Ongina performs at Peoria Pride Festival
Ongina reacts as a man stuffs money down her bra during a drag performance of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010, at the Peoria Pride Festival on the Riverfront.
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Music
Adam Lambert brings Glam Nation Tour to Peoria
Adam Lambert performs for a packed house on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, at the Peoria Civic Center.
Adam Lambert performs for a packed house on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, at the Peoria Civic Center.
Illinois Blues Festival
My primary assignment this evening was to photograph the opening night of the Illinois Blues Festival down on the Peoria Riverfront. I couldn’t photograph all the bands because of deadline restraints so I tried to mix things up visually given I only shot three of the evening’s bands.
Levee Town guitarist Brandon Hudspeth talks to the crowd after his band finished their set on Friday, Sept. 3, 2010, at the Illinois Blues Festival on the Riverfront.
Easy Riders guitarist Mike Miller performs on Friday, Sept. 3, 2010, at the Illinois Blues Festival on the Riverfront.
A striking similarity
I’ve had the last couple days off so I spent the time updating my portfolio and resume with some of my Austin work. As I was working on the ordering of the portfolio itself, I noticed an odd similarity between a couple of the shots. The first shot is from an Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros show I photographed this summer in Austin, and the second is a feature photo from last summer when I was in South Bend, Ind. What struck me about these shots was the color similarities between the two performers. Both are wearing white jackets and pants with red scarves. Both are carrying microphones. Both have interesting facial expressions. Maybe it’s just me, but I read a bit deeper into the yin and yang of the two photos as well. Alex Ebert is performing for a younger audience while Elvis is performing for the elderly. Some would describe Ebert as a hippie while the Elvis impersonator is clean cut. As I was comparing these photos, it brought to mind a project by Scott Strazzante named ” a lot of interesting matches from his project.
Alex Ebert, lead singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, performs with his band at La Zona Rosa on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. Tuesday night's show was a sell out.
Elvis impersonator Tim Dudley reacts after Forrest F. wouldn't let go of his hand as Dudley greets the crowd during a performance for senior citizens on Friday, June 19, 2009, at the Milton Adult Day Services. Dudley performed several of Elvis' hits for the crowd.
You say goodbye, and I say hello
I had a pretty good summer. I came to this realization on Wednesday, my last day at the Austin American-Statesman, as a few of the staffers looked through my work from my internship. Throughout the entire internship, I had constantly beat myself up over the quality of my work. I’m by far my own worst critic. I often overlook the good and immediately focus on the flaws. I’m extremely driven to be a better photographer, which can sometimes frustrate me when I don’t make perfect images. I might hit a single, but I’m usually swinging for the fences. In the end (literally since it was the last day at work), I realized I had a pretty good summer, and the experience as a whole was beneficial to me.
Larenz Dempz, age 7, tries to keep his balance as he stands on Brian Beavliev's back during a push up at the East Boys and Girls Club on Wednesday, June 16, 2010. Area youngsters participated in a Police Activities League basketball camp at the gymnasium.
Yoga instructor Anna Gieselman leads a group in a stretch during a donation-based class at Casa de Luz on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. The classes are part of Community Yoga, which collects donations and uses the proceeds to teach yoga to underprivileged citizens who can't afford the classes.
Charlie Mars performs at Blues on the Green
Charlie Mars performs at Blues on the Green in Zilker Park on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010.
Charlie Mars performs at Blues on the Green in Zilker Park on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010.
Robert Plant at Stubb’s
Baby, baby, baby, do you like it? Okay, he didn’t actually sing ” area in front of the stage. But as a Zeppelin fan, it was very cool to see Plant perform in person.
Robert Plant performs with the Band of Joy during a sold-out concert at Stubb's on Monday, July 26, 2010.
Rock Camp concert
Today I covered the finale concert for a summer session of Rock Camp USA at Antone’s, a historic music venue in Austin. The camp is ran by the Austin School of Music as a way to encourage youngsters to play rock music together. During the two-week camp, the rockers are divided into bands. These bands pick a name, perform covers and record a demo tape in a recording studio. At the end of the session, they perform in front of parents, friends and family at Antone’s. I did an audio slideshow project on this using photos from this concert and a few that I took earlier in the week at the Austin School of Music.
Goodnight Lane guitarist and singer Janel Duarte waves to the crowd after a song in her band's set during the Rock Camp USA concert at Antone's on Saturday, July 24, 2010.
A young rocker from the group Teddy Bear Asylum performs during the Rock Camp USA concert at Antone's on Saturday, July 24, 2010.
Camp of Rock
Hatin' on the Hair rhythm guitarist Liv Bregger, age 13, and Mason Crowell, age 13, jam before recording with her band during Rock Camp USA at the Austin School of Music on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.
Sydney Dotson prepares to put down a vocals track in the studio as her band, the Explosion of the Minds, are reflected in a window during a session of Rock Camp USA at the Austin School of Music on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.