The Return of Throwback Thursdays

The Eels at Music Hall of Williamsburg, July 30th, 2011

One of my weekly blog post topics had fallen to the wayside ever since the Gotye concerts in September. For the newer followers, Throwback Thursday posts are old pictures from before I had this blog; sometimes they are really old film shots. They tend to focus on something that's currently going on in my life.

I've been fairly busy processing wedding photos the past week or so and I'm about to start work on my first photo album design. I received word that my favorite band, The Eels, will be touring next year. Back in 2011, I took some great shots with the point and shoot camera and sent them along to their webmaster. This was the first band to use my photos and give me credit for it and my goal was to convince them to let me shoot with my DSLR on their next tour. Of course, the band took a break, so I focused my efforts elsewhere. I kept shooting and sharing images with bands and had some lucky breaks. I am always excited when I have the opportunity to photograph a band; it doesn't matter who they are because it's what I love to do.

The Eels at Music Hall of Williamsburg, July 29th, 2011 

(No, I did not use flash in this picture. It was the result of timing out the strobe lights provided by the band)

I reached out to the connections I've made concerning the Eels as soon as I heard. I've even made a back up plan to try to cover this concert for a website that I would very much like to shoot for. While I had a great experience in 2011, I know this band has a very bad reputation with photographers. On the one hand, that's good because not a lot of photographers are jumping up and down to cover them. On the other hand, it's made me feel very uncomfortable. This is my favorite band and I would be absolutely crushed if that reputation applied to me. The voice of self doubt rages, 'Maybe you shouldn't cover this.'

I made a reference this week that only my coworkers and close friends will understand: The Eels are like the Foran High School Graduation of concerts. I'm sure that makes no sense to you, but luckily, I have another Throwback Thursday post that explains this. (How blasé of me to reblog a past Throwback Thursday post in my current Throwback Thursday post!) When you have been warned by not one, but multiple photographers that have covered the exact same subject, that you should walk away, you should probably take that advice. That was definitely the case of the Foran High School Graduation shoot, except for one little fact. It is, to this day, by far one of the most bizarre and hilarious stories and experiences I have ever had.

What am I here for if not to experience life? And how will I grow and learn if I don't take that chance? It might turn out to be a horrible experience. It might turn out to be incredible. I'm sure I will have a great story to tell one way or the other. The Eels are the band that reignited my passion for concert photography and I want to properly cover them the way they deserve. Maybe, just maybe, I will change their minds about photographers.

Either way, I'm gonna wear a green shirt; it's what I'm know for!

Throwback Thursday: Where the May comes from

Me on my 3rd Birthday and Grandma May

 Me, Grandma May on her 71st Birthday and my brother Nick 

(There might just be 71 candles on that cake, my God!)

I wanted to share a couple of old pictures with you this week. Today would have been my grandmother's 98th birthday. As you can see, we were close. My family used to call her Grandma Soup; whenever you were sick she would make you homemade chicken soup from scratch. She was an amazing woman that taught me so much and is where the May of Audra May Photography comes from. While I still miss her tremendously, I know how fortunate I am to have known and loved her.

Throwback Thursday: Ben Folds Five

This week's Throwback Thursday is a no brainer. The first time I saw Ben Folds Five live, it was days before the release of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. Thirteen years later, I'll see Ben Folds Five a few days before the official release of The Sound of the Life of the Mind. (I say official because the band released a free download yesterday to everyone who pledged support of the new album.)

I have a lot to say on this, but I'm am so far behind on just about everything in my life. I'll save my thoughts on the new album for the concert review.

Lots of quality posts next week, I promise.

Throwback Thursday

Mokoli'i, also known as Chinaman's hat, in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oahu

I can't believe it's been FIVE years since my friends and I vacationed in Hawaii! And, it only took me five years to scan the group picture from the Luau. (Sorry about that guys!)

I think we didn't like the photographer because Christian, Lisa and I all have balled up fists. I'm guessing I was probably trying to tell her to center us before I punch you in the face.

There were many memorable moments to the trip, but the craziest of them all is, without a doubt, when Christian was selected to dance on stage at the luau. Out of the hundreds of attendees, he was chosen. I remember hearing, "Hi, I'm Christian from Connecticut!" announced over the speakers and I dropped my drink and bolted to the stage with my camera.

After the performance, he was a celebrity. Everybody stopped to high five Christian from Connecticut.

Just think, guys, we're only five years away from our ten year reunion!

Throwback Thursday: Company Softball Game

Hersam Acorn Newspapers company softball game 2008

I've never lost a company softball game, including the year that the picture was taken. We picked names out of a hat and the teams were so lopsided, they actually considered redrafting. I said, no, it's fun being the underdog. Within the first couple of innings, my team was down by 16 runs, which lulled the other team into a false sense of security. We picked away at the lead and went up by one run in the top of the 7th. When the pop fly for the final out of the game was caught, I threw my glove into the air as though my team had just won the gold medal. I've played a lot of softball in my life, and no victory had been that exciting.

I had to sit out the next year because of my knee injury, but with a steady routine of rehab and training, I was back the following year, 9 months after ACL reconstruction. Although hesitant in the field, my first at bat was a two run homerun. Nothing in my life had ever felt so good as it did when I sprinted around the bases, pain free. My knee ballooned to the size of a volleyball the next day, no worries, just overuse, but it was absolutely worth it. Last year, there was minimal swelling and I felt great in the field. I even made a diving catch down the third base line to rob one of the owners of the company a hit.

Ever since my knee injury, I look forward to the game. I like to joke that I spent $50,000 to fix my knee for this game alone. This year, I'm team captain and I look forward to keeping the winning streak alive.

There will be more in the next couple weeks about the knee surgery, so if you've stumbled across this post because you want to know more about ACL recovery, make sure you come back!

Throwback Thursday: Family Vacations

I'm going on vacation next week! What better way to gear up for this than looking through the old family photo albums? Yes, yes, recalling some of my fondest memories here...

Here we are in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1984. I sure do look thrilled. Then again, I'm only four years old, so maybe I hadn't gotten the hang of smiling for pictures yet. On a side note, my brother Jimmy is rocking the Ghostbusters t-shirt while I'm in an R2D2 tank top??? Where is that tank top? I want it back!!!

1985, Plymouth Rock. Ok, I'm not looking very happy in this one either. Nick is clearly having a blast, even if he doesn't have any of his teeth...

1986 at Yankee Stadium. In my defense, we all look pretty annoyed in this picture. At least Nick is pretending like he's having fun while the rest of us are shooting daggers at my father, taking the picture.

Maine fishing trip in 1987. Ok, seriously, who the heck puts their kids in front of a smelly, bloody bin full of dead mackerel and expects a Kodak moment?

Lastly, we have a couple of giddy kids at Hershey's Chocolate World in 1988. It's like Willy Freakin' Wonka; look at the joy and wonder on their faces! Wait a minute...we're not looking all that blissful. I can't understand why. Just look at my teal high top converse sneakers!

Hopefully next week finds me slightly happier than my childhood.*

*My childhood was actually pretty happy and we went on a ton of vacations. Thanks for that Mom and Dad! There were plenty of pictures of us looking happy, I just scanned the angry ones. Honestly, I hated having my picture taken as a kid. I think it was because I was momentarily stopped from having fun and being forced to take a picture. I also think it's hilarious that I'm a photographer. A photographer that to this day, still hates having my picture taken.

Throwback Thursday

This week's Throwback Thursday post goes back to 2007 and was taken in Hawaii. Father and daughter walking on the beach, with just a hint of a rainbow in the sky.

Tomorrow is Vanessa's birthday, but that's fr EYE day. So Happy early Birthday, Vanessa! I couldn't ask for a better friend. Thanks for always being yourself and my partner in crime. My crazy experiences wouldn't be any fun without you!

Throwback Thursday

Hope everyone made it through the Fourth of July safely.

Back in 2005, my friends used to jump over fireworks. Xian claimed that the sulfur didn't burn, yet his arm and leg hair were always mysteriously singed on the fifth of July.

Throwback Thursday

This week's Throwback Thursday post is from Milford Camera Shop's Christmas Party. It has to be from at least 2001 because I'm drinking a beer at a restaurant. There's some nice ghosting and light trails going on, compliments to Trainer Steve who took the picture. Left to right are: Dave, myself and Spooner.

My days as a specialty lab print technician and sales associate at the camera shop were some of the most formative in my life. I learned so much from all the photographers there and formed friendships that are lasting till this day.

I had the opportunity to meet up with Dave over the weekend. He moved to Texas several years ago, so we don't get to see each other all that much anymore. What made this visit extra special was that we got to talking about our goals and what we want to be doing with our lives. As much as I share on this blog, I don't open up to many people in conversation. For some reason, I always thought there would be this clear path in life. This is what I want to be when I grow up, so this is how I go about doing it. It's not easy admitting that you actually have no clue in life.

Dave's been going through the same struggles with what he's passionate about: films. He listened to the successes I've had up to this point, praised what I've done, listened to my plan of action then said something that meant more to me than he probably knew: You're doing exactly what you should be, Aud.

That's some powerful stuff. Thanks for that, Dave!

Throwback Thursday

An old film print circa 2000 at the Hamden Rose Garden. I, of course, find an amazing curved tulip at a rose garden.

Throwback Thursdays

I love night photography almost as much as I love concert photography. It's so much fun to be able to create an image that you wouldn't see in normal life. Painting with gels, sparklers, flash lights and my personal favorite, fireworks.

The above image is from 2005, from the Stratford Fireworks Display. When I shoot fireworks, I bring my tripod and cable release. I use a low ISO to be able to have a longer shutter speed. Watch a few fireworks to see the general position in the sky and focus on a burst. Switch the focus to manual and fire away. This was shot at f11, high depth of field, and is a 3 second exposure with my 70-200 lens. I started fully zoomed in and slowly during the exposure, zoomed back out. It creates the three dimensional light trails. You get the opposite effect if you zoom in while the shutter is open.

Play, experiment and above all else, have fun.

For anyone that just found their way over to this blog thanks to Matt Paxton's shout out, here's a link to the post he was talking about. Thanks, Matt!

Throwback Thursdays

One of my first digital forays into concert photography: The Iguanas at Cafe Nine in New Haven, 2005. I thought I would follow up my post about music and inspiration with a photo that I'm not entirely proud of. I think it shows growth and it's always a good reminder to see how far you've come. This is where I was 7 years ago as a photographer.

It was taken with a Canon G4, the only camera I've ever actually hated with a passion. To this day, I won't buy Canon point and shoot cameras. In case you're wondering, I recommend Panasonic Lumix for point and shoots. I do shoot Canon for my SLR, so it's not all hate. It's just that the G4 was slow, grainy and the lag on it was so bad, you had to take the picture before it happened. I let my nephew use it these days.

This concert was an absolute riot. Vanessa and I found a table at the back of the bar, which ended up being next to the Red Stripe promotional girls. We got tons of free Red Stripe swag and they gave us full beers they were supposed to be distributing to the audience. If you're ever at a show and you're waiting for the band to start, don't go outside and complain about the band not starting unless you know what all of the band members look like. Turns out Vanessa and I were being quite verbal in front of the bass player.

This is also the concert where Vanessa and I were deemed "The Girls in the Back" by the band. Cafe Nine is really small. At the end of their set, The Iguanas left the stage and walked to the back, right by our table. We cheered and shouted our brains out and Joe, the lead tenor sax player dedicated the encore to us. Amazing experiences tend to follow Vanessa and myself at concerts.

Throwback Thursdays

This is an old print taken at the Bronx Zoo.

Just before the seals killed the baby duck.

It's a long story...

Throwback Thursdays

The following is from an actual conversation I had yesterday. I'd done a music swap with a friend and I'd started sorting through some of it.

Me: I can't believe you have Gnarls Barkley.
Friend 1: Why? I really like Gnarls Barkley.
Me: It surprised me is all. That and he sounds a lot like Cee Lo Green.
Friend 2: Audra, Gnarls Barkley IS Cee Lo Green.
Me: **chuckling nervously** Huh! How 'bout that!

I love when I say incredibly stupid things! It just goes to show that I don't know everything about music, but I'm good for a laugh. Whenever I feel like I've just made a fool of myself, I like to think of the party pictured above.

Back in 2003, I threw a small gathering at my parents house because they were away on vacation; good thing my rents don't read this blog. It was the Party of Five State: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Montana were all represented. The party was centered around the arrival of my friend Hollis, from Montana, who was also Deaf. (I know a little sign language.) So here we are, having a good time, drinking, playing card games, I remember there were mullet wigs being passed around for photos. One friend, whom shall remain nameless went on to 'say' the most hilariously dumb thing in all of history.

As I stated, Hollis is Deaf, so if my friends wanted to converse with him, they either asked me to sign or they wrote on a piece of paper. Except Vanessa, who went on to sign the entire song I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas because she had learned how to sign it in grammar school and could still remember it. Which was highly entertaining, by the way. Other friend whom shall remain nameless, was having an animated written conversation with Hollis. I looked over and saw Hollis staring at the paper, up at my friend, over at me and then shrugged his shoulders with a 'You have to be kidding me' look on his face. I had to know what it was about. The notebook read, and I kid you not:

"Do you like to listen to Bob Dylan?"

Think about that for a second. It's not that Deaf people don't listen to music, they do, but of all the musical artists in all the world, the friend whom shall remain nameless asks about Bob Dylan. Bob Freakin' Poet Dylan. If that wasn't funny enough, remember, the friend whom shall remain nameless had to WRITE THIS QUESTION ON A PIECE OF PAPER.

So if you ever say something incredibly stupid and you feel like a fool, just remember, you could've asked a Deaf guy if he likes to listen to Bob Dylan.

Oh, and in case you missed this yesterday from my facebook posting, you MUST check this out.

Throwback Thursdays

I feel like this old scan of myself, circa 2000, epitomizes the week I had, and it was the perfect use of the Kodak Create A Print scanner at the camera shop. I sure did have a lot of hair!

So I'm going to another concert tonight. I'd bought the tickets well before I knew Hotel Lights were going to be touring, figuring I had to have something lined up in order to meet my Go to a concert every month goal. As it turns out, I'll be going to another concert next week, meeting my May quota. Tonight is The Punch Brothers at Town Hall, which might be the perfect venue to see this band.

My musical tastes are pretty diverse. The Punch Brothers are categorized as "Progressive Bluegrass." What the heck does that mean?, and this is why I hate music labels. What it means is they have this ridiculously talented set of musicians. Seriously, Chris Thile can rock a mandolin harder than a mandolin has ever been rocked before. Check this video to see what I'm talking about. Shit gets real 4 minutes in:

For those of you familiar with my blog, you know how much I adore Jon Brion. He's the other guy in that video and a brilliant musician in his own right. A question I'm asked a lot is where do I find new music to listen to? Friends are the best source of recommending new things, but if you've exhausted that outlet, take a look at who musicians you currently listen to work with; another bonus of having linear notes. Before I even listened to Jon Brion, I'd been listening to Jon Brion. He's worked with The Eels, Aimee Mann and Keane, to name a few. Pay attention to the producer who's worked with a band you like and see who else they've worked with. I'm only now starting to appreciate that role. Jon Brion produced The Punch Brothers second record, Antifogmatic, and I have such a high regard for him, I will give any artist he works with a listen. Talented breeds more talent. Need another example?

If you don't know the original song they are covering, I give you this:

(Apologies to my brother Nick for bringing up Of Montreal. I'm still trying to get over it myself) But really, it's a brilliant cover.

I think I've gone on long enough. I could get started on my unnatural obsession with the banjo, but I'm going to save that for another post.

Throwback Thursdays

Darren Jessee on the drums at Lupos, RI.

This Throwback Thursday, I wanted to share a trio of Darren Jessee pictures, back in his Ben Folds Five days. These shots are all from the late 90's. I extracted my collection of BFF pictures from storage, which I'll be posting as I find time to scan some of the prints. Ah, my film shooting days...

I haven't really had time to think about the Hotel Lights concert tomorrow (!!!), but I'm definitely excited. Not only is the concert on a Friday night, so much better than a Wednesday trek into the city, but it's going to be in Williamsburg. That means two things: I've gotten together a decent group of friends to head in and we'll be hitting up Cadaques for some tapas and happy hour drinks!

Intro to Underground at the University of Rhode Island

 

University of Hartford, CT

So if you find yourself with nothing to do Friday night, you should absolutely check out Hotel Lights at Spike Hill. They put on a great show and you can't beat the price! Check out my photos from their CD release party last year and take a listen to their third album, Girl Graffiti.

Throwback Thursdays

Injuries have been on my mind for the past month, since I sprained my wrist bracing myself from a fall. I went back into the college archives for this week's Throwback Thursday. Right hand injuries are nothing new to me. I bruised my hand pretty badly in a sledding mishap and was forced into a plaster cast for a few weeks. It was a lot of fun having my RA drive me to the emergency room in the middle of the night. The ring I was wearing had been crushed and was cutting off circulation in my finger, so it had to be cut off. The ring! Not my finger!

12 years later and I'm still having ridiculous injuries. But hey, wasn't my tie dyed Jimmy Buffett shirt AWESOME??? I'm also becoming proficient with a mouse left handed. I even managed some clone stamping in Photoshop. Go, ambidextrous Audra! If they only made left handed cameras, I'd be all set.

Throwback Thursdays

This week's Throwback Thursday comes from the not too distant past, an Easter Egg Hunt I shot for the Valley Gazette in 2008. I loved this picture from the moment I took it. It reminds me of this:

Normally, I refrain from talking about my day job on this blog. It's no big secret: I work for a newspaper company. I started off in sales, just to get my foot in the door, but my real interest was to be a photographer for the paper. There was something special, almost magical about seeing your name in the paper under your photograph. My mother has saved every single one of my pictures that has run; she even laminates them, too. I'll be honest with you, in 2005, when I started, I didn't even have a digital camera. I was not good. It took a lot of time and practice and mentoring before I felt like I was any good at it. Finding an interesting image at often times boring events is not easy, nor is having to switch from creative mode to reporter mode to be able to document the names and ages of your subjects. To this day, I never really thanked the people that devoted their time and effort, gave me advice and helped me grow as a photographer. Thanks, guys.

I work for a newspaper company, and times have been hard. It definitely feels like we are a dinosaur. The shift into online media, the downfall of the economy has hit the business hard. I've been there for seven years, which is the longest job I've had so far in my life. Seven years and many different titles in several departments. I've made it through I don't know how many rounds of cutbacks at this point. None of them are easy, for anyone, but yesterday really hit home for me.

I don't shoot for the papers often anymore. Photography was one of the first cut backs, and with two staff photographers besides me, photography is not my main job, I gave up a lot. They expect the editors to take on a lot of the photography roles to keep costs down. I understand, but I haven't been happy in the decline of quality over the past few years. Anyone can take a picture. Digital cameras have changed photography forever. I definitely benefit from a lot of those changes. Just because someone can use a camera, doesn't mean they know how to take a picture. I'm not trying to sound elitist here, and I do my best to be down to earth on this blog. In my opinion, it's undeniable that some people see things differently than others. They are creative, they capture the moments better, they know their equipment so well they can shoot without thinking and get a good result in any situation. It takes years to be that good. I'm still getting better at it myself. I'd never be able to do an editor's job and report on budgets, keep up with breaking news or fill a 20 page paper every week. It's not what I do.

Our staff photographers were cut yesterday. I've seen it happening all over the place; CNN dropped about 200 of them over the past couple of months. If readers will submit photos for free, why have photographers on staff? To me, it's about quality. I don't see the shots that used to inspire me growing up. There's no magic in it anymore, and I don't think that's because I've been doing it for seven years. It's why I've been branching out and trying to find a subject for my own photography that continues to challenge me. I want that passion back.

This was one of my early shots for the paper. It's not anything I'm proud of today, except for the fact that it was the first picture that one of the other photographers complimented me on. He pulled me aside at work and said, "The look of joy you captured on that little boy's face? That's what it's all about."

It just saddens me so much to see that caliber of skill and talent gone. The future does not look bright. The arts are slowly dying.

How long until we become an extinct dinosaur?

Throwback Thursdays

An absolute treasure from my past: One of the first photos I was ever proud of! Granted I was 11 years old and Mark Price was my hero. This was shot with a point and shoot Kodak film camera, no zoom, barely a step above a disposable camera. My father sweet talked our way down to the court during warm ups so I could take some pictures. Thanks for that, Dad, and thanks to the super cool security guards that allowed me to. Oh, and thanks to Mark Price for not laughing at a really excited kid who was the only one wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers shirt at a New Jersey Nets game.

Unfortunately, my sense of timing was not spot on at 11. Right after I took this picture, he looked up and smiled. I bet Lebron James wouldn't do that for his fans. Mark Price, nothing but class.

Throwback Thursdays

When Davy Jones passed away last week, I wanted to post this tour book for Throwback Thursday. Unfortunately, it took a little effort to find it in the crawl space. One week late isn't too shabby. I feel like Davy didn't get a whole lot of attention for his untimely death as the train wreck that was Whitney Houston did. I wanted to give Jones his due, at least on my little space of the internet.

The Monkees reunion tour was my first concert. My father got me tickets after I let him pull one of my front teeth out. (It had been loose for days and my constant tinkering with it was driving him nuts.) I was a HUGE Monkees fan, absolutely in love with Davy and seven years old. Although it's not listed in the tour book, I saw them play at the Oakdale Theatre in Connecticut, back when it still had the rotating stage. I remember the woman in front of me had a sign and she held it up every time the Monkees were facing us. Thanks for that, jerk!

Weird Al opened and he was absolutely brilliant; he played a lot off of Dare To Be Stupid.  His final song was One More Minute where he walked through the crowd, handing out handkerchiefs. The Monkees took the stage, well, three of them, to the roar of the audience. My seven year old brain could not comprehend why three old men were standing there. I'd just watched an episode of their TV show that day. What had happened to them? Apparently, this happened to a lot of kids my age.

So here is the complete tour book for the concert, just like I promised my friends on facebook. I wish bands still put things like this out. I would love to see my pictures in a concert book! Enjoy!

I love that additional tour musicians got their own photo spread. Look at the 80's fashion! 

 

And just look at the prices of the merch! $15 for a t-shirt? They cost like $45 these days!