Bluesfest Portraits in Performance

I finally got around to popping the google metrics script into this blog, and it occurred to me that: a few more people than I thought are reading this blog, and a little more than half of them have probably never visited my Web site or seen my work.

My primary mission is to talk about the subject that I love -- fine art photography. It also occurred to me that my ongoing project where I cover the Chicago Bluesfest from the crowd is starting to go the direction of fine art photography and may interest some of you.




The Chicago Bluesfest, held annually in June, is the Superbowl of blues fests. It's also one of the few remaining free multi-stage blues festivals, and -- despite the disturbing event planning trend of more security and larger barricades (filled with photographers) pushing the audience further and further back from the stage -- there are still plenty of chances to get close and interact with the musicians. I've been shooting this venue every year from the crowd. Shooting from the crowd presents some obstacles, but working from the crowd also frees me to take my pictures (when I want, where I want, and for as long as I please) while I get a boost of energy amongst the fans. (The exception to the freedom of the crowd idea is the end of the night show at the big Petrillo bandshell, where fans are mostly 75 yards from the stage and prohibited from photographing unless they are in their seat; the music at this time of the night is also effected and has the feeling of being cold, distant, and sanitized for a large audience -- not what the blues is about, really.)

Here's a full-sized link to some of the work (btw, the work in the slideshow above is clipped by the column dimensions):

The Blues

And here's a link to some of my extras:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/randysdailies/sets/72157614787969839/show/