brittany o'brien FIELD ADVICE
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRITTANY O’BRIEN
I’m sitting in the corner against the window. A cup of hot tea in front of me. Normally I’d be looking at my watch while doing this — making sure I got back to work with time to spare. Today is different though, today I’m not at work. Today I can take as much time and stare out the window as long as I want. I’m home from tour after 280 days. No more musty smells, no more sweaty nights, no more smacking myself in the face with my camera. At least for a few weeks. That’s what I do for a living. Smack myself in the face with a camera every night. A more official job description? I tour. I document musicians; capture life on the road. Another day, another state. It’s a whirlwind of a career and I love it. I’ve been touring since I was 23. I had been dreaming of it long before then though. Living in Oakland, CA there is always a show to be at. Always something to do or someone to see. I became close friends with a group of guys in the scene who were on the rise. They were the ones you wanted to see, our city was lucky to have them. One day they got the call “Do you want to tour with Twenty One Pilots?” Of course the answer was yes. As Finish Ticket left for that tour, I decided I was going to invite myself along to the big shows. They were my best friends and I was their “photographer” after all. Two nights in New York City. Red Rocks. Seattle. I documented them on this journey and fell in love with the idea of doing it full time. So I made it happen.
24
