Quincey's Friday the 13th Show

Parade Route played Quincey's in Rohnert Park with Over The Falls, The mud the blood and the beer, & Trace of Light. A lot of people came out to watch and besides it being freezing in the bar, it was a good show. I was able to get a few shots of each of the bands, except for Trace of Light. I was the designated driver for the evening and the drive back to Novato is long.

Ryan from Over the Falls- I really didn't like the lighting in the picture and I think I made it even worse using the spotlight filter.

Tim from Over the Falls- I would have liked this to be more in focus, but I just love the expression on his face.

Brett from Over the Falls- Just can't take a man from his music. I love photos that show a person loving what they are doing.

Gabe from The mud, the Blood and the Beer- Drummers work hard, can't you tell?

John from The mud, the Blood and the Beer

Grant from The mud, the Blood and the Beer

I tried playing around with the corner angle a bit. I've been inspired lately by a portrait photographer that leaves a lot of space leading to her subject.









Sadly, there's one last show with Andrew later this month. He's decided to focus on school and is leaving the band. He better be ready to bring on his rock face to the last show!!

Meet Miranda

This was my friend that was living inside my classroom. I didn't get a good picture of the other one living in the window above my desk. I named her (not sure if was male or female) Esmeralda. These two make that four black widows I've found in my classroom. One was under my desk! I am hoping to not find anymore.
The picture was taken with the Panasonic DMC-FX37. It's pretty good point and shoot with a terrific wide angle.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, DVC college, 10/2/09

My friend Sara graciously trusted me to be the photographer for her concert. I was really nervous about this because it is completely different from photographing my husband's band. One, it's not my husband and if I suck, I would feel bad. Two, while it may be similar to rock band photography, it is still different.

I'm not very excited about the pictures. They are ok, but they are not fabulous. (Sara, you can tell me different and maybe I'll see the light!) Russ says they look good. All the close-up shots that I loved were too blurry. I just didn't feel right using flash even though Sara said I could. I got some nice, crisp pictures with the 50mm 1.8, but my zoom lens is a 4-5.6and only worked when I was close to my subjects.

I did get a really nice comment after the show. A woman came up and asked if I was the photographer. After I said yes, she praised me for my photography etiquette and said she hardly realized I was there. She felt it made her experience that much better. It was very kind of her to take the time to tell me that. Later, Sara's sister called me a picture ninja. I accept the new name. I am the picture ninja!

Next time: (if Sara and Monte still want me...) Bring my monopod. I was going to bring it last time, but forgot. Consider renting a zoom lens with a wider aperture.



This was my favorite from the show.








I love the raw emotion I caught in Monte's face. You can tell he is enjoying the music.

Parade Route - Phoenix, Petaluma, Sep. 25, 2009

The Parade Route rocked the Phoenix once again. They put up a bunch of new lighting and it made photographing a bit different than last time. I think I liked the lighting better last time.

I always try to get a good photo where I frame Andrew in Stephen's base. I did it! Now my new goal is to not have anything in front of Andrew's face.


Andrew and his super rock face. This has got to be one of the best rock face shots I been able to take of Andrew...he must be practicing! Now, if I could just figure out how to get rid of red eye when I take the photo.


I love the photos with the lights in them and have been trying to work them in more.


This is my new favorite Parade Route photo. I just love how Andrew is in the corner and the single light focusing on him gives the photo a great feeling.


Stephen seemed to be the focus of a lot of my photos this time. The light was the best on this side of the stage.


I like the corner angle shots. It makes for a much more interesting photo.

Parade Route CD Release Show 9/4/09

The Parade Route along with uMend and Scraping for Change rocked Brown's Binyerd in Novato. It was a well attended show and I think everyone was impressed with the new album. I, on the otherhand, was feeling very under the weather and took very few pictures that I am happy with. There were a few. I'm a little frustrated that I wasn't able to get pictures of everyone from uMend and Scraping for Change.

The poster...I was disappointed that I never got a picture of the posters under the lamps. I just didn't make it back there before people took them.


The singer of uMend - Hamish.


The guitar player, Darren, and the drummer, Scott, of uMend.


The bass player of Scraping for Change - Jonathan. Love the rock face!








I like the pictures without flash much better. The venues just don't make it easy on me with their lack of light. This one didn't turn out too bad though.

The Parade Route - Quincey's, Rohnert Park, Aug. 21, 2009

I think this is the most difficult place I've photographed a band. Not only was the lighting really poor, but there were mirrors I had to avoid on both sides of the stage. You will notice that I also just introduced myself to vignetting. I think it gives the photos a "rock-show" edge.







I like the dichotomy between rockstar Andrew and the pretty, flowered wallpaper.


I like that all the light is focused on his guitar.






I just really like this.


Stephen had very red eyes and try as I might, photoshop just wasn't doing what I wanted it to. So, what is another solution for getting rid of red eye? Make it black and white! I really like Russ' expression in this one.


Thanks Russ (guitar/vocals), Andrew (drums), and Stephen (bass) for rocking Quincey's!

Parade Route Photoshoot - Aug. 2009

I had the opportunity to photograph a band hailing from the Sonoma/Marin area called "The Parade Route". These guys are hilarious and they had me laughing the whole time. They had a very specific idea in mind, even bringing along a CD cover they were trying to emulate. I don't own any lighting equipment, so we made do. We tried turning lights off and on in the area as well as bringing in the lamp from the living room. They seemed to think it turned out well.

The two shots they used for their new album, Wreckage and Disaster:




My personal favorite was not an actual shot, I was just shooting to check out the light:


Them enveloped in all their hilarity:


I learned something as well. I need to learn how to make paint through photoshop. I mean actual, physical paint. We've taken samples of the kitchen/diningroom paint to have it matched and it just hasn't come out quite right, yet. You can see the different paint spots we've tried. Not in the photos however, because Photoshop matches those spots perfectly. Amazing!