Posts Tagged: professional music event photographers
Our Merlefest 2018 – Part 2
So much of being event photographers and particularly musical event photographers means being flexible, running around like a crazy person, knowing when stop, drop and roll and when to snap…. not like a maniac, but when to snap a moment. Sometimes it’s random and lucky, sometimes it’s absolute precision and experience and sometimes it’s a function of the reverie of music, memory and fun.
Ryan and I happen to be big time music fans which comes in handy when asked to return as Official photographers for Merlefest and asked to spend a long weekend capturing singer-songwriters, trios or bands we love. We can find the right moment to capture their instruments, collaboration or groove. We’re aware of our jobs, but transported by the music too, you know? As a job, it doesn’t suck. We love the lighting, the venues, the crowds and all the angles that allow us to bring these portraits to you.
Here are more of our favorites from 2018 Merlefest. See 2018 Merlefest Part 1 here.
We Banjo 3
We Banjo 3
Mandolin Orange
Town Mountain
Robert Earl Keen
The Mavericks
The Barefoot Movement
Jamey Johnson
Cliff Ritchey
This year’s Merlefest was not only a blast of great tunes, it allowed us to watch some favorites, see some new faces and capture dynamic moments and crowd-pleasers.
Doolin’
Misty McGuire Case’s photo of Rhianon Giddons performance on Saturday at MerleFest is featured on the Wilkes Journal Patriot.
Ryan Case’s photo of the band Doolin’ caught in mid air at MerleFest is featured on Wilkes Journal Patriot.
The Barefoot Movement on the Watson Stage
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
merlefest 2016 – the big wrap up
Sythian, backlit
Merlefest 2016 had rain, sun, the pair of us wrapping ourselves in outerwear one minute, covering our equipment in plastic the next, changing into shorts and shedding same outerwear, then later putting sweatshirts back on, downloading photo files and racing to the next stage. WE LOVED IT. The pace was hectic and often we had to remind ourselves to eat and yet we still missed many meals. On almost every day, we would get out of the car, smooch and then not see each other again until it was time to leave that night. Occasionally we’d spot each other and wave when passing from one stage to another. (Fun tip: pack a spare pair of socks and keep ’em handy when attending this or any other multi-day fest).
Frontman for Steep Canyon Rangers – Woody Platt
Several bands we, and other photographers, were scheduled to shoot decided to block photographers from capturing any images right before going on stage. While we were disappointed, as were the crowds in the first few rows who were also banned, we did get to see new performers to Merlefest, some performers who’ve been tried and true regulars and some old timers.
Newbies included Lindsay Lou & the Flatbelly’s, from Michigan, who were lively and fun.
Of the regulars, the Steep Canyon Rangers did not disappoint. Out of Western NC – they drew an enormous crowd.
Ryan had the pleasure of covering the Chris Austin Songwriters Competition and photographing participants, including our pal Meris Gant. Austin was a beloved country music singer and songwriter who passed in 1991 and the competition raises scholarship money for Austin’s Memorial fund.
Merlefest will celebrate its 30th year in 2017 and we’re excited about what it will be like in 350 days. With all the new performers and regulars, it’s always nice to see someone who has been performing for 29 years and one of them is Peter Rowan. We’ll leave you with a couple pics of him.
We’re just now getting back to feeling semi-rested, and already looking forward to next year.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden.Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.