Tributes are pouring in on Saturday for Montreal music photographer Susan Moss. The “Rock and Roll Photographer” died on Friday at age 58 after being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She spent decades documenting Montreal’s music scene. From Osheaga to massive Bell Centre shows to small clubs, she captured the bands and the fans who loved them. “Always a big smile every time I ran into you,” wrote Daniel Francis Haber on Moss’s Facebook page. “You were always so encouraging about my work, all the while I was the one admiring yours. I’ll miss running into you literally everywhere in the city. Rest in peace Susan. Montreal has lost a little piece of herself today.” Moss chose medical assistance in dying after finding out about her cancer diagnosis. Her friends say her legacy extends beyond her work. “This industry has a lot of gatekeeping, there’s a lot of hiding your secrets from everyone else; she was the last person to ever do that,” said fellow photographer Tim Snow. “Any new photographer who would walk into a photo pit, she would make them 100 per cent comfortable, at ease; she’d help them out, give them some hints, some advice.” Snow added that Moss loved the music and the larger community. “I mean she knew all the security people, she knew all the door people, she knew a lot of the bands that had come through town several times, knew of her local bands, international bands, everything,” he said. “She was just so well loved and respected. She just loved her work.”
