The Wynton Marsalis concert at the Bob Hope Theatre in downtown Stockton was a part of the week-long Brubeck Festival. Before the concert, honoring Marsalis’ New Orleans roots, the Blue Moon French Quarter Street Fair was held in the block in front the theater. For the fair, the street was closed off to traffic. Several [...]
When I covered Winton Marsalis and his big band in concert on March 22 at the Bob Hope Theatre in downtown Stockton, I had just the first two songs to photograph him playing (which is normal at most big concerts). I, as well as the three other photographers, expected him to be at the front [...]
When shooting most professional concerts photographers usually only get to shoot the first two or three songs and then are hightailed out of the venue. We never get to see a majority of the show, let alone all of it. The Carrie Underwood/Hunter Hayes concert at the Stockton Arena, for example, allowed the four photographers [...]
The day after singer Beyoncé’s spectacular halftime show during this year’s Super Bowl, the Website BuzzFeed posted a gallery of pictures entitled: “The 33 Fiercest Moments From Beyoncé’s Halftime Show.” Of those 33 photos posted, several featured the pop diva (who is considered by any standard one of the most beautiful women in the world) [...]
Between opening acts and headliners at concerts it’s customary to play recorded music for the fans to listen to. Various artists are usually played mostly as background music as the roadies change around the stage. The Carrie Underwood/Hunter Hayes concert at the Stockton Arena was no different. Hayes opened with a rousing set, but when [...]
The Underwood/Hayes concert at the Stockton Arena was quite a spectacular-spectacular production. There were myriad lights and speakers, each with their own rigging. The stage had large moving parts, and it included a projection system with a huge screen that had to be at least 20 to 30 feet tall and ran the length of [...]
All the photographers covering the Carrie Underwood concert (there were 4 of us: the house photographer, 2 shooters from the Bay Area, and myself) were limited to where the soundboard was near the rear third of the arena floor. A few minutes before the County star took the stage, a man leaned over one of [...]
One of my heroes was the late Jazz legend Dave Brubeck. You might think that’s a bit strange for a photographer. After all, what does music have to do with a visually oriented person? But there are often times where photography can be musically inspired. In photography, especially news photography, the improvisation of Jazz is [...]
I’ve been to many sporting events where the National Anthem has been butchered by a “lucky” person who’s been chosen to sing it. Not that I would have done any better, but I have sympathy for them. The Star Spangled Banner is a notoriously tricky song to sing. The notes of the song are stretched [...]
“We’re an American band We’re an American band We’re comin’ to your town We’ll help you party it down We’re an American band” – Don Brewer/Grand Funk Railroad In April I shot the Cambodian New Years Celebration at the Wat Dhammararam Buddhist temple in Stockton. A group of about 10 musicians sat beneath a small [...]
