Recently I was invited to a party. I knew there were going to be some high profile people there but I was not prepared for what happened next. When we arrived, a simple stage was set up with drums, a few guitars, piano, electric keyboard, saxophone and assorted other instruments, mics and amps. As it turns out performers are performers for a reason. They just can’t resist the spotlight.
Sure enough, we weren’t there an hour when two of the musical artists that were attending (we’re talking famous recording artists of today some new to the scene and some with years of experience) got on stage and started jamming. Then they scoured the room and called out the other musicians that were there to come and join them. This was NOT a planned performance. They may as well have been teenagers in a garage (while some of them are very seasoned a few of them weren’t that far out of their teens). They were performing for themselves.
This was not a planned, rehearsed performance. They would whisper to each other and then break out in song. They were playing each other’s songs, harmonizing and making it up as they went along. Did the “old-timers” actually know the music of the younger artists? As Jimmy Fallon said “I didn’t even know that Paul McCartney knew of Shake it Off. We can be sure that this group had never played together, yet they could just pick up their instrument (not theirs, but the one provided) and join in and make a great sound.
At the same time, I was caught without my instrument, my “good” camera, because, well, who knew this jam session was going to happen (my “good” camera by the way would not have been allowed in anyway). But Nikon or Canon doesn’t matter, my favorite camera is the one I have with me which happened to be my iPhone. So I managed to get about 3 rows from the stage and document what was happening.
My job is to tell a story through the use of light and emotion. Whether it is an Elegant Beauty session where we show you as the beautiful vital woman you are or a Family session where we show the love between the family members. Or as in this case, documenting friendship. My simple iPhone allowed me to do that. You can see the how these guys are just loving being together and having the time of their life. You can feel how excited Maya Rudolph is being on stage with Prince. Check out the B52s as they watch Ariana Grande belt out R-E-S-P-E-C-T. And Taylor Swift rocking the guitar. And well it’ not difficult to get a photo of Jimmy Fallon enjoying himself.
So while you may have a high priced guitar, or a top of the line camera, or the newest high performance golf clubs or tennis racket, you may not get good sound, a great photo, or hit the ball harder or farther or where you want it to go. You need to know how to use it to get the most benefit from it. To quote a line from the movie Working Girl – “I may sing and dance around the house in my underwear, but it doesn’t make me Madonna.”
You can see more photos from this night HERE . And video snippets of the performance HERE.
It's about shining from the inside.
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