Those of you who regularly follow this blog have probably at some point collected that I enjoy concert photography very much. I might go so far as to say that it’s my favorite kind of photography, and the one I’d most like to make a living from, although it seems there are not many concert-exclusive photographers in the world who make a good living. This doesn’t bother me too much, as I think working too many concerts would become quite tiresome, and so supplementing it with other forms, such as more classical portraiture, would be quite nice.

At any rate, there is much to love about concert photography. There is tremendous variety in the look from one show to the next, and certainly between venues. You get to listen to (usually) very good music while you shoot, and you get to challenge yourself in ways that most types of shooting can’t. Certainly there are styles or events that necessitate shooting faster, darker, more emotional, or more dynamically lit, but rarely are all of those elements mixed together in such high proportion. I strongly encourage you to take a look at the concert portfolio listed in the menu section of my blog at the top, and take a look to see just how dynamic the settings can be.

At any rate, this concert is largely the opposite of my more commonly photographed concerts. It’s an orchestra, rather than a rock show, and I also had the benefit of receiving a full dress rehearsal to shoot them, rather than trying to operate during a concert itself. Certainly the freedom to move about the stage was welcome, although one still has to be pretty careful not to become a burden or distraction on the group. That being said, they were in their concert blacks just for me, so that probably gave me a little bit of sway if I needed it.

So here for you is the Winona State University Orchestra. Enjoy.

Apparently I never sorted or rated these photos. Today I shot the Winona State University Orchestra, under the direction of Paul Vance. And then, upon uploading them into Aperture, I noticed that in my concerts folder, I had a folder for Damiera. Damiera is a very cool band… Kinda Math-Rock, if any of you are into that (I’m very into Math-Rock). At any rate, I didn’t shoot many shots that night, because the lighting was basically static, even if the band wasn’t. You’ll see the Orchestra shots tomorrow, assuming I have some time to do some uploads. Enjoy.

No photos.

Today I ditched my longboard while moving at roughly 30 miles per hour. I managed to get four steps in, tuck and plant on my shoulder, and roll about 7 or 10 times to a stop on the asphalt. This could potentially have been embarrassing, except that both Josh and Joel managed to fall as hard or harder at the same speed, on the same hill, at the same time. No joke. Thirty miles an hour is a tough speed to maintain stability at if you’ve never tried it on a longboard, and this became extremely evident to us all. We have varying levels and locations of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and rectal dysfunctions (I won’t name names, but I’ll just say it wasn’t Josh or myself), and after we got up and kind of gained our bearings (which took me the longest, having spun so many times), we laughed hysterically for some time after that before making our way back to the car. With that many scrapes on your body, even the wind hurts your skin, so it was… interesting.

My biggest regret is that Tim wasn’t there to fall with us. That being said, his luck isn’t great, and he’d probably be hospitalized for missing the asphalt and plummeting off the cliff (no joke) that was to one side of the road.

My friends and I, we are so safe.

Also, Happy Birthday Beth!