Chelsea Lauren Photography Presentation
In one month from today, I will do something pretty cool. At the JEA / NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco, I introduce Chelsea Lauren to the journalism education community. I have been looking forward to this day since I met Chelsea at the 2011 Vans Warped Tour. The presentation will be one of the highlights of this convention. The students and educators will love Chelsea.
Chelsea photographs concerts, celebrities and fashion events. While her content interests me, Chelsea impresses me for others reasons. Chelsea is professional, considerate and authentic. This unusual combination was apparent when I met her at Shoreline Amphitheatre in 2011. Chelsea talked to everyone, including me and the high school student, Cathy Rong, who photographed the music festival too. Chelsea also talked to security and the other photographers. Chelsea was genuinely interested in everyone.
Chelsea also talked to the musicians, and she talked to everyone as if they were people.… Read the rest
Treasure Island Music Festival Day 2
By the second day of the 2012 Treasure Island Music Festival, I was prepared to photograph fun. (Here is the gallery from Day 2 of Treasure Island Music Festival.)
I spent most of the days at the Painted Wonderland booth. I photographed a few bands and several vendors, but I mostly photographed the people of TIMF. After the first day, I was exhausted. Yet, I processed photographs until nearly 3:00. Each image energized me. Even the bad photos were alive. I woke up early last Sunday, so that I could continue uploading photos before I left for the second day.
On Day 2, there were more bubbles, brighter sunsets, bigger statues and a taller Ferris Wheel. I searched for The Samba Stilt Circus, but they were replaced by an eight piece band El Radio Fantastique. El Radio Fantastique was a hidden treasure.
I also saw the best water balloon contest ever on Day 2.… Read the rest
Treasure Island and Painted Wonderland Day 1
On Saturday October 13, I attended the first day of the Treasure Island Music Festival. For the last few years, I have photographed hundreds of musicians, at concerts and music festivals. This year I assumed I would photograph several more acts during the two day festival. Instead, I spent most of the festival with my friends at the Painted Wonderland tent.
I also remembered something about concerts. Concerts are fun. The Treasure Island Music Festival is a whole lot of fun.
The first few hours I felt out of place. Everyone was happy and I was sulking. I realized that I usually work concerts, and I had missed the point. Concerts are fun. Fortunately, some guy started blowing bubbles. Bubbles are fun. It is impossible to frown and see bubbles. There were a lot of bubbles.
At the Painted Wonderland tent, several talented artists created unique designs. The customers entered the tent happy and left happier.… Read the rest
T. Mills and The Parent Tent
T. Mills and The Vans Warped Parent Trap
At every Vans Warped Tour show, I see something unusual. In San Francisco this year, I saw a tent called “Reverse Daycare.” Parents gathered in the area while their children attended the concert. 
The tent was a great idea, but I always passed quickly, afraid that some magical force might pull me into the space reserved for old folks.
Usually, being a parent is comforting, but not at a concert.
When I photographed California rapper T. Mills, I wondered if should have been in the parent tent. T. Mills’ lyrics could be considered degrading to women, except nearly all of his fans are female. The young women cheered wildly, many singing along to all the songs. I probably enjoyed his performance more than I would have enjoyed being in the parent tent, but I was also grateful that I could only photograph three songs.… Read the rest
Mayday Parade in Summer
Two months ago I photographed a Mayday Parade protest in Oakland. I must have been influenced by the Occupy Oakland protests two months ago, because I was expecting an angry mob for the Mayday Parade concert at the 2012 San Francisco Vans Warped Tour stop on Saturday, June 23.
The crowd was colorful and loud, but even the woman with a rainbow mohawk could have been part of a South Beach (Miami) photo shoot instead of a South Beach parking lot music festival near AT&T Park.
Vans Warped Tour 2012 San Francisco
Vans Warped Tour 2012 … Coming to a parking lot near you.
Some concerts are better outdoors. Some are even better just outside the stadium. The Vans Warped Tour is one of those events. It is better when it is in the parking lot.
When the 2012 Vans Warped Tour arrived in the Bay Area, the music festival stopped next to AT&T Park in downtown San Francisco. The festival sold out. When I photographed Vans Warped the last two years at Shoreline Amphitheatre near San Jose, California, the event felt cramped despite the amazing energy. There are approximately 80 bands performing on seven stages. There are vendors, non-profits and demonstration areas.
People need space.
I photographed about twenty bands. I took nearly 2,000 photos. A San Diego band, Pierce The Veil, performed on one of the main stages towards the end of the day. There are several bands that I wish I could follow during the summer, or at least shoot a few more times.… Read the rest
Concert Crowds
Now that it is summer again, I am looking forward to concert season, especially festival season. I usually enjoy shooting any music related event, but there is something special about a festival. Festivals always have great new artists and many opportunities for interesting photography.
Not all festivals are created equal. The Vans Warped Tour is my favorite as a photographer. Even in harsh mixed light, I was able to take several good crowd shots last year of Enter Shikari. In the slideshow above, my favorite part is the woman in slide 9 who is looking at the stage instead of the lead singer in the crowd. What could be so exciting on stage that she would ignore the lead singer on his back? See photos 10 and 11.
I have discussed the Vans Warped Tour, and other festivals, in the JEA national scholastic journalism publications and in JEA Digital Media site.Vans Warped is especially great for three reasons.… Read the rest
Melrose Leadership Academy Music Expo
I placed these photos in the music category, but I could have put them in any of the other sections. The Music Expo is an education event, so I could have categorized the photos into either Education or Events. Melrose Leadership Academy’s after school program is also newsworthy. The elementary students attend a Spanish immersion public school in Oakland Unified. The students learn language and culture in a diverse setting.
On Wednesday June 6, 2012, the kindergarten, first and second grade students performed their Spring 2012 Music Expo. The after school program is operated by Asprianet.
Live Music with the Wil Gravatt Band
One month ago, I traveled to Washington DC for the National Walk for Epilepsy. The night I arrived, the Wil Gravatt Band was performing downtown at the Hill Country Boot Bar. Wil Gravatt operates Wil Gravatt Entertainment when he is not performing. Wil also helps my friend Chad Barth organize the Concert for Epilepsy.
In 2007, Chad started the benefit to honor his sister. The first event, a “Karaoke-off,” raised $2,500. By 2011, Chad had recruited experienced event organizers and he was able to organize a benefit concert with two well known country acts. Gravatt deserves some credit for sharing his expertise with Chad. I have only met Wil a few times, but each time, he feels like an old friend. I am looking forward to September when we have the 6th Annual Concert for Epilepsy.
BF
Eventbrite – Connections Made Simple
Yesterday I wrote about Chad Barth, Chad’s Concert for Epilepsy and the Eventbrite’s 2010 MyEventRocked award. (Chad’s concert won; I was the photographer.) The concert connected many people to the epilepsy community and the award helped more than the people at Eventbrite realize.
(Try clicking on the photo!)
Several months ago, Eventbrite hired my friend Chad Barth as their Washington, D.C. event organizer. (Chad also does something with Eventbrite politics.) After Chad joined Eventbrite, he introduced me to a few of his colleagues. When Eventbrite held their Concert Confidential, I photographed the Jackie Greene San Francisco event. I have been waiting for a good reason to thank Eventrbite again and acknowledge Chad, so I am posting while Chad is in town. The September 2011 Barrel House performance benefited FOGG. I posted about forty of my favorite photos from the concert Brianna Haag organized. (Brianna is the awesome San Francisco Event Evangelist.… Read the rest
Bomba Estereo Cumbia Concert
Melrose Leadership music and art educators are amazing. Juan Carlos Angulo, who is the leader of Cumbia Tokeson, tours internationally. He also introduced me to cumbia and the world famous Columbian quartet Bomba Estereo. Bomba Estereo won MTV Iggy’s 2010 Best New Band winner.
This week, Melrose Leadership Academy students will perform their twice annual music expo. Some of my photographs displayed at a downtown “coffee art house” document the event. Coincidentally, the coffee shop is called Farley’s East. (no relation.) The photography exhibition is also a small part of a larger fundraising effort to save MLA’s music program.
I photographed Cumbia Tokeson and Bomba Estereo at Oakland’s The New Parish in May of 2011.
Colbie Callait Brighter Concert Photography
One month ago today, I photographed the wedding of my two friends Courtney Stout and Nick Maksimowicz. During the ceremony, two other friends performed the love song, “Brighter Than The Sun,” popularized by Colbie Callait. While photographing the wedding, I remembered photographing Colbie Caillat’s concert the previous year. The song, the wedding and the concert had a few things in common.
There are some basic rules that beginning photographers learn when starting. For example, photographers usually learn to shoot with the sun at their back. (In other words, do not shoot into the sun.) Photographers also learn about “the magic hour,” which usually lasts longer than an hour. Magic hour is the special time near sunset when the colors appear magical. Harsh shadows disappear. People do not squint.
There are some other basic rules a photographer learns quickly. Life rarely waits for magic hour, and if you want to learn how to photograph concerts and weddings, you better learn how to shoot during the middle of the day, and make Colbie Callait or the bubbly bride appear brighter than the sun.… Read the rest
Lessons from Another Funeral
Two days ago I attended a memorial service and reception for Jeffrey Lester; Jeff died two months after being diagnosed with cancer. I have attended many funerals and memorials during the last several years. His memorial service seemed more uplifting. It reflected a life lived fully.
When I left town, I turned on the radio. The first song was an old Tim McGraw favorite, “Live Like You Were Dying.”
Sometimes I find the song a little silly. Another time I pulled over to the side of the road, because it has not been safe to drive with tears in my eyes. Yesterday, I drove with a smile as I heard the lines,
I was in my early forties
With a lot of life before me
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime
And
I was finally the husband
That most of the time I wasn’t
And I became a friend a friend would like to have
And I sang along with the lines
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying”
And he said
“Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying”
Then I turned off the radio and drove.… Read the rest
Concert for Epilepsy to Raise Awareness
This March, my children attended the Concert for Epilepsy with me and my wife. As the official photographer for The Concert for Epilepsy, I have remarkable access to the artists. I meet the artists and discuss epilepsy with them. This week, after my daughter and I witnessed a stranger having a seizure, I remembered the importance of the concert. Raising awareness is an important part of the fundraiser.
Chad Barth organizes the event in honor of his sister Christina. The concert is one of the events during the National Walk for Epilepsy in Washington, D.C. Chad has helped us reach a new audience with his concert. Local radio and television stations support the concert. National companies sponsor us now. Each year, the concert grows, and 2012 will be even larger than 2011 when two multiplatinum acts performed.
This week, my daughter and I witnessed a stranger having a seizure. My daughter Emily was scared.… Read the rest
Simple Plan 2011 Vans Warped Tour
The Vans Warped Tour is probably my favorite concert festival every year to photograph. In ten hours, I photographed nineteen bands, and I could have photographed more, but I was exhausted. Even with the protection of my press pass, my big toes turned purple from accidental stage dive landings and excited fans. (Even as I write this post for my new blog, the ends of my big toe nails are still purple.)
The festival is run extremely well. Bands start on time. Exactly on time. New bands play next to old bands. Headliners start the show some days. Every thing keeps changing so that each band feels part of the festival. And bands with millions of followers are accessible to high school journalists, which I also appreciate as a high school journalism educator. The last two years, I have attended with high school students. I learn as much from them as they do from me.… Read the rest
Hello world!
… and on the 8th day, God created WordPress. Hail to the Muse!
Until WordPress existed, nobody could say hello to each other. At least, nobody could say hello to the world. Next thing you know, corporations will become people, Books will have Faces, and Soviet satellites will fall from the sky.
For those of you who have never created a WordPress blog, the first post is already titled, “Hello World!” I kept the original heading. I also added a PhotoShelter photo gallery of the county/pop band Lady Antebellum. About a year ago, Lady A released a single with the same title, but without the exclamation mark.
To see the larger Lady Antebellum Concert Photography Gallery, Go to this link or click the photo above.
Before Lady A won five Grammy Awards, the group used social media effectively. They continue using a blog platform that is similar to WordPress. I wonder what they saw when they first opened their new blog before they started posting.… Read the rest
I am a visual art educator and advocate.
I am also an advocate for visual arts education.