Karen Mason-Blair is one of only a handful of Seattle photographers who took exclusive photographs of the bands of the Grunge movement. She called these musicians her “Seattle Familia.” Her name and reputation made her a sought-after photographer, who captured images of her music “family,” some of the world’s biggest rock bands bred in Seattle.

 

“When I met her in 1991, Karen (Mason) seemed to know everyone on the Seattle club scene. Though we didn’t know it yet, the city was ready to explode. And Karen was at ground zero.” ~Gene Stout, Pop Music Critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

 

These artists inspired her prolific work that documented the vast amount of music emerging from Seattle in such a short period of time. Her name and reputation gave her access to many rare moments, as she photographed the entire Grunge movement - from Alice in Chains’ first session for Rolling Stone, to Soundgarden’s first session with bassist Ben Shepherd, in addition to Mother Love Bone, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and famed producer Jack Endino’s own band Skin Yard.

 

Her award-winning photos appear on Nirvana, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Joan Jett and Radiohead albums. Additional clients include every major label including Capitol Records, Warner Brothers, Sony, and local Indie label Sub Pop. She has been published both nationally and internationally in People, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly, among others.

 

During the course of her 25-year career she owned and operated a studio in the Brewery in Los Angeles in the late 1980’s, where she achieved success and became well known for using her style and creativity. She move back to Seattle and opened a studio in Pioneer Square in the early 1990’s just as the Grunge music scene exploded. She was signed to Corbis for 17 years. She also managed several bands, hosted a nightclub at RCK CNDY, and ran an art gallery through her Pioneer Square location

 

“I lived it, I loved it, I photographed it.” ~Karen Mason-Blair

 

She currently lives in the Seattle area and has 2 grown amazing children.

 

CLIENT LIST: Atlantic Records Atlas Records A&M Records Aventail Corporation BEC Records BMG Records BMI Records Capitol Records Century Media Records Chrysalis Records Def Jamm Records DGC Records EMI Records Energy Records Epic Records ESP Guitars F-5 Network Forefront Records Integrity Records Interscope Records KISW Radio KNDD Radio MCA Records Mercury Records Metal Edge Metal Blade Metro One Records Microsoft Polydor Records Polygram Records Poplama Records Pro Records Pulse Magazine Q-prime Rip Magazine Road Runner Records Rolling Stone Magazine Sanctuary Records Seattle Magazine Sony Records Subpop Records The End 107 Radio Station Tooth in Nail Records Triple X Records V2 Records Vertical Records Warner Brothers Records Zildjan Drums STOCK PHOTO LIST: Alice In Chains Alien Crime Syndicate Andrew WK Ann and Nancy Wilson Anthrax Art Alexakis Bang Tango Beck Big Bad Voodoo Daddies Billy Idol Black Crows Blind Melon Black Crows Blenderhead Bob Rivers Bush Butthole Surfers Cadet Candlebox Carrie Akre Catherine Wheel Chris Cornell Celebrity Skin Chris Cornell (solo) - live Collective Soul Common Heroes Crowded House Crux Cyprus Hill Dave Grohl Dave Lubben Devo Don't Know Duran Duran Econoline Crush Elastica Elliot Smith Evanescence Everclear Faith No More Filter Fishbone Fretblanket Garbage Ginger Baker of Cream Geoff Moore and The Distance Grammatrain Exodus Fasterpussy Cat Fleetwood Mac Great White Gruntruck Hole Hootie and the Blowfish Incubus I Mother Earth Jason Morant Jeremy Camp Jeremy Engik Jerry Cantrell Joan Jett Jose Carreras Josh White Joy Electric Krist Novostelic Late Tuesday Layne Staley Lincoln Brewster Lit Liquid Jesus Lloyd's Rocket Lolly London Quireboys Love/Hate Love Mongers Love Battery Mad Season Mark Lanagan Masters of Reality Methods of Mayhem Michael Wilton Mother Love Bone Mudhoney MXPX Nevermore Nick Rhodes Nirvana Oasis Old Lady Litterbug Mudhoney Pearl Jam Peter Buck Placebo Plankeye Peter Buck Poison Porno for Pyros Poor Old Lu Pond Pretty Boy Floyd Primus Pro-Pain Queensryche Rancid Radiohead Ramones Reverend Richie Sambora Rock N' Roll Worship Circus Save Ferris Scott Faircloff Scott Weiland Screaming Trees Second Coming Silage Simon LeBon Skin Yard Sir Mix-A-Lot Sky Cries Mary Sometime Sunday Sonic Youth Soul Asylum Soundgarden Spinal Tap SS Mob Staind Starflyer 59 Static-X Stone Temple Pilots Sunny Day Real Estate 311 Sweet 75 Tal Bachman T-Bone Ten Shekel Shirt Tesla The Rentals The Juliana Theory The Lemons The McKassons The Posies The Presidents of the USA The Trenchcoats Tin Machine Tom Hemby Tool Tori Amos Tuatara Violent Femmes Viva Voce Wayne Static William Goldsmith Trixster Ugly Kid Joe Wax Westley Woolus Fiasco Zebrahead