Welcome All Again

I don't normally like to go on and on about whether or not I like anything I post here (do I?), but in this case, I think I'll let myself brag a bit. I REALLY like these. Maybe some of the best concert pictures I've ever done. I was at the Pageant to see Collective Soul and managed to get right up front along the rail. So in the last shot, when Ed Roland was crouching down, he was no more than 2 feet from me. The two shots of him are just awesome, I think. And considering I got them off a point-and-shoot, well that makes them even cooler. Ed is one of my favorite singers to watch. He's got a lot of stage presence.

The first shot is lead guitarist Joel Kosche. No real reason for it to be in b/w other than I felt like it. He wasn't as close as Ed, but the zoom did a nice job.

Dave

Street Scenes

I'm going to be out of town for a couple weeks pretty soon, so I figured I'd go for the gusto with this post. If all goes well, I'll be coming back with a whole mess of pictures, though, so it should be worth the wait.

Anyways, I went down to the Loop on Saturday, and set about doing this project the way I had sort of originally intended, based on a project I came across called '100 Strangers.' The idea was to just find people on the street and take portraits of them where they were. So I did that, more or less. Some of them I can't use yet, because they're for something else. But you can get some of them now. The first is a dude busking* out in front of Vintage Vinyl. The bikers were shot 'from the hip.' I didn't really compose the shot, nor was the camera even in front of my face. I like the crookedness. I liked the background of the mosaic-y thing, so I just waited for people to pass in front of it. I was on my way back and happened across a couple handing out FREE KITTENS. Will power was tested, to be sure. I was lucky that Grace, seen in the last image, was there. She was nice enough to pose for me, and it helped me think of something non-kitten. I should note that her glasses are pretty boss.

So I have a few more from the session that are of the same ilk. I'll probably post them later this week.

Dave


*such a great word

Wrock Out

I can't decide if I should count the five times I've seen the Remus Lupins as official concerts. I mean, they DO play music. And it is good. And it is live. But if I wasn't shooting them for work, would I be there? Probably not, even though I do like me some Harry Potter.

So I guess I'll just keep debating the issue.

Dave

Framed! Part 2: Electric Bugaloo

Looks like we're going to be doing this every two weeks, huh? I guess I can live with that. This time, friends Jackie and Vickie were nice enough to get behind/within the frame and indulge in a bit of goofiness. I almost called this "seeing double," since they're twins, but decided against it for reasons only known to me.

And, because I'm feeling a little evil today, I ain't gonna tell you who is who. Savvy internet-types might be able to figure it out, though.

Anyways, a good time was had, so far as I can tell. And, as was pointed out to me, from the other side, it looks like I'm in the frame, which just adds an entirely new level of meta-ness to this whole enterprise.

The punch in the first shot is a nice touch, and I like the individual shots as well, with only hands holding the frame giving away that someone else is there.

Dave

The Whip Guy

Admit it, you thought I was going to make a Devo reference here, didn't you? Well, I have to keep you folks on your toes, you know.

Anyways. This is Mr. Chris Camp, better known as (ta-da), the Whip Guy. Another one of my favorite SRC performers. I actually got to be part of the act this time, which is pretty cool. I escaped with all my extremities in place, too, which is always nice, considering the whip, at its peak, is traveling 900 mph. I wonder if worker's comp would have covered such a thing...

The pose was his idea, since my brain was busy being pretty useless for ideas. Fancy that. Anyways, if he's ever in your area, be sure to check out the show. It's quite good.

Dave

A Few of My Favorite Things

Every so often, when I need to get rid of something, mom will say something like "Mike's friend Don will take it." So over the past couple years, quite a few things from my house have gone down there. Vacuums and other small appliance-type things, mostly. I heard he had quite a collection of stuff in his shed, so I figured we had ourselves a winner here.

It was, I must say, pretty overwhelming. He told me he built his shed back in '94, so we must have about 15 years worth of stuff collected. Most stuff gets taken apart for later use, and some of it gets sorted out--the peg board full of washers was most impressive. And stories! I bet he could write a book about all this stuff. I even saw one of my old blenders. It seemed happy to see me.

I had originally planned this shoot back in April, but this that and the other got in the way. But I finally got it. And while I like the shot, I think I could have done better. Maybe stood back a couple more feet to show more of his surroundings. Or maybe it works as is. I'll let you decide.

Oh, and he grabbed the two tools on his own. I'm not entirely sure why, but there you go.

Dave

Swords and Roses

I've been saying for years* we need more programs at work involving sisters who perform choreographed sword/son/dance routines for summer reading club.

That's Maria (Angelique) on the left and Susan (Belle) on the right, and those are real swords, though dulled down a bit to prevent any serious injury. I guess library policy doesn't cover getting skewered and such. Probably good to play it safe.


Dave


*okay, not really.