through years of dedicated effort and perseverance, honing his craft and mastering his art, sparbanie has diligently built a specialized career, earning the respect of high profile clients such as post-gazette pavilion, mellon arena, stevie nicks, jimmy buffett, styx, hootie and the blowfish, the clarks, cheap trick, and rolling rock... becoming the preeminent entertainment photographer of the mid-atlantic region.
since 1994, sparbanie has created stunning images of most touring superstars including (but not limited to): the rolling stones, u2, bruce springsteen and the e street band, dave matthews band, tina turner, the who, david bowie, grateful dead, cher, garth brooks, prince, faith hill, janet jackson, elton john, toby keith, britney spears, allman brothers band, van halen, crosby, stills, nash and young, cheap trick, backstreet boys, staind, hootie and the blowfish, billy joel, styx, phish, jessica simpson, reba, godsmack, rusted root, kenny chesney, aerosmith, jimmy buffett, annie lennox, the clarks, sarah mclachlan, metallica, chicago, sting, kiss, rod stewart, korn, simon and garfunkel, justin timberlake, fleetwood mac, and the eagles.
sparbanie has covered concerts and special events in pittsburgh, new york, cleveland, albany, columbus, syracuse, madison, cincinnatti, state college, nashville, charlestown, detroit, erie, chicago, wheeling, buffalo, charlotte, atlanta, and st. louis.
commercial photographers and fashion photographers are sometimes afforded the luxury of an entire day (or more) adjusting lighting, hair, make-up, clothing, props, and backdrops, to focus on a singular subject for a magazine's art director or a company's advertising agency. the nature of the modern music industry, however, dictates that photographers such as sparbanie usually have less than ten minutes to capture "magic."
always at the mercy of the production's stage lighting designer, the performer's publicist, road managers, venue management, and the stars themselves, concert photographers face the challenge of restricted access with instantly changing lighting conditions, vast varying distances from an often moving subject, the sometimes inclement weather, exuberant fans spilling beer or waving their arms over their heads, bumping into hard-nosed security personnel, changing lenses and camera settings in the dark, a minimal amount of time to grab "the money shot," and other obstacles such as audio monitors blocking views, video camera cables to trip over, and barricade support beams to stub toes on.
regardless of the shooting environment, when push comes to shove, sparbanie's skills, talents, calm, flexibility, and professionalism have proven invaluable for his clients.
the images presented on this site and those posted at sparbanie.com are a mere fraction of the thousands of quality photographs sparbanie has created in the past decade. art directors, editors, and webmasters seeking specific frames shown here, or perhaps others available in sparbanie's archives (literally a bank vault), are encouraged to submit an inquiry outlining your needs.
a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... sparbanie was a member of his high school track and field team with (former steelers football head coach) bill cowher; had married twice, fathering two beautiful daughters with his first wife; was a staple on the pittsburgh rock scene fronting the bands pin-ups, prom sluts, and the soft parade; was nominated "best song-writer" for his debut cd, "29"; published the acclaimed music magazine, substance; recorded, produced, and distributed the "get to the point!" sampler cd series; was president of a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to rails-to-trails conversions in western pennsylvania (including an abandoned rail line with tunnels which pre-date the civil war); owned the retail store solution music; had served on the board of directors for washington county tourism promotion agency; and was re-elected (for real) mayor of his community.
sparbanie is available for special photographic assignments including publicity stills, cd booklets, concert programs, artist and label web sites, modeling portfolios, magazine spreads, and portraits.
to contact the artist, please send an e-mail to keith@sparbanie.com