Matthew Ashby Photography

I Am The Avalanche | The National | Richmond, VA | 6/14/2026

I AM THE AVALANCHE put on a rager of a set at The National opening for Thrice. Tons of energy on stage, tight musicianship, and even a shout out to Uncrustables. I wasn’t familiar with them before, but I sure am now. I made my way through their discography while I was editing photos from the show, and they’ve gained at least one new fan. Well, two probably—in between sets I chatted with one of the security guys, who was also impressed by what he heard on stage. Check out their new one “The Horror Show” if you’re into music that makes you want to start a bar fight.

Thrice | The National | Richmond, VA | 6/14/2026

Here are all the presentable black & white film photos from Sunday’s THRICE show. B&W film is the coolest, so I try to shoot a roll of it at every show I photograph (and, really, whenever else I can). Stage lights render with so much texture on film, and the grain of low-light film brings in its own character to the image. It also helps when the band that you photograph is Thrice. Because they’re really really good. Awesome show. Awesome band.

Nerd photo stuff:
📷 Canon Elan 7s & EF 50mm 1.2
🎞️ Delta 3200
🧪 Self-developed and scanned

Way back in September, and I met up to mess with some experimental film, and we got some fun and colorful results. We also took some normal photos, but I never posted them because I’m terrible at social media. So here they are! The first four are 35mm film and last four are digital.

Bethany Beach on film from a family trip back in March.

📷 Canon Elan 7s & EF 50mm 1.2
🎞️ HP5+ & Portra 400
🧪 Color film developed by | B&W self-developed

Black & white film flashback to January for the coldest photoshoot ever with . Check out the snowflakes falling in the second picture! I’m looking forward to venturing out to this spot again now that spring is here.
Nerdy camera stuff:
📷 Canon Elan 7s & EF 50mm 1.2
🎞️ Delta 400
🧪 Self-developed and scanned

My kid is awesome. Her all-star cheer team won first place at their final regular-season competition of the year. She and her teammates have been working incredibly hard all season, and it was so gratifying to see them rewarded for their effort and dedication. We celebrated the occasion with a few sunset photos, and, thankfully, Mother Nature didn’t disappoint.

Happy one-week anniversary to these two! I know I’m biased because of my own beach wedding, but beach weddings are the best. Yes, even in March when it’s too cold for a pre and/or post-ceremony swim in the ocean.

Rebecca Porter & The Rhinestone Roses | Jammin’ Java | 2/26/2026

I stayed up way too late last Thursday night to get my country on with at . Lack of sleep aside, it was great meeting the gang, hearing some excellent tunes, and chatting photo stuff with .

Modern Color | Baltimore Soundstage | 10/29/25

Psyched that I got to photograph doing their thing.

This is probably as close as I’ll ever get to being a wildlife photographer for National Geographic. That’s ok, though; I doubt lions would let me pet them mid-photoshoot like Lemmy here did. Check out his big smile in the last photo!