Angelica Babiera | Arts Editor
Featured image: Anton Mak stays true to his photgraphy and editing skills. | Anton Mak
Scrolling through any Instagram feed, Anton Mak’s photos are undoubtedly hard to miss. Going through his work, a black-and-white photo of GoldLink, an American rapper who fuses his songs with different genres such as hip-hop, indie, and dance, can be found amongst those of other big-name musicians.
The fourth-year Kinesiology student captures GoldLink standing on stage with a microphone in his hand, ready to recreate the venue with a homecoming block party. The intensity of the photo makes followers feel as though they were at the concert partying with GoldLink.
Early in his photography career, Mak didn’t start taking photos for big-shot names like GoldLink or Drake. Rather, he began by taking photos for smaller bands and lesser-known artists that performed in camera-friendly venues in Toronto. This helped him build up his portfolio, which he sent out to various media outlets, garnering him access to bigger names and events.
Instead of focusing on capturing indie artists or rock bands, Mak chose to delve further into the hip-hop scene. Choosing the hype over the comfort of mellow music, Mak means well when he stays up until one in the morning to capture the perfect shot of the performer and their essence on stage.
“Hip-hop shows are consistently the most electrifying shows I shoot, the fusion of the energy from the crowd and the energy of the performer makes for great pictures. Jumping photos are a lot more interesting than photos of artists glued to the mic stand, in my opinion. I guess I can also consider the other photographers in the pit as part of the environment, I look at their content the next day to see how I could’ve shot the show differently,” Mak explains.
The York student photographer has over 1,000 followers and growing on his Instagram and has taken photos of artists like Post Malone, Miguel, The Weeknd, and more. Not to mention, Mak has also captured some great photos of York Lions games.
However, as much as his career grew from the impact of social media on talented photographers like Mak, he still doesn’t recognize Instagram as his main source of inspiration.
“Social media is extremely fast-paced. Pictures get replaced and forgotten about very quickly. My inspiration comes from books, and photographers that have had staying power in the business. I try not to chase fads by keeping true to my own editing process.”
On top of this, Mak became the president of York’s Photography Club this year, which has given him more opportunities to grow as a photographer.
“I’ve been able to network with many other students that are passionate about photography. They’ve taught me quite a bit, and have shown me great shooting spots throughout the city. Our club holds monthly photowalks and photo contests, and those have pushed me to be more ambitious with my photos,” he adds.
On advice he would give to aspiring young photographers, Mak speaks to persistence and the importance of networking to help build their potential career.
“But if you really want to get into concert photography, you have to be persistent enough to reach that point. Getting into concert photography is especially tough, because of the limited amount of media passes per show,” Mak continues.
“Start with smaller bands and build up your portfolio, and work your way up from there. You will be told no many times, but don’t let those exchanges discourage you. Make sure you network with people in the scene as well. You never know how far an email or direct message will get.”
