Ray Camacho

One of LA’s premier music photographers is making it happen

Photos by Ray Camacho

Text by Rich Hayden

I was doing my best to not get knocked off my feet trying to get a good photo of Cancer Christ. The fake blood, beer and confetti strewn across the dance floor was making that difficult. I ducked in an out of people and fended off elbows in the mosh pit to get what I could. A Cancer Christ show is half riot, half rodeo. Photographers have their work cut out for them.

As I weaved through the crowd, I noticed the light from another camera’s digital screen flittering around. It was attached to the arm of a guy with a mustache, slicked hair and energy like a caffeinated dragonfly. He seemed to know all the good viewpoints so I studied his moves. After he vacated a spot, I jumped in. Maybe I could catch an angle of Cancer Christ that I hadn’t considered? When I looked over my pictures later that night, it worked. They all looked great.

Cancer Christ

Eyehategod

After the set I ended I approached him and introduced myself. He said his name was Ray Camacho. He greeted me with a smile and was super easy to talk to. We compared notes and talked about how wild Cancer Christ was. The headlining band that night was Eyehategod so when they kicked in to their set, we both got to work. The resulting pics were amazing.

Since that night I’ve run into him at a bunch of shows and have been following him on Instagram. His pictures of the punk and hardcore scene in Southern California are what I aspire to. They possess an elegance, rage and intimacy that can only be captured when you’re inches away from your subject. This is all the more remarkable considering he’s only been doing it for the last three years. Laser Angel is thrilled to publish his work here. You can also check out his photos on his IG page at @punk_monk_ray and on his website.