Ardmore, PA native and self-taught photographer Jim Rinaldi’s first ‘awe inspiring’ concert was in 1975 when his brother and sister took him (at age 14) to see The Who at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. “That was it - the show was incredible and so full of amazing sounds, lights and lasers, I can still hear and see that show in my head. I believe that is when I wanted to be a photographer, to attempt to capture special moments like that.”

 

“Years later, I was able to connect with a music writer/journalist who was pretty connected and knew I enjoyed taking photos, and one day he just asked me while we were discussing things, ‘Why don't ya ask for a photo pass?’ I was clueless about what he was referring to, but soon I was typing out requests for upcoming concerts, faxing them in and hoping for a call back. I got approved about 80 percent of the time.”

 

His passion for concert photography became more career-focused in 1992 when he got involved with the radio trade publication FMQB, which was based in South Jersey. Its first assignment for him was to shoot the opening night of U2's ZooTV tour in Lakeland, Florida.

 

“To be in front of the front row, with my camera and rolls of film, was like nothing I had ever experienced before,” he said. “Working with FMQB was very helpful in enabling me to do what I love, and they got me approved to shoot many, many shows. I would guess that I had a few hundred photos printed in the FMQB magazine over the next 25 years with them.