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11/03/2022

Through the Eyes of a Child: One OK Rock - PHOTOS / VIDEO

By SYDNEY and MIKE LEWIS // 10 year-old Sydney continues on her music photojournalism career.

Back in 2019, shortly after she had been in the photo pit for Sabaton, I had the opportunity to photograph Japanese rockers One OK Rock. Sydney and my wife also attended the show with me, and Sydney was convinced that she was also going into the photo pit which she wasn’t. She was so sure that this was her reality that she told me that despite having a photo pass, the bouncers would get her one which isn’t true. Sadly, she had to deal with fact that this was a show she was only watching but I told her when they came back to Portland, I’d try and get her a pass.

Obviously One OK Rock has made their way back to North America as well as Portland and Sydney has been obsessing over going to this show since she first learned about it. This became an even bigger photography need for her after going to Japan over the summer. Although she’s half-Japanese, it has only been recently that she has decided to focus more and more on anything and everything from the country. If you would have asked prior to the show if she was interested in getting a photo pass her response would have been, “Of course! They are from Japan!” The only thing that seems to rank higher currently are bands from South Korea.

I will be honest; Sydney couldn’t have been less interested in the opening bands. For her, One OK Rock was THE only reason to be there but it’s a good thing there were openers. After telling her for several shows that the lens she had been using wasn’t the best, she finally reluctantly decided that maybe it was time to use something different. Previously I did allow her to use my 35mm but with only one of those lenses, she had to settle for my 50mm lens instead. She went into the photo pit with the understanding that the lens was going to be much closer than she was used to, so she’d need to change up the way she took photos slightly. You’ll see that Sydney did end up taking several portrait style photos. She also managed to get a shoe photo. I’m not sure why she is so obsessed with them.

I would have thought that getting the changed to take photos of Sabaton not one, but two nights, would have been the photography highlight this year, but I was wrong. It was One OK Rock although her biggest complaint was that “they moved around too much.” That’s just something to try and get used to and with time she will. While Sydney has gone back and forth on if she wanted to continue with photography, she told me after this show that she wants to keep doing it. Publicists willing, Sydney will have more photos in the upcoming months.

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