Happy DSP Shout-out Sunday! Well... A day late, anyway!
I hope that you don't mind if I flip the "shout outs" on their head this week, and take the opportunity to put DSP on a pedestal, at least temporarily.
A couple of weeks ago, I featured the Salvage Station music venue (Asheville, NC) in my weekly DSP Shout-out Sunday blast. Honestly, I cannot say enough positive things about my experiencing collaborating with the venue staff (and artists, fans, etc). I know it sounds cliché, but I feel so blessed to be part of this "family".
Well, fortunately, they all make me feel very welcomed there, especially their marketing manager, Katie, who was kind enough to lend me this testimonial (which you will also find on the Music Photograph page of the main DSP website, as well as the home page of my Front Row Focus site).
In case the text is too small to read in this graphic, here's what Katie has to say about me:
"David has been the Salvage Station house photographer for several years and is always coming up with new and creative ways for us to maximize our partnership. He is a true professional and never fails to exceed my expectations with his exceptional photography skills, attention to detail, timeliness, reliability, and knowledge. He is fabulous to work with.”
I don't plan using many DSP Shout-out Sundays to focus on myself, but a fella's gotta toot his own horn every now and then, no?
#dspshoutoutsunday
#salvagestation #livemusic #testimonial #dsptestimonial #asheville #avlmusic #musicphotography #musicphotographer #shoutoutsunday #brevardphotographer #ashevillephotographer #testimonial #davidsimchockphotography #dsp #davidsimchock #vagabondvistas #grateful #gratitude #thankful #thankandgrowrich
Starting in early 2024, I embarked on a daily / weekly "theme" schedule for the primary DSP social media platforms (#Instagram / #Facebook / #LinkedIn). Why? Because I wanted to make things more interesting for my followers, and for me!
Each day of the week has a repetitive theme, and it's own #hashtag to help followers keep track of any "day" that interests them (e.g., if you want to see the DSP book recommendations, check out #dspwisdomwednesday).
Here's a list of the daily themes, along with their associated hashtags.
#socialmedia #marketing #photography #storytelling #visualstoryteller #davidsimchockphotography #davidsimchock #vagabondvistas #frontrowfocus #musicphotography #commercialphotography #editorialphotography #portraitphotography #travelphotography #fineartphotography #ashevillephotographer #brevardphotographer #dspmotivationmonday #dsptraveltuesday #dspwisdomwednesday #dspthrowbackthursday #dspfrontrowfriday #dspshredsaturday #dspshoutoutsunday
Highlights from Day 2 of RiverBeat Festival 2026, with the day topped off by the Wu-tang Clan. It was a beautiful day in Memphis, Tennessee!
Today brings the third and final day, with Headliner Dave Matthews Band closing out the event later this evening. Gonna be a good one!
@riverbeatfest@memphopresents
#wutangclan #riverbeatfest #memphopresents #marshmello #phanogram #honestav #turnstyles #opticsink #southmemphisjeff #djnico
Just wanted to pop on here once more today to post a few shots from one of my favorite Asheville bands -- Fireside Collective -- from their opener set on Friday (for Greensky Bluegrass) at the Asheville Yards.
Love these fellas!
@ashevilleyards@firesidecollective
#dspshredsaturday
#firesidecollective #bluegrass #jamband #guitar #guitarist #shredder #shredilicious #picker #livemusic #musicphoto #musicphotographer #musicphotography #concert #concertphotographer #concertphotographer #livemusicphoto #concertphoto #dsp #ncphotographer #ashevillephotographer #brevardphotographer #davidsimchock #dsp #davidsimchockphotography #frontrowfocus #nikon #nikonusa @nikonusa
This photo was captured in Thailand over 25 years ago during my four-month journey around Southeast Asia. (I as shooting film, in case you were wondering).
I don't speak Thai. These children didn't speak English.
What we had in common was LAUGHTER.
(And, I should add, soccer / football.)
#dspmotivationmonday
#laughter #thailand#motivationmonday #mondaymotivation #inspiration #motivation #inspirationalquotes #motivationalquotes #photography #motivationalspeaker #motivate #quotestoliveby #motivationalquote #quotestagram #successmindset #motivationquotes #quotesoftheday #motivated #success #positivity #quotes #goals #quoteoftheday #entrepreneur #brevardphotographer #ashevillephotographer #dsp #davidsimchockphotography #davidsimchock
DSP was back in action in Asheville last night covering the Greensky Bluegrass gig at The Asheville Yards in Downtown Asheville, NC. This was my first time attending and shooting a show there, and it was nice to have a new challenge, but even nicer to catch up with a bunch of the old crew from the @salvagestation (who now work at The Yards).
Gotta also give a shout-out to the one and only Jon Stickley (of the @jonstickleytrio ) who sat in on a song or two (and actually sang, which you won't see with the JST!).
I hope to be back on site next weekend for the Willie Nelson show. See y'all there!
@ashevilleyards@greenskybluegrass@thelincolnlog
#dspshredsaturday
#greenskybluegrass #gsbg #bluegrass #guitar #guitarist #shredder #shredilicious #picker #livemusic #musicphoto #musicphotographer #musicphotography #concert #concertphotographer #concertphotographer #livemusicphoto #concertphoto #dsp #ncphotographer #ashevillephotographer #brevardphotographer #davidsimchock #dsp #davidsimchockphotography #frontrowfocus #nikon #nikonusa @nikonusa
Happy Friday, y'all!
I'll send you into the weekend with one of my favorite crowd shots from last year's Earl Scruggs Music Festival in North Carolina.
Are you now thirsty? I am!
#dspfrontrowfriday
#earlscruggsmusicfestival #esmf2025 #happyfriday #cocktail #foodanddrink #FRF #frontrowfriday #frontrow #crowd #audience #livemusic #musicphoto #musicphotographer #musicphotography #concert #concertphotographer #concertphotographer #livemusicphoto #concertphoto #dsp #ncphotographer #ashevillephotographer #brevardphotographer #nikon #nikonusa #davidsimchock #davidsimchockphotography #frontrowfocus @nikonusa
DSP is back in action!
After keeping a low profile for the winter months, it's time to get warmed up for the outdoor concert and festival season. But, before we look forward to what's in store for DSP in the coming weeks and months, let's look back to the early and mid years of DSP with a special DSP Throwback Thursday post...
Almost 20 years ago, not long after I kicked off my professional photography career in New Jersey, I had the chance to photograph the legendary BB King performing in Trenton, NJ. It was only my second-ever professional assignment for a concert (yes, I was nervous!). Though my trusty ole Fuji S2 camera (all 6.2 megapixels) was considered one of the better DSLRs on the market at that time, it was nowhere near the tech-spec of today's digital cameras (in fact, today's cell phones can probably outperform it!).
The first photo on this post is from the 2003 gig in NJ.
Though I did manage to come away with enough images for the local newspaper I was shooting for, I longed for another opportunity to shoot the "King", and that chance came in 2010 at the world-famous New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival where I was brought on as one of the fest's house photographers (shooting for the Jazz & Heritage Foundation archives). By then I had upgraded my gear to a Nikon D700 (two of them, actually), which performed much better in low light conditions, combined with my reasonably improved skills and confidence from four years prior.
The second photo on this post is from the 2010 Jazz Fest gig in NOLA.
Sadly, with BB's passing in 2015, I never got the chance to photograph him again.
#dspthrowbackthursday
#bbking #nolajazzfest #jazzfest #bluesguitar #theblues #throwbackthursday #dsptbt #tbt #brevardphotographer #ashevillephotographer #davidsimchock #dsp #davidsimchockphotography #nostalgic #nostalgia #memories
RIP Bob Weir 😢
More of my Bobby Weir photos from the 2016 Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in Asheville, and the 2019 LOCKN Festival in Virginia.
Here are a few "vertical" shots.
#bobweir #ripbobweir #gratefuldead #warrenhaynes #xmasjam #christmasjam #habitatforhumanity #ashevillehabitat #belovedasheville #livemusic #musicphoto #musicphotographer #musicphotography #concert #concertphotographer #concertphotographer #livemusicphoto #concertphoto #dsp #avlmusic #asheville #visitasheville #ncphotographer #ashevillephotographer #brevardphotographer #davidsimchock @nikonusa@visitasheville@visitnc@xmasjam@thewarrenhaynes
