Chuck Brown's Wake - Howard Theater, 29 May 2012

Is it correct to say that hundreds turned out - or was it possibly more like thousands - to pay their respects to Chuck Brown, Godfather of Go-Go music, at the Howard Theater earlier this week? For me the number was not clear. What was clear was the amount of love that the people of Washington DC shared for this man. To celebrate a person's life at the time of their death can sometimes sound like a cliche - On this day that is exactly what took place and in a way that would be hard to measure.

A few more from the set here

Black and White Street Photography - First Warm DC Days

The weather is changing, and I'm working on getting the camera out and about - taking a walk to pick up the groceries instead of doing errands on my bike.  The bike which is great for getting from point A to B but which is not condusive to street photography.  Here is a selection of photos from the last couple of weeks, all taken with my Nikon F3. I don't think of myself as a street photographer per say, but it's great practice - making something out of nothing, taking the time to notice things, play with the sun and the angles, get out and sit still for a bit on a corner that one not might normally consider. What's the story today? It is a question that is always worth an answer.

Emma and Morgan - Portraits of Neighbors

I've always wanted to photograph my neighbor Emma ever since we moved into our house six years ago.  She's one of the elder Ledroit Park residents and has always been really wonderful to us, collecting packages when we aren't home and watching the street when we are away, and I like to think of photography as a way to say thank you, show respect or just 'hello'.  But, any time I've ever gone to get the camera or had it and pointed it in her direction, she has always dismissed the idea with a chuckle or a smile and then a backwards wave of her hand.  When the weather turned last week she was out on her stoop with her dog Morgan and I saw a chance - knowing that she loves her dog ! and if I told her it was a photo of her with her Morgan she would say 'yes'. And of course the dog didn't always do what she was supposed to be doing, so I was able to make a photo of just Emma too!

I had initially wished that the image was in color ... it's what I had in the camera on that day.  She had lots of colors on, pink sox, yellow shirt, red flowered slippers, but I think there is something a bit more dignified about not reavealing all of that - probably the reason she doesn't like having her photo taken these days.

Spring Cleaning

I'm re-vamping the portfolio, removing photos that don't fit and in the case of the Pogues' 9:30 Club show, making a new home for them on my blog. It isn't that I wouldn't want to be known as a concert photographer, each week ticking off another show from the list of 100 acts to see before you die (or before they do?). But .. well .. take a look here, and tell me who the rock star is.

***

Set one: Shane takes a drag from a cigarette and spits into the mike. The packed house howls and sways, and we raise our drinks and pretend to understand what he is saying. Shane plays on. His body is old and broken. His music is not. Two songs, and he takes a break, exiting stage left, down the stairs and into the blackness (or as Shane might say, "blech"). I get the impression that he is being taken away to his dressing room on a two-wheeled dolly cart. Set two: I raise my camera, a 1957 Canon rangefinder L-2, into the air and snap a photo. The bouncer points and tells me, "No professional cameras!" What this old thing? .. well yes the lens does come off .. but this old thing? Come on! "Fine" he says smugly, "Not enough light without a flash anyway. You're just wasting your time." snap, snap, snap. Thanks .. and in case you missed it, Shane is smoking on stage again.