a zoologist dude. Like, THOSE were the shows that I was watching, and I wanted to be JUST like them…

And this is before you EVER got into photography?

This was WAY before photography! Being like four or five and starting to keep aquariums and keeping all kinds of tanks, it fostered this love for the outdoors and for marine life. And I still carry all that stuff today!

It's just now, you know, I want to use a CAMERA to get closer to that stuff. If I could choose anything, it would DEFINITELY be documenting marine life and its natural habitat to promote conservation, for sure.

I look at it like this:

There's THREE reasons for me to be alive:

A camera, diving, and love.

I don't know. I think those three things are FUNDAMENTAL to my life. And they're the reason I'm here now.

With diving, and stuff, THAT comes from younger me keeping aquariums and being FASCINATED and memorizing all these classifications and taxonomy of these different organisms, and then sketching them in little notebooks and then going to the store, the fish store with my dad! That was a REALLY big moment in my childhood, and like finding all kinds of stuff. THAT’s where the love for diving comes from!

When I'm out there, it is like you're entering a whole other world... THAT’S the cool part. You're able to leave all your stuff behind. You don't have a screen. You don't have anything. You're just DOWN there. And you're getting close to these animals that most people are not able to get close with. That's why it's so cool.

Just today we saw a bunch of morays! We saw a Moorish Idol (which is my favorite fish). It was the logo of that fish store that I went to almost every weekend with my dad when I was a little kid!

So that's my favorite for sure. All kinds of wrasses, and then trying to classify the corals too, that's gotten REALLY fun for me. This kind of DUAL love for the visual arts and for marine bio… I'm REALLY glad that I'm able to do this double major, but it's just like both those things are so ingrained in who I am. It's cool!

I think… If I go TOO long without getting in the water, I start feeling kind of depressed. It's hard, so it DEFINITELY grounds me, and I can use that energy back in photo! Being able to go to the water, able to get in nature, it LETS me get back to my work.

Anyone you wanna SHOUTOUT or give respect and all kineee thanks to?

Yes. There are plenty of people that I would love to give thanks and respects to. FIRST of all, being my high school photography teacher, Laura Anders (who I talked about), my mentor back in Seattle, the wedding photographer, Lauren Callahan of Alante Photography, my editor-in-chief here, Tanner Hayworth, and Sandy Matsui, who hired me for student media and kind of saw this passion in me…

OH, and then my parents! I feel like I've kind of lucked out and I've gotten to this spot where I'm really fortunate. I'm really lucky in my life because I'm able to pursue what I LOVE. I'm in a beautiful place. I feel like I'm starting to really find my people now, and I have no complaints… And with stuff coming up too:

I'll be doing more weddings in Seattle, but getting back in Hawaiʻi in the fall; I want to shoot tons more gigs. I think you'll be seeing more from me with Twin Fin especially ;))

And then, YEAH, places that you can see my work, go to my website, alecjohnsonphotos.com, and then my Instagram, of course, @alecphotoz with a Z.

Besides that brah, how’s LIFE in general for you bro!? How’s your most recent shoots been!?

Yah! Bro, you know, I did a concert called Aloha Bash recently (all shot in this Delusional Documentary)… and Aloha Bash is REALLY cool because it's the bigger concert that I'm kind of able to do here. We've got multiple artists performing, and it feels almost like a small-scale festival back home. So I feel totally in my element. It's when I'm the most comfortable.

And it just feels AMAZING. I'm like this little kid almost. I'm so happy. And I can't contain myself *laughs* I think everybody around me at a show can tell.

I mean, it's also funny. It's like it's the time that I get hit on the most because, you know, I'm smiling the most ;D

They say during the rest of the time I've got this like resting bitch face. But when I'm shooting, I'm happy as hell. Happy as hell. Overall, it was a really fun experience getting to shoot for Highwatah, and Katchafire was FUNN.

And yeah, actually, ALL of those guys I was able to reach out to. I connected with Small Axe. I connected with Johnny Sweet. I connected with Katchafire… And I connected with Highwatah. So I shared ALL MY WORK with them.

And I hope it kind of blossoms into something else. That ties back into the way you know how to think. Yeah. It's ALL WHO you know. And it's just that's the same shit that I was doing when I was in high school. Sharing my stuff and getting my story out there and trying to have it lead to the next thing. It’s awesome.

What is YO final message to the world, Alec?

JUST pursue it. It's GOING to work. Just give it your all. Just do it.

I feel like you CAN! I don't know, for ME it feels like I can't do anything else but that because how would you live a satisfying life for yourself? I know. I think about that all the time. I think it... You know, if I wasn't able to do what I'm doing right now, there's really no reason for me to stick around. This is what I'm put here to do. I don't really believe in higher power, but something in me knows this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

It's all about the chase, man.

Iss All. ‍ ‍About.‍ ‍The Chase.

With that all being said…

Be Delusional.

follow alec johnson here.

Alec Johnson: One Shot at a Time, Capturing the New Wave of Hawaiʻi’s Concert Scene.

“Get ballsy. Send inquiries to as MANY people as you can... People that you KNOW are going to say no, just do it ANYWAYS because, I mean, they might say yes! That's the beauty of it, right? They might say yes.”

- Alec Johnson