A 1980’s band shirt that read “Suicidal Tendencies” adorned his body as he sat in the dimming sun while people walked by. He would sometimes kick his half leg into the air to draw the attention of females who passed by, some stopping to talk others walked the other way.
Bonnaroo and the fake moon
Sitting under the man made moonlight at Bonnaroo.
"Moonlight mood when twilight is ending
You're in my moonlight mood and our hearts are blending
There on the same old wall that we used to know long ago
You walked there in a ribbon of moonlight"
-Frank Sinatra, Moonlight Mood
Bonnaroo: Love the dance
In the distance, a familiar disco tune came on. The three friends started dancing and the moment they shared will likely be long remembered.
“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey, Professor of Counseling and Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Bonnaroo, it is too much for some
He was asleep in the middle of the heavily occupied store front area of Bonnaroo. It was an area that was reminiscent of a third world marketplace, yet more organized and perhaps a little cleaner. But, the vendors were everywhere and many were demonstrating their goods outside of their tents.
He quietly slept as if he were passed out, his hands clinching his face. Some passerby’s stopped to stare at his chest to see if he was still breathing. I stood over him as he slowly opened one eye, “Hey man, are you okay or do you need some help?” Dazed, he slowly sat up with my son standing behind me. “No, I was uh… I’m fine – I’m okay – sleeping,” he responded.
For some, the 24 hours of parties, live music and bizarre behavior is overwhelming. For others, it’s just the alcohol and / or drugs.
Bonnaroo: Some of the music distances you from the noise
Like a maze, music allows some to become lost no matter the outside distractions. Some can tune out the world around them as they simply listen.
“Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones, it’s in the bones.” ― Keith Richards, Rolling Stones
Bonnaroo: The romantic meal
Bonnaroo 2017: Hundreds of people busily walked past them in the midnight hours, but they never saw one. With a small flashlight and the light of a cellphone, the two quietly enjoyed a romantic meal a minute past midnight. In the background, the sounds of Red Hot Chili Peppers fell over them.
“Every great love starts with a great story...” ― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
Bonnaroo: What is age?
All ages having fun in the "Silent Disco" at Bonnaroo.
For those who have never been, it is a massive dance area under a tent with no audible music from the outside. You must wear your headphones or the headphones they provide for you. If you wear their headphones you hear the DJ (he can be seen in the background).
"Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Centipede man at Bonnaroo
What were they saying to one another minutes before the performance of U2 at Bonnaroo? I have no idea? I could guess based on their actions after the short discussion I froze in time... It likely went like this...
Centipede man: Hey man, I can use this stuffed centipede to get us to the very front. What I will do is, hold it above my head and make it look like it is crawling towards the front and everyone will move out of our way. Are you in bud?
Bud: Nope, you are nuts
Centipede man: Watch this
Did it work? YES!
Bonnaroo: Music, art and light
Music, art and light – all forms of energy that give you distinct feelings of freedom in a way that just words fail to give.
When I photograph at night I don't use a flash because of a fear that it would distort the light that I see. The reds at a concert, the light strings that someone swings around, the glow sticks tied to a persons body to show that he or she is in the moment, etc.
Bono of the group U2 was performing and those in attendance were in their own worlds taking on the feel that the music was introducing into their bodies. Some people were uniting together with smiles, some were crying while others were dancing with light.
During an interview that took place over 18 years ago, Bono told a reporter, “Music can change the world because it can change people.”
Bonnaroo and the reactions of music that sews us together
Bonnaroo at 2:00 Saturday morning (June 10, 2017).
It is always interesting to watch people and their reactions more so then what they are seeing to cause the reaction. To me, that is where the attention should be as it once was in magazines like LIFE, which we no longer have.
Why? Because Life is what we want to see and peoples reactions, be it happy or sad, that is where you get an understanding of what is real or how someone or a group of people feel.
If I focused on the entertainer it would simply be someone singing on a stage by himself or herself - no real expression of the moment can be seen in the entertainers face as it is often just another show.
Henry David Thoreau once wrote a profound statement that could easily describe Woodstock in 1969, our military forces when an entertainer visits a camp in Afghanistan or Bonnaroo in 2017. Thoreau wrote, “When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.” At concert venues far and wide, music is what peacefully brings people of all backgrounds, colors or nationalities together.
Bonnaroo 2017: "Hey! Take our picture!"
I guess what I enjoy about Bonnaroo more than the entertainers is the excitement in the air. The trusting of everyone. The total strangers greeting other strangers.
This couple, and I have no idea if they knew one another prior to the concerts, said to me, "Hey, take our picture!!" With the click of a shutter the moment was frozen in time with a massive techno concert in the background.
Russ the Rapper at Bonnaroo 2017
Bonnaroo is such an interesting place to visit.
While so many photographers were fixed on the entertainers, I was more curious as to the fans reacting to the entertainers at 2 in the morning.
I shot this photo while looking into the crowd from the photo pit area as "Russ" the rapper came out. The 24 year old from New Jersey had the crowds attention.
Russ gained his popularity thanks to the Soundcloud page where he was played more than 40 million times.
Mr. Russ the rapper below...
Kaleidoscope Addiction at Bonnaroo 2017
Outside the main entrance into the concert area of Bonnaroo 2017 sit two life sized kaleidoscopes. For those who enjoyed a little too much pleasure earlier in the day, your eyes can easily become glued to the multiple colors.
At 3AM on Saturday, he became glued.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day, a time to remember our fallen veterans.
Photo of headstone for US Army Vietnam Veteran James Albert Thornburg of Tennessee. He served under the 1st Infantry Division, Battalion 8 in the 6/15th Artillery Company, Deadly Alpha from April of 1967 until April of 1968.
Thornburg received the National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Bronze Star with V Device and Two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Unit Citation, and the Presidential Citation.
He died at age 56 in year 2002.
MUSA
Slowly we sunk into the depth of the deep aqua colored sea descending about 28 feet for the first sculpture which appeared to be an explosive mind ready to detonate. As I swam north towards Isla Mujeres I came upon what looked to be a group of people frozen in time.
I noticed a small child sitting on an overturned bucket, a woman with her arms above her head as if she had just ran a race and was tired, unable to catch her breath. As I swam closer and deeper towards the silent crowd I witnessed what appeared to be a young man looking upwards in pain.
My scuba tank supplied my air and as I exhaled it almost gave life to some of the statues as bubbles of oxygen swarmed around the heads of the sculptures before me.
English sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor constructed over 500 life sized statues that were lowered into the Caribbean to demonstrate the interaction between art and environment. Each statue is attached to the seabed with material that promotes coral life allowing for the underworld of the sea to inhabit every square inch.
The exhibit is between the coast of Cancun and Isla Mujeres in Mexico.
The exhibit is called MUSA or Museo Subacuático de Arte. It was founded by Roberto Díaz Abraham, former President of the Cancun Nautical Association and Jaime González Cano, Director of the National Marine Park.
Cemeteries in Mexico
Like many cemeteries in other countries, the handmade casket is in a vault above ground. Families often add their own taste of elaborate decorations and tiles to make each marker stand out and look unique.
Many of the cemeteries in the larger cities of Mexico are out of space. Therefore, when what are called burial rights expire, the remains will be dug up about 5 to 7 years after the original burial. At that time, the remains will be given to a family member in a black plastic bag. The family will then cremate the remains.
Sad, but true in the much more populated areas of Mexico.
Art on the empty
A boy and a girl facing one another on an otherwise desolate wall outside of a closed down factory in Asheville, North Carolina.
The mural by Ian Brownlee is one of many painted on buildings in North Carolina. Ian’s words, “Don’t Stop Believing.”
Paintings on walls that guard the emptiness inside only go to make the emptiness more meaningful. Otherwise, the building would collapse in ugliness. Now, it can be overtaken by mother nature with a little dignity.
“We become aware of the void as we fill it.” ― Antonio Porchia, Poet (1885-1968)
A real key to get inside the room
Walking into old and decaying motels is like stepping back into history. The doors that connect the adjoining rooms are narrow, which today would not be allowed. The walls were paper thin and you could likely hear even the faintest whisper from the neighboring television set, that had rabbit ears on the top.
Yet, there is something romantic about the simplicity of old structures. The bright colors that once adorned the walls. The idea of random people stopping along the highway for a good nights rest for $19 or less. The doors used a real key as opposed to a plastic card.
A roadside motel in ruins
What's left of an old roadside motel in North Carolina...
"There is something uniquely American about the motel: It speaks to the transient nature of America itself, one enabled and encouraged by our roads and highways."
- Hanya Yanagihara, American novelist and travel writer
Tupelo Honey of Asheville, NC
A master chef at work inside Tupelo Honey of Asheville, NC.