After coming home from a week-long California trip, one of the days comprising of a ten-and-a-half hour hike in Yosemite National Park, I took a vow to hike as many local Texas trails as possible. The task fulfills several needs: exercise, exploration and discovery, and subjects to explore for photography. Tonight I set-out on the first hike with my photo bag packed with camera body, lenses and tripod, and plenty of water. The L.B. Houston Nature Trail.
Setting out around 18:45, I noticed a few cyclists lining the parking lot. The trail is maintained by DORBA (Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association) and is really more of a trail for cyclists than it is for hikers. This is the only major downside of the trail: you must watch for cyclists.
So what can you expect? I took a few snapshots with my iPhone to illustrate.
To view the complete gallery, check out the slideshow at Flickr.
Unfortunately for me, the guidebook fails to mention that there are a myriad of other trails other than the one specifically described. Instead of taking a left once back on the wide grassy lane after coming out of the woods, I took a right, continuing on the main trail. This led to an additional one and a half hours of hiking on top of the hour I had originally expected.
My wife eventually called wondering where I was, but mostly to tell me she was hungry and wanted something to eat. With the ever darkening sky, I sped up my pace, only to be confronted with darkness much too great for my eyes to handle. I had a flashlight on me, and used it to light my way back to the trailhead.
After finding my way back to the wide grassy lane, flashlight shining on the path before me, I see a car pull into the parking lot. I’m thinking, “great, possible trouble.” It’s nighttime, but the moon is bright enough to light my way. I turn off the flashlight to make it less noticeable as to where I am just in case. The car parks and the headlights are killed. I make my way to the car.
Upon arriving, I notice a man walking on the other side of his car. All I can make out is the glow of a burning cigarette. I smell the cigarette smoke amongst a strong scent of cologne. The car looks new; well maintained. The man says nothing; I say nothing. I check my tires with my light before entering the car and heading out.
Nothing happened of course, but the situation could have ended differently. I wasn’t worried, especially since I would have been much more freaked out by a guy coming out of the woods in the dark rather than some dude smoking a cigarette in a parking lot.
In summary, the hike was nice. Flat and extremely easy, I hope to find something more challenging after enjoying the mountains of Yosemite a week prior. In any case, it should be fun exploring Texas trails while finding subjects to photograph in the quest of fine art photography.
The above photograph was made at a concert on New Year’s Eve’s Eve at 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. My wife and I drove 13 hours from Dallas that day to get there. While I didn’t make the trip exclusively for photography purposes, I did bring my camera. I guess I have a bit to explain.
The story begins in July of 2008. The goal was to get some decent shots of the fireworks on a July 4th celebration on the 3rd. Walking to the car after photographing the fireworks, we saw a band playing on stage, The Killdares. I decided to stop and make some photographs of the band while I had the chance. My wife, luckily, is very understanding when it comes to these things. She took a seat and I photographed. What I came back with weren’t the greatest photographs in the world, but it was definitely an interesting experience. (I plan to post more photographs from the event soon.)
And then I learned about of Montreal. Over the next couple of months I grew to love their music. But it wasn’t until a week before the 2008.11.14 show at House of Blues in Dallas that I knew anything about the crazy theatrics of their onstage performance. My wife discovered the concert a week before it was to happen. She bought tickets and a week later we were attending one of the most fantastic shows of our lives, AND I DIDN’T BRING MY CAMERA. I was upset for leaving my camera at home — I nearly always have my camera with me, especially at events. I missed out on some truly fantastic photographic opportunities. Whoops.
A few weeks later, still giddy about my first of Montreal show, I was browsing their website and noticed a New Year’s Eve gig at 40 Watt Club. I never do anything for New Year’s, and December 31st just so happens to be my birthday as well. Combined with Athens being the hometown of the band, I just had to attend. Bought tickets and they added another show on the 30th due to popular demand, of which I also bought tickets.
A 13 hour drive from Dallas to Athens with my wife, a great time, and a few decent photographs have all come together to make me realize that — I want to get serious about shooting shows.
The thing about concert photography — it’s hard work. Like all event photography, much of the work has everything to do with being in the right place at the right time to capture the decisive moment. Aside from that, out of a proper photo pit, you’re dealing with the crowd — the rabid fans who could care less if you have photos to get. Pushed, shoved, grabbed, all while trying to get the shot. Not only that, but you’re dealing with crappy lighting and flashes either aren’t going to help, or are not even allowed. Nice equipment is a must. In fact, I already have a wishlist:
My Canon 400D and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 setup, while decent, could use an upgrade. But, I’m just getting started, and that time will come (and it will be glorious).
Until then, I’ll be shooting shows in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. If you want me to come out and shoot your show, leave a comment w/your email address (will not be shown to the public) and I’ll get in touch. Here are a few more pictures from the of Montreal performance that night:
Reluctantly, I didn’t make any decent pictures of Dottie or Jamie. Next time.
For examples of work I aspire to one day create, check out the wonderful concert photographer, Todd Owyoung.
Fraser Speirs has written an excellent series of articles regarding Aperture workflow. If you’re having issues with your workflow, check these posts out for a few ideas:
I submitted this photograph to the Leaf in Hand theme for JPG Magazine. Getting published in JPG Magazine is definitely a goal of mine. Will this particular photograph make it? No idea, and I don’t care. The goal is mostly there to keep me on task, to keep me motivated. I ultimately want to continue improving my photography, and not having an ongoing project kills my productivity. JPG Magazine happens to be a great resource for photographic ideas, and until I find a photographic project I’m all giddy over, working on the open JPG Magazine themes is it!
My second attempt at shooting fireworks, ever. Got a few things right, mostly wrong, and some were just a bitch. I think I learned enough to have more success next time. I also made some decent photographs my first time out the night before (July 3rd fireworks at Lake Arlington). Maybe I’ll post some later.
Immediately following the Irving July 4th (2008) fireworks show finale, a fire began at the launch site. It took approximately 15 minutes for the fire to subside with the aid of area firefighters.
Roberta Rass and Matt Willis of The Killdares perform on stage at Lake Arlington on July 3rd, 2008. The band performed for the “Light Up the Lake” event in Arlington, TX.
Sarah and I went to the “Light Up the Lake” event mainly for me to photograph the fireworks. After the fireworks ended and as we were beginning our long walk back to the car, we stopped to listen to the band performing on the main stage. Then I remembered that one of the three themes for the next issue of JPG Magazine is “On Stage.” Pulled out my camera and made a few exposures.
The Killdares is a cool band — Celtic rock. Drums, bass, and guitar make rock — mix in bagpipes and a fiddle — Celtic rock. Pretty cool stuff actually. They are playing again locally this month and I’m thinking about going to see them.
Photography has become increasingly important to me over the past year, couple of years even. I became serious about it when I made the decision to purchase a digital SLR camera a year ago. Since then, my interest in the medium has continued to evolve. But, mostly, I’m just happy to have found a creative outlet again since basically giving up 10 years of trombone playing.
I have many goals in photography. One, improvement. This will obviously be a continuing and never-ending goal. Another, and the point of this post, is to have one of my images published. JPG Magazine is a perfect fit. The image at the top of this post is my submission for the “On Stage” theme for the next issue.
You can vote to have the image included (or not) in the next issue of JPG Magazine. It’s a community effort, and voting is a quick and simple click for “yes” or “no.” So please, vote, and pass the link along to other people you know who might be interested in voting as well. Thanks!
Spinning the Magnificent Trombone of Curtis Fuller after the set-up of a new Pro-Ject Debut III turntable. Vinyl is sooo ... magnificent :-) 21 hrs ago
