This is one of about 100 photos that I took of Bucky Covington. He was on American Idol in 2007. He was part of a long line of country music artists to perform at the 2007 Detroit Budweiser Downtown Hoedown. There were many good performances on that May afternoon and evening.
The three day concert brings one million people through the gates. The event was free up until the 2012 event, which was in a controlled area and you were required to pay for admittance for each of the three days of the event.
It was entertaining to just sit back in our seats and watch the fans line dancing, screaming with joy, and getting "sloshed" on a very warm May afternoon. Thousands of people all in one small area enjoying country music. Only in America. When the event was free of charge, it was an opportunity for those who could not normally go to a concert, to be able to be a part of the magic of the day. I feel for those folks who could not go to the event this year due to a lack of money. I did not attend the event this year, as I enjoyed the location and environment of the previous events.
I had an opportunity to meet and hang out with many country artists, such as SheDaisy, Dixie Chicks, Mark Chesnutt, Montgomery Gentry, and Lonestar. I could go on and on about the conversations with all of the country artists over the years in downtown Detroit. 

Wow!!

WOW! Beauty is all around us. There are times when you can really make an ordinary photo look extraordinary through the use of photoshop plugins. I would not normally have my image in the center of the frame, but in this case it works. The green leaves on either side draw the eyes to the center of the frame. There will be times when you are hesitant about shooting a frame with your digital camera. Remember that these images can come to life with the use of photo software. Get creative and find ways to share your images with others. Summer is fast approaching, so keep your camera close by and ready to go. Happy shooting.

Blossoms of Spring

Spring is finally here. Get out your camera's and get busy. All of the flowers and trees are budding and there are so many wonderful photo opportunities to be found. This photo was optimized using a plugin with Adobe Photoshop. Some of the simplest of photographs can come to life with a little work with your software. Get in your vehicle and take a drive around to find all of the Spring flowers coming to life. Enjoy Spring. Summer will be here soon enough. Happy Shooting!

Josh Gracin - Jackson Community College

Josh Gracin performed at Jackson Community College in Jackson Michigan on October 16th of 2010. During the day of the concert, Josh drove with his band mates to a University of Michigan football game. Josh is from Michigan and is a huge fan of U of M. Mr. Gracin was late getting to the meet and greet at JCC because he got caught up in traffic. Maybe over 100,000 fans would slow you down a bit. The meet and greet went well. He posed for photographs and signed autographs for all who asked. He is a very nice man and the concert was wonderful.
Click here for a link to low light concert photography so you can learn a bit more about shooting in these types of conditions.

Look Up!

One thing that I always talk about with photographers is how you always need to look straight ahead, behind you, to your left, to your right, and up in order to find photographs. Sometimes just kneeling down can make or break a photograph. This image was shot during the Fall foliage season here in lower Michigan. You will find me in the Waterloo Michigan area most of the time during October. I love this time of year and I love to photograph beautiful Fall trees.
On this particular day, I was shooting some graduation photo's for my daughter. We were sitting under a very large tree when I decided to take my own advice and look up! These vibrant colors against a blue sky makes for an amazing photograph. Click here to view some interesting reading in relation to Fall photography. I hope you enjoy the article. Be sure to come back to see other images as well as links to other useful information on photography.
Click here to view an interesting RSS feed.

Bookmark this on Delicious

JAZZ!

This concert photograph of Wynton Marsalis was shot at the Detroit State Fair several years back. Some of the concerts at the State Fair were free with admission. I recall enjoying a nice summer day at the fair and then finding very close seats well in advance of the jazz concert. Wynton put on a wonderful concert. I found that he looked right into the camera many times. I shot a lot of wonderful concert photographs that evening. Remember to shoot a lot of photos to get the handful of wonderful shots. This particular image was shot with 35mm film long before I even knew what a digital camera was. Every single concert shot takes on a different mood and expression. Happy shooting!

Bookmark this on Delicious

Up..Up..and Away!

Every year at the Hot Air Jubilee there are many photo opportunities. When you can shoot a single frame that is so full of color, you tend to want to bring out the colors and bring a special "pop" to these types of photographs. This image was manipulated in Adobe Photoshop. This is one of my favorite images showing vibrant colors and the possibilities available with a little time and a photo editing program.

Bookmark this on Delicious