I recently visited Nashville to catch one of the eight Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit concerts at the Ryman Auditorium. We spent two full days in the city and were able to do the full Country Music Hall of Fame tour, which included visiting historic RCA Studio B.

Some of music’s most famous icons such as Elvis Presley, Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton, Charlie Pride, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins, and many other legendary artists, have recorded there. It is considered to be one of the most important recording studios of all time and I’m thankful to have had the chance to step inside those walls.

Below are some of the images I took throughout the weekend.
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Vinyl Tap Record Store & Bar

Bar Continental

This was a brand new listening bar located at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Broadway. Sean Brock is the owner ( the guy behind the turntables in the photos) and he is a world renowned chef. He’s been featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. Sean currently owns and operates four restaurants in Nashville.

Country Music Hall of Fame

RCA Studio B

This historic recording studio has incredible vintage analog gear on display, a lot of which were custom made for the studio throughout the years. The tour guide was good, but the tour was more of an Elvis history lesson than a tour of the studio. I would have personally enjoyed learning more about the recording equipment used throughout the years, but I understand that a majority of visitors are there because of Elvis.

Original recording console.

This Steinway, nicknamed the “Elvis Steinway Piano” was considered to be Elvis’ favorite piano and hasn’t moved from this studio since opening in 1957.

The “x” on the floor marks the optimal location for vocals in the room and is where majority of the great singers stood during recording sessions

Carter Vintage Guitars

This was another spot that I discovered through YouTube and I’ve been watching their content for many years. Carter Vintage specializes in rare, vintage guitars that can range in price from $3,000 to $600,000. Guitar greats like Jason Isbell, Billy Strings, Laur Joamets, Marcus King, Miles Miller, and other amazing pickers have recorded songs using vintage items at their store.

Broadway/Downtown

Ryman Auditorium

Last time I saw Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit was at the Fox Theatre in Detroit back in 2019. Jason has released plenty of new music since then, so it was time to catch another show. Jason and his band do an eight night residency at the Ryman every year, so I thought he would be the perfect band to see as my first Ryman show. The Ryman is one of the most historic music venues in the world that’s still operating to this day and so many great musicians have played on that stage. I can say with confidence that this was one of the best sounding venues I have ever been to and I already can’t wait to go back.

On December 15th, Every Time I Die hosted their 15th annual holiday show at Buffalo Riverworks in Buffalo, NY. 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the band, so this year I made it a priority to finally attend after years of wanting to join in on the fun.

With the help of the fine folks over at Epitaph, I was fortunate enough to have the privilege of photographing the show. I don’t have as many opportunities to photograph shows these days, so it felt great being back in the barricade again. 

The following images are what I managed to capture of what was one of the best shows/lineups I have seen in years. I hope that I will be able to attend again next year!

Vein

Angel Du$t

Turnstile

Knocked Loose

The Menzingers

Bouncing Souls

Snapcase

Every Time I Die

All images copyright of Joel Pilotte. Please contact joelpilotte@gmail.com for any print or licensing inquires.

Last month I went up to my friends cottage a weekend away. I usually bring my Fujifilm X100s along with me on trips, but I recently picked up a Leica M4-P rangefinder and Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 lens from my good friend Casey Lee who lives in Dallas, Texas. Casey’s work has always blown me away and he’s always been one of my favourite shooters. When he contacted me about potentially selling one of his Leica’s, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Check out Casey’s awesome body of work here: http://www.caseyleephoto.com/

I have always wanted to own a Leica rangefinder, and now that I am working a full time job and not shooting for clients as much, I decided to do what I have wanted to do for a long time, shoot and develop my own film. I recently picked up a few items to help me develop black and white 35mm, but for now, I will continue to send colour out for developing.

While in Toronto for work last week, I stopped in at Downtown Camera and dropped off my first three rolls that I shot with the new camera. The staff there were very friendly and I ended up talking with a gentleman named Pierre who shoots a ton of film with a Leica M4-2. He helped set me up with everything I need to develop my own black and white at home. 

Anyways, I thought I would share some of the scans I got back from my time at the cottage. All photos were shot on Kodak Gold 200 film.

On August 26th, a few friends and I made the four hour drive up to the Bruce Peninsula National Park for the day, which is located in Tobermory, Ontario. The park is located along the shorelines of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron and is home to the The Grotto, which is a spectacular cave along the Bruce Trail, and many other natural wonders. I have been wanting to visit The Grotto for years now and I am glad that I was finally able to experience the cave in person.

There are two visitor parking lots in the Bruce Peninsula National Park near Cyprus Lake which visitors are able to park for the day, but when we arrived just after 11 a.m, both lots were already full. We ended up parking at Emmett Lake and making the hike to The Grotto. What was initially going to be a 20 minute trek, turned into roughly a 1.5-2hr 6km hike, which in my opinion, was truly a blessing in disguise. Hiking the Bruce Trail was incredible and it made swimming at The Grotto that much better once we arrived. We brought snorkeling gear and it was truly an incredible place to swim due to the clear water. On our way back we also found an awesome cliff to jump off of. Once we swam below and checked the depth (turned out to be probably 60-80ft) we spent the hour jumping off and swimming before starting the hike back to Emmett Lake.

This will definitely not be my last time visiting this beautiful national park. Next year, I plan on taking a full weekend and camping out along the Bruce Trail at one of the lakes. I can’t imagine how amazing the sunrise/sunsets are, as well as the stargazing at night over Georgian Bay. 

Below are some of the photographs that I took along the trail to The Grotto as well as our hike coming back. All photos were taken using a Fujifilm X100S camera system with the built in fixed 35mm f/2 lens. 

If you are interested in licensing any images or purchasing a print, please contact me directly at joelpilotte@gmail.com. 

All Images Copyright © 2016 Joel Pilotte 

This past weekend, I went up to a friends cottage in Gravenhurst, Ontario for three days. I hadn’t been to a cottage in over four years and ever since I visited the Muskoka area, I always felt the itch to get back up there. This was my good buddy Cam’s family cottage and it is only accessible by boat, which is pretty cool if you ask me! My father grew up just outside of Sudbury and I always enjoyed going up there as a kid. I would go fishing, blueberry picking, and do many more outdoor activities with him, my uncles, and my great grandfather.

The weekend was full of laughs, good conversation, early mornings, fishing, great food, Settlers of Catan, and we even went golfing at a little nine-hole course in Bracebridge (I lost). What i’m really trying to say is that it was truly an amazing trip with friends and I hope it’s not my last trip up there. The following images were some of my favourite from the trip.

Gear Used:
Fujifilm X100s / TCL-X100 (50mm) adaptor

If you are interested in licensing any images or purchasing a print, please contact me directly at joelpilotte@gmail.com. 

All Images Copyright © 2016 Joel Pilotte