09.07.11
Mandolin Farm Bluegrass Festival is back! Despite missing last year due to personal reasons, and this year’s 100º Labor Day weekend weather, owner and promoter Willie Jarrells pulled off another great weekend of bluegrass entertainment.
Although Mandolin Farm is a fairly young festival, it has become one of the favorites of festival goers looking for great bluegrass music in a family friendly setting. From the moment you pull up to the main gate at Mandolin Farm you know you’re among family. After all, who, other than family, would actually help you set up your camper? Or for that matter set it up all the way for you, as you sit and watch? And the staff doesn’t disappear after they set you up. Help is always within a few minutes away at “The Farm”, from Willie’s dad helping out with electric to his uncle taking deposits for your site next year.
Beyond a first-class staff, you’ll also find top-notch bluegrass music at Mandolin Farm. Rhonda Vincent, IIIrd Tyme Out, Mountain Heart, Ralph Stanley, Marty Raybon and Dailey & Vincent are among the many great acts that have entertained crowds at Mandolin Farm. And in case you’ve not had enough bluegrass after the music stops on stage, you can always catch one of the many jams throughout the campsites. This year one of the favorites were the Weary Jammers. As host band, the Jammers entertained the crowd on stage for two shows on both Friday and Sunday as well as playing late into the night off stage.
If you’re looking for a great festival with the best of facilities, great music and a staff that make you feel like family, then you should put Mandolin Farm on your list of “must attend” events.
Check out the entire gallery here. Enjoy!
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08.30.11
I shot my boy’s soccer games for close to 10 years collecting an image library of thousands upon thousands of shots. After shooting all those soccer games one would think I’ve had my share of soccer but when a friend of mine asked me to shoot the Highlands varsity girls I jumped right on it. Of course I didn’t realize it was an 8:00 pm game! Nothing like testing the old skills under the lights. Shooting at night really boosts my respect for pro sports shooters. For those of you with any understanding of photography, I was shooting a good part of the second half at ISO 2500. Thanks to Canon’s CMOS sensor on my 5D Mark II there wasn’t a huge grain (noise) issue. Though it’s not the fastest Canon for sports, the full-frame helps with tighter crops. So much for the photography mumbo-jumbo. I try to keep my blog on the lighter side, without a bunch of technical junk, so sorry for getting off topic!
I hope to get to some additional games this season, so if you or someone you know has any interest in me shooting for “your” team, drop me an email and if I have the time available I’d love to shoot some more games.
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08.27.11
I’ve talked about going to Brown County Bluegrass Festival for a few years now, and once I found out IIIrd Tyme Out was on the schedule for the 2011 show I decided it was time I went.
The festival is held on the Brown County Fairgrounds and has plenty of great camping spots. It’s not your typical bluegrass festival camping on grass or in the middle of a field but there’s plenty of great level spots with reliable electric. The people that run the place is great. I was only there for the one day, but in that amount of time I heard quite a few visitors bragging on the festival. The lineup was great as well. If I had the time I would have liked to stay for the entire weekend but decided Thursday was the best day to give it a go. IIIrd Tyme Out played twice and as usual, both shows were great.
If you’re looking for a new festival to try out, and live in the greater Cincinnati area, Brown County would be a great choice!
Having only spent one day there, the gallery is small compared to my typical bluegrass festival galleries. I also shot quite a bit of video which I’ll post on my YouTube Channel soon. If you’re a IIIrd Tyme Out fan and would like to check out those videos then visit my FaceBook page to check for updates. Here’s my personal FaceBook page. And my BluegrassPhotography.Net FaceBook page.
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08.09.11
I recently visited The Fort Thomas Military and Community Museum and decided it would be a great place to shoot some 360º panoramic photographs. The image above is a shot of the Military History Room. Click on the link below to be taken “into” the room through an interactive 360º tour of Fort Thomas’ rich military history. Be aware this is a large file, but worth the wait. Also, be sure to click on the “full screen” icon once the page loads to get the whole experience.
I will be returning to the museum soon to shoot a couple of rooms from the recently opened Beverly Hills Supper Club display.
If you’re from Northern Kentucky or Southern Ohio and remember the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the new exhibit prepared by students of Northern Kentucky University.
City of Fort Thomas Museum
940 Cochran
Fort Thomas, KY 41075-2314
(859) 815-8481
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08.05.11
Shots of Great American Ballpark during the Paul McCartney show.
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07.24.11
NASCAR fans in Kentucky have been waiting for NASCAR since the Kentucky Speedway opened. With the inaugural running of the Quaker State 400 their dreams finally came true.
I did not have a ticket to the race but thought I’d go down for the day and just hang out and shoot the pre-race festivities. If you’ve ever been to a NASCAR race, which I hadn’t, you’d know about the craziness before the races. Think NFL game tailgating times 100.
Typical of my bluegrass festival photos, I wanted to capture the event so that after you’ve seen the photos you feel like you were actually there. That’s very difficult to do, but I sure had a great time trying. I did end up going to the race, although these photos are not really about the race. They’re about the fans of NASCAR, and the pre-race party.
Thanks to all the great fans that let me capture their moment. Again, like the bluegrass festival crowd, the fans were friendly, down to earth and love anyone with a camera!
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07.04.11
4th of July weekend, and so much to shoot! I shot fireworks in Fort Thomas, skipped the parade because it was raining so I decided I’d shoot the hot air balloon glow at old Coney Island. I had gone to this event one other time but I don’t remember it being so crowded. It took me 45 minutes to get from the end of the 275 bridge to my parking spot. And for future reference if you see this event advertised as “free”, make sure to take $10 for parking. I found myself counting change to get in!
The crowds and embarrassment of counting change to get in aside, this was a great event so be sure to put it on your list of 4th of July weekend “must dos”. The balloons and the crews that bring them are great, and the fireworks will take you back to the good ol’ days of the amusement park before the mega parks like King’s Island. The only things missing were the Shooting Star and The Mousetrap!
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06.15.11
Bluegrass friends have told me for years that I should check out the Appalachian Uprising Bluegrass Festival. So when I saw that Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, one of my favorites, was playing at the Uprising I decided this was my year to check it out. Great decision! I have been to both very large and very small festivals and I’d put this one right in the mix of the top festivals in the country. The lineup was, and always been great for a festival of this size. You’d have to be a bluegrass fan to understand, but I’m always amazed that national acts play at such small venues. To those not into bluegrass, it would be like, say the Eagles playing at your county fair. The main difference is of course the Eagles would not come out afterwards and jam with their fans. But that’s just bluegrass!
The one thing that stood out to me about this festival was that it was attended by not just bluegrass fans, but due to the lineup also included a rather “different” crowd. I’ve never been to a Grateful Dead show, but after the Uprising, I feel like I’ve experienced something rather close to one. A good part of the crowd was “Deadhead Like”. The other thing that stood out to me was that a lot of the younger non-bluegrass types brought their children. There were tons kids running around all weekend. Not teenagers, but younger. As you’ll see in the galleries, the kids really caught my eye. Not that kids aren’t at most bluegrass festivals, but as you’ll see in the photos, the “bluegrass kids” have never stood out to me like these kid.
Lastly, I should mention that the lineup met every expectation. As I noted, Nitty Gritty Dirt band is one of my favorites so there are a ton of shots of them playing. John McEuen (banjo player) even came over to me during one of the songs and asked that I get a shot of him showing the head of his new Deering banjo. Then gave me his business card to send it to him. Sam Bush was great as usual. And of course Del McCuory Band was great. Del even played with Sam Bush for a few.
If you’ve never been to the Uprising, put it on your list of must see shows!
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