Why Pride Belongs in Music — On Stage, in the Crowd, and Behind the Scenes

Some photographers fall into the pit and never climb out. Nikki Cardiello is one of them. She started as an artist in the classic sense, drawing and illustrating, always orbiting creativity. But the real spark hit the first time music and a camera collided. At 14, she brought a $20 HP digital camera to see the Jonas Brothers from the nosebleeds at Nassau Coliseum, snapped a bunch of blurry little ghost-figures, and still walked away thinking, No, this feels extremely right.