My name is Jürgen Bruynooghe, a music photographer based in Gent, Belgium. I started shooting concerts for my own website WolfSetsFire and I am currently shooting mainly for the webzine Shoot Me Again. I used to have a compact camera with me at concerts, but these pictures sucked due to the specific conditions during a gig: mostly fast moving artists and dark venues. I’m really glad I started to photograph concerts in 2017. I’m really pleased with my progress! February 2018 was a great month as a photographer as I got to photograph the 2 bands I have a tattoo of: BoySetsFire and Hell Is For Heroes!
Music is really a part of who I am. It was like that when I was just a kid and now it is even more so. Music has always fascinated me. As a kid I wasn’t really aware of the lyrics and was just singing along with the artists on the radio or TV. When I was about 18-22 years old, I loved some great programs on the Flemish music channels like ‘BE’ on TMF. That was also the time I discovered live music. At the time, someone even asked me if I lived at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels! At that time lyrics also became much more important to me, pushing me in the direction of hardcore. Up to now the number of gigs has increased every year, now more than ever as a music photographer!
If I have to name an artist I truly appreciate, then it must be Nathan Gray. I love his voice; I have seen him with several bands and always had a fantastic time at these gigs. Of the about 30 concerts (and counting) I’ve seen, my first BoySetsFire show – their reunion show in Berlin in December 2010 – will always be special to me. When the curtain fell on the tones of ‘After the Eulogy’, that was pure magic! I was immediately hooked! The past two years, Nathan has surprised me with his solo endeavor. If you haven’t heard his solo work and his albums as The Nathan Gray Collective, check it out! When I saw his first solo show in Cologne, Germany in February 2018, I was so damn impressed by the pure beauty of someone showing his vulnerability in such an incredible way. Once more pure magic!
To conclude some fun facts:
– I was wearing a Stick To Your Guns hoodie at work and my boss said to my colleague (and fiancée) that I am a dangerous guy.
– During the Architects song ‘Gone With The Wind’, I really get goose bumps. In my case it’s not cancer, but another “sickness with no remedy”.
– I really love the Hell Is For Heroes lyrics, I even have a photo project in which I apply the text onto my own life.
– My boss and some other people were really surprised that I listen to heavy music like hardcore and metalcore and thought I’d rather listen to classical music. Usually I am a very calm person, but this music is really my outlet.
(Portrait will be added later)