You have to hear the image if you want to see the story
It was another Saturday night shooting photos of a rock band. This gig was at a club that used to be a big leather tannery and warehouse. The place had a TON of character. It was a spacious venue with a big stage and lots of room around the stage to maneuver. So it was gonna be a good night for a photographer. A night that would yield gobs and gobs of good rock and roll photos, right? But fate is a strange lady. And sometimes she has other plans. There would be another star that night and she didn’t play an instrument.
I got to the club about 8:30. Sloan was right behind me. The band was to start at 9:00. (rock and roll time which means between 9:20 and 9:45. As we were walking in and chatting with some friends, we see this rusted old hunk of junk out in front by the entrance. I was almost to the door when I noticed I had lost Sloan. I turned to find her shooting away at this rusted monstrosity. She spent a minute or two there under the street light shining down on her and this…rust, and then ducked inside the venue. The band played. The people danced. Photos were taken. Hearts were broken…probably. After all, it was rock and roll!
The next day Sloan sent me over a few of her favorite shots. Like most batches of photos, I liked some. Others, not as much. But they were all good quality “live shots” that any band would love to put on their social media pages. “Oh…and there’s this one.” And she sends me “Iron Girl.” I didn’t know what it was at first. She looked vastly different than the night before. She had been abstracted. The harsh directional light from the streetlight made the rivets seem larger and scarier. I never realized how scary rivets can be! “Iron Girl” was my favorite photo from the entire night. “Mine too!” said Sloan. In a strange twist, this crusty rust-bucket of a boiler from an old steam engine was somehow captivating! The band had a big light show and some pretty guitars… but Iron Girl was the star that night. Yep. Fate is a strange lady.
