It was Columbia, South Carolina in September of 1993, and I was at Farm Aid. Standing in the photo pit with my friend Ebet Roberts. We were the two official Farm Aid photographers (as we still are today), and the show was about halfway over. I heard someone behind me saying, “look at those two people with the old tiny cameras- I wonder how they got in here.”

I looked around and realized that most people in the pit had new, big shiny cameras and fantastic lenses. I smiled at the person and asked who he was shooting for. He named some small publication on the east coast. Jump forward to 2013 in Satatoga Springs New York, and Ebet and I are still the Farm Aid photographers. Wonder what happened to the guy with the shiny new camera!

That brings me to an article in Digital Photo Pro Magazine this month where the writer suggests that :

Everyone has a story about showing a favorite photo and being asked “What kind of camera did you use?” The leap of logic is that the photographer didn’t take the picture, the camera did.

He concludes that knowing how to use the camera, whether it is a modern DSLR or an iPhone is a step to being a photographer. It’s not the end of the journey.

Which brings me to this headline in the latest edition of Chicago Magazine:

Sun-Times Chairman Would Have Fired The Photographers Sooner

From the Chicagoist:

Chicago Sun-Times chairman Michael Ferro gave his first public interview to Chicago magazine since he bought the newspaper, and the portrait reporter Bryan Smith paints of Ferro is a complex one.

In what will become another PR fiasco, Ferro was asked about the Sun-Times’ decision to fire its photography staff in May. Ferro defended the decision, as expected, but not in the most tactful manner.

“I am very sympathetic toward [the photographers]. If I were in their shoes, I would feel bad too. It would be like you’re a carriage driver and the cars come and you’re really upset that you can’t have your buggy whip and hit your horse anymore.”

In fact, Ferro says, the photographers should have been let go sooner. “I knew the photographers would be going from the day we took this paper over. We took a year and a half too long to do it. … I can tell you 100 percent before we bought this we had that cutlass ready.”

Guess I had better get my horse and buggy reved up! Gotta buy some hay for the horses to eat!

The Paparazzi wars continue in California. Last week Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that would increase fines and penalties for photographers who harass the children of celebrities, thanks to the work of Halle Baerry and Jennifer Garner. It strengthens a law already on the books that prohibits anyone from  bothering children  because of their parents occupation.

There is a lot of opposition from first amendment supporters. The California Newspaper Publishers Association thinks that the language can effect newsgathering.

As journalists, we should be embarrassed by the actions of the paparazzi. They are actually, I believe, the cause of many legitimate photographers problems. When a celebrity sees someone with a camera, they automatically think of a guy jumping out of the bushes, not someone trying to do a job that helps them.

Maybe the next step is to go after the people who publish the photos, or the editors who suggest that this is a situation that a celebrity has to put up with, or maybe they should not have kids or live somewhere other than California (Us Weekly)

Last weekend was the 2013 version of Farm Aid, held in Saratoga Springs, NY. It was again a great show for a great cause, and included one amazing moment above all else. Halfway through John Mellencamp’s set, he stopped the show to bring on a special guest who lived just up the road. Pete Seeger, 94 years young, walked out on the stage with his banjo and proceeded to bring the house down. When he launched into “This land is Your Land” he asked John, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews and Neil Young to join him on stage for a tremendous performance (and a great photo op!!)

A nice weekend walking around farms and national forests, and hearing and photographing great musicians!

Even when Jesse Jackson Jr has been sentenced for his corruption, he is still making news.

Headline from the Chicagoist:

Auction Of Jesse Jackson Jr’s Collectible Crap Stopped Over Authenticity Issues

Seems he bought  Eddie Van Halen’s guitar from a Michael Jackson video, signed by Eddie and Michael.

From The Chicagoist:

United States Marshals halted an auction of personal items former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. bought with campaign money after questions about the authenticity of some of the items were raised.

Many of the items up for bid were Michael Jackson memorabilia Jackson could have won with a high Skeeball score at a street festival. One item, a guitar supposedly signed by the King of Pop and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, was removed before the auction launched Tuesday because the autographs couldn’t be authenticated. So the U.S. Marshals Service decided to cancel the auction until the authenticity of everything could be verified. A statement by Kim Beal, acting assistant director for the Asset Forfeiture Division of the U.S. Marshals Service, read:

“Because new information has come to light, we are taking additional steps to review all the items. It is our practice to be diligent about all matters relating to the management and sale of assets.”

This is a guy representing me in government!!

When I was starting out, I was working on a big festival in Chicago. David Cassidy was playing one night. When I got there in the morning I heard someone announce: “Who wants to be David Cassidy? We need a bunch of stuff autographed.” Someone in the office then signed David’s name to all the stuff.

Several years ago, I went into the office of a charity. The person there showed me a Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar signed by him. I know enough about guitars to know that the manufacture date is in the serial number. When I told the people the guitar was made two years after SRV died, they were heartbroken (They got their money back)

So, does it bother any one that a guy that governs the country buys counterfit stuff with taxpayer money?

This week is the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that murdered four young girls. This September, Birmingham’s black Mayor, William Bell, will commemorate the anniversary. Seems that Birmingham has come a long way. Each of the four girls will be honored with a Congressional Gold Medal.

I have only been to Birmingham once. I was traveling with the Rolling Stones in 1989. The opening act on the tour was the rock band Living Colour. A couple of nights before Birmingham, Vernon Reid, their great guitar player, came up to me backstage and showed me the new camera he had just purchased. He asked me to teach him a little about photography. I suggested that we walk around Birmingham and have a photo lesson on our day off later in the week. The morning came and the phone in my room rang. It was Vernon ready to rock! He suggested that we meet in the lobby. I grabbed a camera and headed for the elevators. Vernon was waiting for the same elevator. He was wearing a colorful dashiki, and his hair was braided and colored red, yellow and green. We got on the elevator together and headed for the lobby. As we approached the first floor, we heard a lot of conversation coming from the first floor lobby. When the doors of the elevator opened into the lobby, we were confronted with about a hundred white haired old ladies (obviously a lady’s club meeting).

As we walked through the group of ladies, you could hear a pin drop in the lobby. People stared at us as if we were animals in the zoo. As we walked out the front door, the conversation in the lobby picked up again. Vernon looked at me and shrugged. As he put it that day: “Happens to me every day.”

Hopefully Birmingham has changed so that a black man can walk through a hotel lobby without stopping traffic!!

Spent a lot of time reading a great book this week. It is called “Louder than Hell”.

It is a history of heavy metal music told through quotes from its most famous practitioners, from the 60’s till today. It is difficult reading it in public, because every few pages gives me a laugh out loud moment, such as when Ronnie James Dio talks about inventing the devil’s horn sign that he made famous, and then says, “But Gene Simmons will say that he invented it, along with inventing  breathing and shoes.”

Gene, of course in the next paragraph, insists that he invented the sign.

I noticed while reading (at this point I am about 400 pages into the book) that, with the exception of the thrash metal bands, I worked with, and became friends with almost all of the bands in the book. I was welcomed into their entourages with open arms, and was given total access to their shows and their offstage antics. This might have been the last era of popular music where the photographers (and the music writers)were a part of the team. Some of the quotes in this book would never have seen the light of day in the 21st century, but they are all in here, warts and all. There is only one instance that I have read so far where a band (Pantara) stole a reporter’s tape recorder because the stuff that their singer (Phil Ansalmo) said was so outrageous that they didn’t want it in print. Other than that, EVERYTHING is in this book- sex, drugs and rock and roll. It is all fascinating. Too bad today’s bands are too concerned with “Controlling” their persona in the press. We will never see anything like the stuff in this book again!

Another thing: What is this guy doing???

No wonder people think photographers are idiots and just get in the way!!

I have been reading (and watching) about Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga, two people with absolutely no talent. They have been dominating the entertainment news all week over stuff that happened at the VMA’s televised earlier. It is amazing how very small amounts of talent can captivate America.

Meanwhile, I have spent two days this week with people with real talent. I spent two days working with Jack Dejohnette, Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams and Larry Gray. Five nicer, unassuming guys cannot be found. Spent one day at a rehearsal and one day at a free downtown concert.

From the beginning I was treated with respect by all the guys. I was told that I could go anywhere to get what I needed. They gladly posed for pictures whenever I asked them.

Seems a shame that they get almost no publicity, but Miley gets a ton for acting like an idiot.

I always carry a book with me for any downtime I run into. One of my favorite authors, and one of the best in the business, is Elmore Leonard. The man knew how to write dialog. I simple conversation between a cop and a criminal could last 20 pages, and the give and take dialog was always to the point.. Advice that Mr. Leonard once gave to young writers: “Try to leave out the parts that people skip.”

Mr. Leonard passed away last week, and the world will miss him. Movies and television shows based on his books and characters have entertained millions of people. Among them are “ The Big Bounce”, “Jackie Brown”, “Get Shorty”, “Out of Sight”, “3:10 to Yuma” and the television show “Justified”, maybe the best written show on the air right now.

Every time that one of his books came out, I was at the bookstore the first day, knowing that I was in for a couple of days of thrills reading it.

His writing will be missed by many.

Nightline ran a piece on Tuesday about an unusual piece of business in the California Statehouse. Two famous women, Jennifer Garner and Hallie Barry testified in front of the lawmakers to try to get a bill passed that would keep photographers from ganging up on them on the street (sometimes in front of their houses) to take pictures of their kids. They showed the 1000’s of pictures on line of Jennifer Garner’s kids. They both testified that their kids are scared to go out in public because of the yelling photographers attacking them wherever they went!

Then they interviewed Ian Drew, and editor at Us Weekly. He had two points to make.

1. It was their choice to live in California (or New York) so they have to put up with the photographers attacking them on the street.

2. It was their choice to have children.

What a complete and total asshole!!!!!!!

As if the solution to avoiding photographers is to move to Montana, or not have kids was a solution.

I have always maintained that paparazzi photographers are the basis for all the problems that “real” photographers have to deal with. Why would either of these women ever have respect for any one with a camera in their hand?

Washington Post sold to Jeff Bezos from Amazon.com

Boston Globe sold to John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox

Newsweek, already digital only, sold for the third time in two years, sold to the International Business Times. Here is an example of the fine journalism that the IBT is doing right now!! That is what we are looking for in a news weekly!!!

All were sold at fire sale prices, first two to people not in the media business. Does this mean that they know more than the rest of us? Do they see something in the future?

All this while writers are shooting concerts for the Chicago Sun Times with their iPhones while they are taking notes for their reviews. I saw a guy at the John Mayer concert this weekend, getting in everyone’s way, pushing people out of his way and holding his little digital point and shoot over his head to try to get a picture. I asked the lady from the venue who he was shooting for (just out of curiosity) and she told me that he was the Sun Times freelancer!  And the Sun Times seems to be moving closer to a digital paper, even though they have a terrible interface on the web and have not figured out how to get people to pay for it!

Kind of interesting that the New York Times on line subscription base is growing at a great rate of speed. I would love to not have to go to the corner every morning, and hope that the rusty old paper vending box actually allows me to take a paper for my four quarters!!