Best of 2014 in concert photography

My personal concert and festivals favorites of the year 2014

I will remember the year of 2014 as the one where I wasn’t shooting that much concerts as I used to, primarily because of my new role as father of a one year old little precious :) But, on the other hand, I did shoot a lot of different stuff and a lot of other things happened, so without further ado, the highlights of the year 2014 (drumroll, please!):

• Recognitions - I was really honoured to be one of the finalists of The Alfred Fried Photography Award with my Lost in Music project (just 3 days ago, I finally saw the exhibition in Paris and it felt really good - your photos, among some fantastic photojournalistic work from photographers all over the world, with the Eiffel Tower in the back). In one word: priceless!
• Festival Lent - the only real thing I can say, is exactly what I wrote last year: "shooting for Festival Lent in Maribor, largest outdoor festival in Slovenia and one of the largest in Europe, that lasted for 16 days (!) was a true test for a festival photographer junkie like I am. Enjoyed every minute of it, can't wait for the next one!". There, I said it! :)
• Skejtaj s srcem 2014 - after a successful start last year, this fundraising skating project continued and even with greater success! Although only one day this year, we raised more money than expected and helped few children whose parents can't afford to pay for their holidays to go to the seaside.
• Exhibitions - this year I had my photos exhibited in Paris, France (The Alfred Fried Photography Award), Varaždin, Croatia (Best of - live!), Ljubljana, Slovenia (Emzin's "Photograph of the Year 2014"), Celje, Slovenia ("Sestanki na prostem, Družbena ekologija v umetniških akcijah"), Trbovlje, Slovenia (Skejtaj s srcem humanitarian project) and my hometown Maribor, Slovenia (Foto Kamra and Ulica - group photo exhibition in Fotogalerija Stolp). But, that's not all - there are some exciting plans for 2015! :)
• Mirror, mirror on the wall - similar to previous year where I fell in love with photography again with the help of my iPhone during my 3 day hospitalisation, same thing happened this December. I finally jumped in to the mirrorless camera world and bought so much praised Fujifilm X100s. And yes, as expected, I’m totally loving it and this little thing has become my "always with me" camera - I already used it on a paid job and it turned our fantastic! More on that soon :)
• Clients - same as the last years, I'm very grateful and privileged that I started some new and continued old clients relations (media, bands, promoters, festivals and organisations) resulting in my photos being published in numerous different magazines and websites throughout the world, with few highlights being: my first photos being published in Premier Guitar magazine, shooting two important gigs for one of my dearest Croatian bands Pips, Chips & Videoclips (Gričevanje and Dom sportova) and shooting a CD cover and booklet for a Slovenian musician that I really respect, Tadej Vesenjak. Like I said, I didn’t shoot so many concerts as I would want this year, but this was probably my most successful business year with some of my photos being licensed worldwide with many different clients and getting different gigs & jobs - good stuff happening, hope to see more of that in 2015! :)

In the end, thank you all so much for your support, see you around in the 2015, I'm sure it's gonna be a great year for us all! ;)

Uroš Bračič (ZircuS) @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Aram Bajakian (Abraxas) @ Narodni dom Maribor, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Punčke @ Križanke, Ljubljana (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Fran Healy (Travis) @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Putan Club @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Bombino @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Robert “Dackel” Hirmer (John Lee Sanders meets Rad Gumbo) @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Helika @ KGB, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

S.A.R.S. @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Fan(s) - Pips, Chips & Videoclips @ Gričevanje, Zagreb (Croatia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

3D Fan(s) - Kraftwerk @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Tin Ostreš (Pips, Chips & Videoclips) @ Dom sportova, Zagreb (Croatia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Pips, Chips & Videoclips @ Dom sportova, Zagreb (Croatia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Nils Petter Molvær @ Narodni dom Maribor, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Fan(s) - Goldfrapp @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) @ Križanke, Ljubljana (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Balladero @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Alen Jovanović (Goblini) @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Fan(s) - Goblini @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Dubravko Ivaniš (Pips, Chips & Videoclips) @ Dom sportova, Zagreb (Croatia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Duo Scaramouche @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Milan & Vlado Kreslin @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Seasick Steve @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Yamaguchi Miyoko (Tricot) @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Fan(s) - Carmina Slovenica @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Dubravko Ivaniš (Pips, Chips & Videoclips) @ Dom sportova, Zagreb (Croatia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Miki Solus @ Train line Maribor - Ruše, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Alison Goldfrapp (Goldfrapp) @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Mounghoon Ryu (Jambinai) @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel) @ Stadthalle Graz, Graz (Austria), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Kelis @ Bažant Pohoda festival, Trenčín (Slovakia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Fan(s) - Skid Row @ Festival Lent, Maribor (Slovenia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak

Pips, Chips & Videoclips @ Gričevanje, Zagreb (Croatia), 2014 Photo: © Saša Huzjak