First blog post. Let's see who salutes. Let me introduce myself a little. I am Cat Ashbee, soul collector and punk rock hoser.

In the beginning, Cat created light. No, not really. But how did this all begin?

I had been taking photos for most of my life and always felt passionate about capturing the scenes around me. The natural beauty of this world inspired me so much and I spent most of my time chasing spiders, birds, and the golden hours of light and searching for mushrooms and intriguing structures. One day as the show date approached, I wondered if there was a chance I could photograph one of my all time favorite bands who were coming to a close city. I dropped a couple of emails to a contact for SNFU and they invited me to shoot the night. That night changed my life as I had no idea I could be photographing one of my other biggest passions: music. I grew up in the day of 'no cameras' and strict photo rules at shows and the thought had not crossed my mind until this incident. It opened doors; I made connections, friends, relationships, and a path that would lead me situations I never thought possible. Fast forward to today as I look back on the places since then, and so far, that live performance photography has taken me and the amazing things that I have done. I moved to the heart of Vancouver to be immersed in the pulsating scene and that wave has taken me through the countless arteries that keep the music alive here. I have toured with notable Canadian punk bands, traveled around the continent, met my heroes, and rubbed bloody elbows with giants. And I am just getting started. Stay tuned, my friends.

Photo above: Me in my blood soaked glory. Taken by Darren Lulka