When you return to Resurrection Fest: The evolution of a music photographer
By Álvaro Carlier, Music Photographer
There are festivals you cover. And then there’s Resurrection Fest. I’m Álvaro Carlier, a music photographer, and for me, this festival is far more than just another date on the calendar. It’s the only festival I cover from start to finish as a member of the press while simultaneously working directly with bands. It’s a different environment. More demanding. More complete. More personal.
2026 will be my eighth time attending.
I have covered the 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 editions. The 2021 edition was particularly unique: Resurrection Fest Estrella Galicia Limited 2021, a special version of the festival shaped by the COVID-19 situation, featuring a seated audience and a single stage. An anomaly within what is usually a massive, chaotic, and visually intense festival.
And yet, it remains part of the same story.
It’s Not Just About Attending: It’s About Building the Festival Months in Advance
There’s something people don’t see from the outside: for me, Resurrection Fest doesn’t start in the summer.
It starts months earlier.
This year, the real preparation began immediately after Easter. That’s when I start defining what I want to create from both a photography and video perspective. What kind of visual pieces I want to produce. What visual approach I want to follow.
It’s not just about covering the festival.
It’s about planning.
Because when you’re inside a festival of this scale, with multiple stages, overlapping schedules, and an intense workload, improvisation is not a realistic option.
Thinking About Images Before They Exist
Part of that preparation is pure anticipation.
I study the lineup from a visual perspective: which bands have more aggressive live performances, which ones are more static, where the most chaotic moments might happen, and which shows are likely to feature the most interesting lighting designs.
I’m not thinking about songs.
I’m thinking about images.
From there, I begin building a preliminary vision of what I want to capture during those days.
Reality always changes some of those plans, but arriving with a clear intention makes a huge difference when it comes to festival photography.
Equipment Isn’t Chosen — It’s Designed
One direct consequence of that planning process is the gear.
I don’t pack my camera bag at the last minute.
I design it.
Every decision—camera bodies, lenses, memory cards, batteries—is determined by what I expect to do, the type of coverage I’m planning, and the pace I’ll need to maintain.
Because in an environment like Resurrection Fest, gear is more than a tool. It’s a system that must perform flawlessly for several consecutive days.
And any mistake at this stage comes at a cost.
The Double Layer: Press Coverage and Working With Bands
Covering the festival as press already involves a significant workload: access, speed, image selection, and delivery.
But in my case, there’s a second layer: working directly with bands throughout the festival.
That completely changes the way you move.
You’re not simply looking for strong photos in general. You’re looking for specific images. Specific moments. Content that makes sense for the artist.
That requires prior coordination, communication, understanding each band’s needs, and adapting your workflow in real time.
It’s a constant mix between documentary photography and commissioned work.
And that’s where years of experience at Resurrection Fest become invaluable.
Eight Editions, One Evolution
Returning year after year is not repetition.
It’s a way of measuring growth.
When I think back to 2018, I’m not the same photographer I am today. Not technically. Not visually. Not in the way I manage time, fatigue, or pressure.
Each edition has added another layer.
2019 was consolidation.
2021 was complete adaptation to an unexpected situation.
2022 and 2023 were all about intensity and the return of the festival’s full-scale format.
2024 and 2025 became exercises in precision: shooting less, but with more intention.
And 2026 is not an automatic continuation.
It’s another opportunity to refine my craft.
The Pressure of Arriving Prepared
There’s a silent pressure that comes with returning to the same festival so many times.
You know the grounds.
You know what can happen.
You know what you’re capable of achieving there.
And that raises the level of expectation.
It’s no longer about simply doing a good job.
That’s already assumed.
The goal becomes creating something better than the year before. More solid. More coherent. More aligned with your vision of music photography.
That pressure doesn’t come from outside.
It comes from memory.
Mental Logistics: Deciding Before Acting
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the years is the importance of making decisions before everything begins.
At a festival like Resurrection Fest, time is limited. Shows overlap. Moving between stages consumes energy. The body wears down.
You can’t improvise every move.
You need to know:
- Which performances you absolutely must cover.
- Which ones can be sacrificed.
- Where you want to be during each time slot.
- When you need to stop and recover.
That clarity is what allows you to react effectively when something unexpected happens.
The Body Needs Preparation Too
Preparation isn’t just technical.
It’s physical.
Several consecutive days at a festival mean long hours on your feet, constant movement, heat, limited sleep, and demanding schedules where performance simply cannot drop.
Over time, I’ve realized that if I want to work professionally as a music photographer and cover festivals like Resurrection Fest, preparing cameras, lenses, and batteries is not enough.
I have to prepare my body as well.
That’s why I walk an average of 290 kilometers every month as part of my routine. It’s not accidental and it’s not just part of daily life—it’s deliberate preparation. I also go to the gym almost every day.
At this point, it’s no longer just about health.
Over the last five years, I’ve lost 35 kilograms, but my focus has evolved. The goal isn’t simply to feel physically better. It’s to be prepared for the real demands of this profession.
Concert photography comes with a physical workload that often goes unnoticed: carrying gear for hours, moving between stages, dealing with heat, limited rest, and maintaining concentration throughout long days.
I’ve learned to arrive ready.
Not perfect.
But prepared.
Because in music photography, fatigue is not an excuse.
It’s part of the environment.
And you have to know how to work within it.
Returning to the Same Place, Seeing It Differently
One thing that particularly interests me this year is avoiding repetition.
After so many editions, it would be easy to fall into routine. To return to the same spots. To look for the same compositions. To solve visual problems in the same way.
But that goes against what I’m trying to achieve.
The goal isn’t to do the same thing better.
The goal is to see differently.
To find new possibilities within a familiar environment. To notice things that previously went unnoticed. To refine my visual judgment.
Because real growth in music photography isn’t always visible from the outside.
But you know when it’s happening.
The Festival as a Complete System
Resurrection Fest is not just a collection of concerts.
It’s a system.
Stages, crowds, schedules, access points, chaos, organization, constant noise—everything interacts.
And when you cover it year after year, you begin to understand it that way.
You stop reacting only to what’s happening on a single stage.
You start reading the whole picture.
You know when to move.
When to wait.
When to insist.
That broader understanding is what turns a decent coverage into a strong one.
Before It All Begins
And still, there’s one moment that remains crucial.
The moment just before the festival starts.
When you arrive, see the site, feel the atmosphere, and know what’s coming.
That’s when everything you’ve prepared for over months is put to the test.
Not during the first concert.
Before it.
In how you arrive.
Conclusion: Every Edition Tells a Different Story
From the outside, eight editions of Resurrection Fest might look like repetition.
They’re not.
Every year the context changes.
The lineup changes.
The personal and professional moment in which you arrive changes.
And that makes the experience different every single time.
For me, this festival is more than an assignment.
It’s a benchmark within my journey as a music photographer.
A place to measure growth.
To test decisions.
To build something long-term.
And 2026 is no exception.
It’s the eighth time.
But once again, it starts from zero.
—
Álvaro Carlier
Music photographer specializing in concerts and tours
