Charlottesville photographer details journey into capturing moments for Dave Matthews Band

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Ahead of the Dave Matthews Band performing at the Allianz Amphitheater in Richmond on Wednesday, 8News spoke with the band's photographer to learn about his experience capturing moments while on tour.

Sanjay Suchak is a photographer based in Charlottesville and has been photographing the Dave Matthews Band since around 2017.

Suchak said he has always wanted to be a photographer and would use his mother's old Nikon film camera. Before he became the band's photographer, he captured photos for the University of Virginia.

"I was a photographer for the University of Virginia, doing all of their day-to-day sports, news and everything else," Suchak said. "An opportunity came to work for the band part-time, and I worked with them part-time until a few years ago when I left my job at UVA and now I'm just with them."

Local photographer Sanjay Suchak speaking with a person about his photography at an event held at River City Roll in Richmond on Tuesday, July 15. (Photo courtesy: Marysa Tuttle, 8News)

A print of a photo taken by Sanjay Suchak, a photographer for the Dave Matthews Band. (Photo courtesy: Marysa Tuttle, 8News)

(Photo courtesy: Marysa Tuttle, 8News)

(Photo courtesy: Marysa Tuttle, 8News)

Suchak said the best part of touring with the Dave Matthews Band is the people.

"The band has all become really good friends [to me] and the crew is like family," Suchak said. "And the fans... you get to know them all by name."

Suchak said a lot of fans will follow the band from city to city.

"You'll see people from Seattle pop up in Virginia or people from Virginia in Indianapolis, and it's just nice to see them everywhere they go," Suchak said.

His favorite part about being a photographer is learning about other people's lives, journeys and is a "great passport" to discovering things that he would never otherwise experience.

When asked about his most memorable concert he has photographed, Suchak said it was the Dave Matthews Band show in Charlottesville in 2017, where Stevie Wonder came out at the end of the band's set and performed "Superstition."

"To me, that was really special, and sort of marked the beginning of my time as a photographer for the band," Suchak said.

Suchak said the most important thing about working in music, whether as a photographer or in another job, is being a person who can "hang."

"You have to be the person that people like being around," Suchak said. "If you are an agreeable person that people can get along with and that helps out, any other skill or lack thereof that you have, you can make up for as long as you are a person that people like being around."

As for his favorite song by the Dave Matthews Band, Suchak said it would be "Drunken Soldier," which he said the band does not perform very often.

When photographing a show, Suchak said he works to get "safety shots" first, which are photos he said he knows the band will use every night.

"Then I work in an outward spiral and get a little bit weird and a little bit crazy," Suchak said.

Suchak said he will also make notes on the setlist of which band member will have a solo and do different things during the sets so he knows where to position himself to capture a photo during a show.

Before a show, Suchak also said he stretches because being a photographer is very labor-intensive, as he has to hide, get out of the way and crawl sometimes.

Suchak also gave the following advice for those who are aspiring to pursue a career in photography:

"I think if you really want to do something as a career, don't let people tell you that you can't, just try to do it, and you never know who that band you photograph or play with or that artist that you know, where they're going to end up one day. The best music and the best art are happening right next door to you in a small club. Start giving them some attention and you'll never know where they'll end up."

People can meet Suchak from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16 at River City Roll, located at 939 Myers Street in Richmond, where he will be selling prints of some of his photography.