Yesterday, I wrote about photographing the 2010 Vans Warped Tour at Shoreline Amphitheater. Great fun. I enjoyed several bands and would have photographed more, but there were seven stages playing simultaneously. And, I am not the young rocker I once was.
A couple of bands really grabbed my attention. (Iwrote about Sparks The Rescue yesterday.) After photographing STR, I left. Before I left Vans Warped, I found The Dillinger Escape Plan. Still humming... not to any melody, just the energy.
The Dillinger Escape Plan was all about energy. Reminded me of the first time I heard Ride The Lightning. I was overwhelmed. For about 30 seconds. Then, it just made sense.
And they were cool too. The lead guitarist wore a Ramone's shirt, another sign that tradition is respected everywhere. Do not know how many of the crowd remembered Rock and Roll High School or how many of the crowd were still in high school. It did not matter.
Speaking of T-shirts: The lead singer liked my T-shirt. I wore my Superman shirt, and the singer pointed it out. I could not wait to tell the Herlihy's about it. Such great energy.
First, (and last) time I think I have ever used that expression. I wanted to shout something inappropriate, but I was covering the Vans Warped Tour with two teenage journalists at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, so I controlled myself. Sorta.
We are working on a series of articles about concert photography. I am playing the role of adult mentor.
Kinda.
Most of the time, I remained calm. I attended The Warped Tour with Ina Herlihy, the National Student Journalist of the Year. Ina's sister Emma also joined us. Ina and Emma photographed and interviewed many bands from the Vans Warped Tour. I was relaxed, "teacherly"
It happened twice... getting lost in the music. Though we photographed a few bands, two really grabbed me. I wanted to dive into the crowd with the other crowd surfers and take photos while on my back. Maybe next time, when I am not trying so hard to be an adult. Even now, as I write, I am gritting my teeth, holding back. It was so much OMG fun. Something happened where the musicians and the photographer and the crowd seemed to know we were performing together... creating art together.
Every generation probably thinks they discover music and partying and whatever. It is best that way. Interestingly, when Ina and her sister Emma Herlihy interviewed bands and asked the new bands who influenced them, the new bands all mentioned older bands ... like Zeppelin. Or the Rolling Stones. Or punk bands I remember when my college roommate would blast Black Flag. Almost anyone good respects their predecessors. If you read old Mick Jagger interviews, Mick discusses how he was inspired by music of many genres and generations before him. The Rolling Stones may have invented their image, but they borrowed heavily.
Unlike most teenagers at the Vans Warped concert, Ina and Emma worked hard. Most people on the stage and behind it work hard too... sometimes they work hard at looking as if they do not work hard. Image matters. Of course, I think Ina and Emma had fun. Here they are enjoying themselves interviewing someone from MayDay Parade.
Emma Herlihy, Ina Herlihy, and... Ina who is this from MAYDAY PARADE? He doesn't look like his website photo. Oh, and by the way, they have one of my favorite song titles... Ina answers in the comment section.
I am not teaching this summer, and I miss it. I miss the responsibility and the daily interaction. However, with my current position I am able to see more of the USF Upward Bound Program. I can watch class discussions and see tutors work with students. I can follow the residential program... I can follow all online discussions. During the first week, I still spent time with the Upward Bound Math-Science Program. On Tuesday, I watched their class work in the University of San Francisco Library. On Friday, I visited them on their Chinatown field trip.
Alicia Stephens is leading the students on a group project called "San Francisco State of Mind." This project engages students in all the STEM academic areas. (STEM is an acronym for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics.)
The group project also develops important teamwork skills. Upward Bound prepares students for college success. By learning how to work in groups, Upward Bound students are learning how to succeed in college as well as life. On the second day of the program, I photographed the students at the USF Library while they researched their State of Mind assignment. Following the slideshow, I have included several other University of San Francisco Upward Bound links.
The slideshow of our Math-Science students researching their group project at the USF Library.
On June 25, the Math Science program visited San Francisco's Chinatown and learned about the neighborhood's history. Below the students toured Chinatown alleys. It is amazing that people travel from all over the world and locals never see these old alleys... never learn the old stories. What did they learn about their own neighborhoods?
The group split into two tours. My daughter and I joined the tour in progress. (I was off most of the day, but this was worth the visit.) What will my little girl learn from the Chinatown tour?
The Epilepsy Foundation publishes a magazine for people with epilepsy called EpilepsyUSA, and if you follow this link , you can read my column in the magazine. In the current edition, a few photos are published too.
If you read my living with epilepsy post from several months ago, you can understand why having something published in a national epilepsy magazine is a big deal. I did not want people to know that I had epilepsy.
For this post, I am including one of my favorite photos epilepsy below. I took it at Camp Coehlo last year. I was up in the Yosemite forest photographing one of the teen-aged campers. The climbers face is intentionally obstructed so that a person could imagine almost anyone having epilepsy... and so that anyone with epilepsy can imagine themselves flying through the Yosemite forest supported by others.
Camp Coehlo, 2009
I thought that acknowledging having epilepsy would limit how people saw me. (It might.) I also thought living openly might limit how I saw myself. The opposite has happened. Because I know that epilepsy can change someone's life suddenly, and because I want to be prepared to help people with epilepsy, I have realized that I must become more accepting of others. I am asking that other people become more accepting also.
I am not naive. We call each other names and then wonder why people do not want to play with us. We engage in petty arguements and wonder why we cannot solve large problems. Perhaps that is why I like the photo...
The person with epilepsy could be anyone. It could be our ally or our enemy. Are we prepared to help both? Either?
So how do we climb just a little higher? How do we become just a little better? How do we demand that our friends do the same?
These are questions easier asked than answered. Still, worth being asked.
About fifteen years ago, I had an exciting job... a really exciting job. We could not stop thinking about work even when we had the chance. I worked a twenty five hour day after working several eighteen hour days. I loved it.
One of my co-workers would relax by going to the nearby park in downtown Santa Barbara. (It is the park where the big Summer Solstice Parade ends.) She sat on the swings. Even thinking about the swings calms me. Back and forth; back and forth. Hypnotic. We probably went to the park less than I remember.
Now that it is summer, I am searching for tree swing stories... either from your childhood or your children's lives.
You may also visit my other Tree Swings For Kids links listed below
Bryan Farley dot Com I own my name.
This site is my primary photography website. The embeddable photo slideshows that appear throughout my blogs are from Photoshelter. I have been a customer since 2006. Unfortunately, the flash slideshows do nothing for SEO.
