A couple of years ago, I shot a Shinedown concert for a local radio station in Charleston. It was in a big dirty music hall. The crowd was mostly rough grunge dudes, goths, or hipsters. The place was 95 degrees and reeked of weed and BO. I’m not a huge fan of the band (they can write some decent rock songs) but there was a moment in that show that stayed with me. Between songs, while the crowd was going crazy and yelling, the lead singer started asking the crowd questions.
“Let me ask you guys, how many of you out there like to do drugs!?” The sweaty crowd went crazy.
“Yeah? You guys like to smoke weed, maybe smoke other stuff, maybe inject stuff sometimes?” The crowd kept cheering.
“Well how many of you have close friends who do a lot of drugs?” The crowd was laughing and yelling.
“OK. Let me ask you this, how many of you have had a friend or family member who’s life was ruined by drugs?”
The crowd became noticeably quieter, it was not a question they were expecting. He began talking much softer and slower now.
“How many of you have had someone close to you die because drugs ruined their life?” The cheering stopped.
“One of our best friends died two nights ago from a drug overdose. We all knew he had a problem but didn’t have the guts to talk to him. Now he’s gone forever.” He stopped for a second to make sure his words sank in. “I am not perfect, I have addictions of my own. But let me tell you guys, drugs don’t just hurt the user, they hurt all the people around them too. Please don’t ruin other people’s lives, and don’t let your friends ruin yours.”
The moment was indescribable. It sent chills up my spine. I had a heavy heart; I felt ashamed and I don’t even do drugs! The crowd stood in uncomfortable stunned silence. Most people stared straight ahead or down at their feet, scared to make eye contact with their friends. It was silent for 20 seconds or so until the band went into their next song. I remember driving home that night, thinking about his words. He knew exactly what was going to happen. He took advantage of his status to let others know what he believes in.
It made me wonder, what I would stand up for if I had the influence that he has? Even though most of us don’t have that kind of influence, almost everyone has a little. What do we use it for?
Thanks to Matt and Beth Ables for rocking out the awesome photography. You should check out our obligatory wedding web site also. It is RitaAndMichaelCosta.com!
“ Be generous with ideas. Ideas are not property—you can reap great benefits when they’re experienced and used by others. In our society, our notion of the personal ownership of ideas becomes a great hindrance to our sense of a common purpose.
Kings of Convenience have been some of my favorite songwriters for several years now. Everything about this Norwegian duo’s music is intricate. They tell detailed stories through their lyrics. They weave guitar parts together with one nylon strong guitar and one steel string. The harmonies work together so well, it’s usually difficult to tell what is the melody and what is harmony.
I’ve had to wait a long time for a new album, but I will finally be through waiting in a few weeks. Here are a few new songs that have showed up on YouTube. I suspect it’s going to be my favorite album of the year.
Here’s some stuff from a new series I’ve been working on. The only problem is, I can’t think of a name for this project. I need something really awesome. Any ideas?
God forbid they hear garbage from the President today like this:
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
Or this!
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
Or this propaganda!
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
Iron & Wine released a double album of unreleased tracks a few months ago. It’s a good deal on Amazon, 23 tracks for $8.99. It obviously isn’t as good as The Shepherd’s Dog, which is one of my favorite albums ever. But it has some gems. I’ve enjoyed listening to it at work. He is such a brilliant songwriter and lyricist.
This dude’s name is Anthony. I met him on the street in downtown Charleston and we talked and hung out for a while. He told me some messed up stuff but he was really nice.
Rita and I just returned from a great trip to Chicago. Saw some old friends and made some new ones too. While I we were in the airport waiting for our flight, I decided to sharpen up on my guerilla photography skills.
Another form of photography that fascinates me is product photography. It’s very difficult to get a professional look with limited resources. Most people build an entire white box to shoot in, but I haven’t done that. I don’t even use soft boxes, I use umbrellas (cheaper and more convenient, though they have their drawbacks). So depending on what I’m shooting, I have to rig up something ridiculous in my office, usually involving a white sheet. I had to shoot some decorative hardware for a feature we were doing for the last issue of the magazine. I put the main flash reflecting off a silver umbrella up 45 degrees and over 45 degrees and then set another flash with a diffuser just pointing up to the light colored ceiling to bounce back down and create a little more fill. Then I juggled intensity of the flashes with shutter speed until I got the perfect (enough) exposure. Here’s a setup shot (flashes triggered remotely when I snap the picture) and the final shot.
One day I’ll have a studio full of backdrops, giant softboxes, and awesome gear. But for now, I have to rock what I’ve got. Starting small and working your way up is the way to go. Pay for more stuff with money you’ve made with your old stuff. You have to spend money to make money and photography is no exception. But gear isn’t number one on the priority list of getting a good picture.
Last weekend my pal Johnny and me were sitting around the house, trying to be as unproductive as possible. Suddenly we smelled smoke and knew something was going on. It wasn’t the normal burned pizza smoke smell, it was the “your stuff is on fire” smoke smell. We looked out the window and saw that our neighbor’s big green roll out to the street trash can was a giant fireball! So we ran outside and used up our entire fire extinguisher on it (it was the first time I ever used a fire extinguisher, it ruled even more than I thought) but the fire was still going pretty good. We didn’t have a hose of course, so we found a spicket and filled this cooler up with water and dumped it on it like 20 times. Then we high-fived and drank some beers. It was only like 2 pm but whatever, we just put out a fire. The neighbor got home and was all embarrassed, but she baked us a chocolate pie so that was pretty cool. We ate the whole thing that night. I was glad it wasn’t our trash can, but not really because ours smells horrible. Seriously, it is the worst smelling trash can I have ever been around. If you take the slightest breath within 40 feet of it you will automatically puke right there, I guarantee it. We have this new roommate who is a body builder and eats 30 eggs a day, so I think that’s the culprit.
