I go out to a lot of rock shows and take pictures. (plug: the most recent stuff is always at <http://www.livejournal.com/users/ouij/>). It's a lot of fun, and people have been very positive about my work thus far.
Tonight, I went to a show and decided not to bring the camera. It was nice to be out without the camera for a change. As much as I love photography, I really do like just being able to go to a show and hang out without having to worry about whether I'm underexposing by two-thirds of a stop, or whether or not I'm focused correctly. People kept asking me hey, where's your camera, dude? and I kept saying "nah, not tonight." It's always true that the nights you don't bring your gear give the best images. But then, if all you do is remember the moments as they go by, your own eyes and memories are better than any gear you could possibly bring. I had to keep reminding myself of that tonight. I was standing there, and I realised that every time I cast my eye across the stage, I was calculating angles of vision, exposure indices, approximate depths of field..The "if onlys" kept running through my head. If only I'd brought my gear. If only I had a 35/2. If only there were just two MR-11 spots pointedjust so at the stage.. Sometimes, you just have to relax and let go--even though often it's the hardest thing to do. -Luigi
