Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Klopp.
Hi Samantha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I got my start in the DIY scene back in 2017, working with a local DIY booking agency. It really started when I went to live shows with friends and realized I wanted to be involved in the music industry somehow. So I started going to shows. And I mean A LOT of shows.
At the time, I didn’t know much about Portland’s DIY scene, so my go-to was the Analog Theater. IYKYK.
I started talking about music more at work, and eventually my boss introduced me to someone who ran a local DIY booking agency. From there, I kind of just fell into it. I begged my parents to let me use the dusty old family Nikon we had sitting around, watched maybe two hours of YouTube tutorials, and off I went.
At first, I was just showing up and photographing shows for the DIY stuff. Then I started getting asked to shoot all the shows, which eventually turned into helping book, set up, and work them, too.
Endless Noise actually came from sitting in a coffee shop with the team one day and feeling like something was missing because I didn’t have a name for my photography. Looking back, I have no idea why I felt so strongly about needing one, but I’m really glad I did.
I ended up on one of those random word generator websites. I think I typed in “music,” “photos,” and something else, and it spit out a whole list of words. I just kept writing different combinations down until I landed on Endless Noise. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it stuck!
From there, it was a lot of learning, shooting, and making connections. I’d work a full eight-hour day at my regular job, then turn around and put in another six hours working shows for free. I was doing it because I genuinely loved it, and honestly, I was just excited to be involved.
Eventually, though, I decided I really, really wanted to photograph a show at a “big venue.”
Don’t get me wrong, I loved shooting in taco shacks, bars, and basements. I think we even did a show in someone’s dining room once. Those are still some of my favorite memories from when I first started. But there’s always that little voice in the back of your head wanting more, which I’ve learned can be a double-edged sword.
One day, I decided to reach out to the Hawthorne Theatre about photographing a show, and well, it was pretty much over for me after that.
My first show at a bigger venue was a sold-out Oliver Tree show at the Hawthorne Theatre. It was my first time being on the other side of the barricade, and I still remember the moment the lights went down and the crowd started roaring. I was completely enamored with the energy in that room. It was unlike anything I’d experienced before.
All these people were packed into one room, sharing a moment they had been looking forward to, and I got to be the person capturing it. I think that was the moment I realized just how much I loved what I was doing.
After that, it was full steam ahead.
I’d photographed for a couple of publications here and there as a freelancer, but I kept running into the same roadblocks. When you’re on a roster with ten other photographers who all like the same music, getting approved for the shows you actually want to shoot can be pretty difficult.
And after COVID, trying to get approved for shows on my own wasn’t working either.
So I said screw it, made a website, and started my own online zine.
Was it the best website? Absolutely not. But it was mine, and more importantly, it started opening doors.
Pretty quickly, I realized I needed to build something a little more legitimate. And let me tell you, I did not go to school for ANY of this. Photography, website building, running a publication, all of it was self-taught. I was spending an insane amount of time on YouTube trying to figure things out as I went, as well as messaging people online and talking to them IRL.
There was a lot of trial and error, a lot of rejection, and a lot of figuring things out the hard way. But somewhere along the way, the little photography name I came up with in a coffee shop turned into an actual publication and something I’m really proud to have built.
And that brings me to where I am today.
I recently got to photograph my dream artist, Tame Impala. Which is a sentence I still can’t believe I’m typing.
When I think about 18-year-old me, running around Portland with a borrowed Nikon and absolutely no idea what I was doing, I don’t think I ever could’ve imagined I’d end up here.
I still have so much I want to do, and I don’t think that feeling of wanting more will ever completely go away. But getting to look back at where I started and see how far I’ve come is pretty cool. Especially knowing that all of this started because I just really loved going to shows. – Sorry if this is too long! –
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not. There were a couple of times I really wanted to give up. It was a lot of work, and I don’t think I fully realized just how much I was taking on when I started. I didn’t go to school for any of this, and before working with the DIY agency, I’d never even picked up a camera before. I was learning everything as I went, making mistakes, figuring out what worked, and spending a ridiculous amount of time on YouTube.
On top of that, I was working a regular 9–5 and then turning around and working shows from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., getting a few hours of sleep, and doing it all over again. It was exhausting, especially when you’re putting that much time and energy into something you’re not getting paid for.
I think one of the harder parts was feeling like I was putting in all this work without really knowing if it was going to go anywhere. There were definitely moments when I questioned what I was doing and whether it was worth it. But every time I thought about walking away, something would remind me why I started in the first place. I just really loved being around live music, and I wasn’t quite ready to give that up.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Endless Noise Photos?
Endless Noise is an independent online music zine that focuses on concert photography, artist interviews, and live music coverage. I cover everything from smaller local shows to larger artists and festivals, and I think that’s something I’ve always wanted to keep a balance of.
I don’t know if I’m doing anything wildly different from other music publications, but I’ve never really wanted Endless Noise to be anything other than a place to share music I genuinely enjoy.
I think what I’m most proud of is that something I started on a whim has grown into something people actually recognize. It’s pretty cool to see a name I came up with on a random word generator turn into something that’s opened so many doors.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I think persistence and determination are probably the two biggest things. I’ve put a lot of time and work into getting where I am, and there have definitely been moments where it would’ve been easier to just give up. But I knew what I wanted to do, and even when I had no idea how to get there, I was determined to figure it out. I think a lot of it comes down to just continuing to show up and put in the work, even when you’re not seeing the results right away.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://endlessnoisephotos.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/endlessnoisephotos/
