Side Street Sounds

Sound Imagery

• By STEVE WEST–

Photographers Carla Coots and Aaron Winters Turn Their Lenses Toward The Night Life

Aaron Winters’ name will likely be familiar to fans of  Democrat and Chronicle’s “Daily Panorama.” His work is often featured there. Aaron retired after years owning his own sheet metal and roofing business. He took up photography as a hobby. His favorite subjects are wildlife and musicians. He has traveled to Africa on photo safari three times and to Brazil once to photograph the elusive jaguar. He has also traveled up and down the east coast to capture animals in their natural habitat. His favorite wildlife subjects are owls.

When he’s not photographing wildlife, Aaron can often be found lurking in the shadows of local music venues trying to remain inconspicuous enough to capture true candid shots of local musicians. He often comes in, gets a few shots, and sneaks back out before the musicians even know he’s there. Then it’s off to another venue. On a typical weekend night, it’s not uncommon for him to photograph as many as nine different shows.

Like everything else, his routine has been affected by Covid-19. “These weekends aren’t typical because all the shows are between 6 and 8 PM.” Still, he has managed to get out to the limited number of shows and capture some great shots of the musicians. Like Carla, he makes his photographs freely available to his subjects if credited.  See more online at aaronwintersphotography.com.

The next time you see a stunning photograph of a local musician onstage, you may well be looking at the work of Carla Coots or Aaron Winters. 

As a musician, getting great publicity photos isn’t always easy. Posed shots can often look unnatural and relying on a friend to take a photo at a gig often produces poorly lit, out of focus shots. Luckily, I, like dozens of other musicians in our region, have been fortunate enough to benefit from the passion that local photographers Carla Coots and Aaron Winters have for local music. At shows across the region, both Coots and Winters can be found snapping professional quality photos of local musicians and sharing them online. Musicians are free to use the pictures to promote their art provided proper photo credit is given.

Carla Coots lives in the Town of Pavilion, in Genesee County, NY. She received her MA from San Jose State and spent her career teaching children on the autism spectrum before retiring from BOCES four years ago. Carla’s friend, Mara Dady Jones, the daughter of Dady Brother, John Dady, introduced her to a lot of people in the local music community. “Seven years ago while I was going through a divorce, I needed a distraction and I started shooting bands. Shooting bands served two purposes: I got to hear great music, and I improved my photography skills.” She most often shoots bands performing in Genesee County, but also makes trips into Monroe and Livingston Counties to follow her passions. “Music and photography are therapy for me, and they’ve gotten me through some tough times.” The musicians she photographs have benefited by getting some great on-stage shots.

Carla’s work can be seen online at facebook.com/carlacoots.