Capturing the Beauty of a Rave
Photos taken on Nov. 23, 2024 and Feb. 1, 2025, for The State Press. Additional writing added for personal use on Jan. 14, 2026.
Raving has become a critical part of my life. It is my safe space, my community, my home away from home. Better Together at Rawhide Festival Grounds was the first rave I got the opportunity to cover as a photographer in November 2024.
Up until then I had only been an attendee at raves. I was elated to capture the feeling of love at a rave through one of my favorite mediums. Although bass music has my heart, it was fun to switch it up and cover a house-forward festival. KAYTRANADA, Fisher, Bonobo and more, graced the decks with high-energy beats and created a lighthearted atmosphere to take photos.
I had covered some other music events prior to Better Together, but photographing a rave was a completely different ball game that I absolutely loved.
In early 2025 I got my second chance to cover a rave at Rawhide Festival Grounds. This time it was a headliner I loved and listened to on repeat. SLANDER, supported by Kai Wachi (another one of my favs), Moody Good b2b Chee, and Vctre b2b CopyCatt, brought heavy dubstep and emotional melodies to the desert.
The bass shook my body as I clutched my camera barely 5 feet away from the stage — I was in my happy place. I loved covering Better Together, but SLANDER changed the game for me because it was the exact kind of show I would’ve bought tickets for on my own. Despite the music at each being on two different sides of the spectrum, the actual process of photographing them was the same.
Even though trying to take a perfectly exposed photo between total darkness and more lasers than you could imagine is a bit of a challenge, there is nothing that compares to seeing what your lens sees. The crowd shots of friends dancing together, the smile of the DJ when the song transitions, the passing of trinkets between strangers — they perfectly express the welcoming community and presence of PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect & Responsibility) at a rave.
