When good photos are bad (or how I spent two days taking bad photos)

What a mess! Forget Monday. For all intent and purposes, it didn't happen. At least not in pictures. I could say there was a camera meltdown due to the heat, but it was simply an operator error. And we all know who the operator was. So the first photos I got of the guys formally known as Babylon Saints, was on stage, a stage that was lit only by some colored Christmas type lights in the ceiling. Why I didn't think to take my camera that actually takes flash shots is beyond me. I guess it's because I simply don't go to bars or clubs.

Here they are, jumping around and thrilling the crowd.

My friend Joseph, on steel drums, never stands still, no matter what. In the low light, it was impossible to capture him. Did I not mention these pictures are probably worse than the ones I didn't actually take?

Isn't this a great shot? I nearly deleted it (along with about 50 that I actually DID delete), but thought it would make a super background for a digital layout. Always thinking art these days!

Here is another really poor shot of the band.

Tucker, the bass player on the right, was lit by a flash from someone's camera in this shot.

No one was in focus,

not even my dear friend, Bill Hawks. There was simply not enough light. So some wonderful shots got dumped, even ones I would have loved to save.

I took a photo of this pink bicycle for my friend Halle, who loves pink. I think this is a photography studio, but I had trouble with low light and lots of back glare.

Even as the guys were loading their vehicle after the gig, Tucker is really out of focus and Joseph is not even visible in the photo.

For an after party, we went to a friend's loft downtown, about three blocks from the bar/club. Scott and I followed the guys in the band car. Emily, whose loft it is, has an awesome art collection. It's all so eclectic.

I only wish I could have gotten these painting in focus. They are stunning, as are many of her art pieces.

Of course the view from the second floor balcony was super. I should back up and say that Emily lives on the top floor of an old renovated warehouse. She has two levels, the main floor and the one above it that has her office/library and balcony that looks out over the city.

It's really much prettier than these photos convey.

On Tuesday, while I was making veggie pockets and tea, the guys went out to see if they could work in one more gig before they left town.

Here they are back and ready to eat. Tucker was the first out.

Joseph was listening to something,

and Matt was talking to Bleubeard.



As we were finishing the meal, but before I finished cleaning off the table, I took a few minutes to take some photos.

Bleubeard took the opportunity to sit on Matt's lap. Matt has two cats, so he is no stranger to fur babies. Right after we met, he flipped out his phone and proudly showed their photos to me. He said both cats together weighed about what Bleubeard does.

Bleubeard has finally seen me. I wonder what he's thinking. Of course, cats don't think or reason, but it's always fun to play "what if."

The guys really loved the China white tea I had started earlier in the day (for Tuesday Tea) and one of the guys brought inside. They were all so helpful.

I love this photo

and this one, too. These guys are always so much fun.

A few more candid shots and

it's time to think about putting the rest of the food away. The only things left out were fruit, which I encouraged them to take, and potato salad we had yet to put in the fridge.

You can see, even the potato salad and cottage cheese were left in their containers. I simply didn't feel like getting fancy, and I knew the guys could have cared less. They were just delighted (and immensely grateful) for a cool house (heat index well over 100 both days) and food in their tummies.

As I got ready to finish clearing off the table, Joseph noticed the camera I was using. He asked if I had video of the previous night and I said yes, but Scott said he'd have to take it off the camera (since I don't have any directions, and Scott is always eager when it comes to video equipment).

Joseph said he could find the videos I took and they could see them.

True to form, here they are, watching one of the videos I had taken the night before. If all goes well, I will ask Scott the next time I see him to transfer them to something I can put on my blog. Sorry, no art today. Not even good photography.

I'm really not lazy. I'm just tired. And I really didn't want to find a blog today. But I promised something each day, and so far I'm over half way through the year and still plugging away at a link a day. I found a web site that some of you might enjoy. It's by Franklin Einspruch, who up until May of this year ran Artblog.net. Now he has a web site that features art, commentary, writings, comics, and a weekly journal that picks up where Artblog.net leaves off. I hope you enjoy it, even though I didn't bother letting Einspruch know he's been featured today.

Now I'm going to take the day off from doing laundry, making beds, and other mundane things, get a good day's sleep, visit a few blogs, and get some art done. I have a new tutorial I hope to have ready by the beginning of next week. Have a great day everyone. I promise to be around to see you later today.