Day Four- That's a wrap, people!

Ah, Labor Day is here. It's the last day of the Fling, and time to relax a little and have some fun. After a raucous after-party last night, it was good to see so many of the Jaycees up bright & early for the parade. Look how chipper everyone is with their cups of... uh, what I can only assume is orange juice? Or is that Pepto?

We have the biggest Labor Day parade in the state. It's really something to see. My kids usually come home with bags and bags of goodies that are handed out. This year it included candy, toys, shirts, a bag of bread, flags, flyswatters, assorted propaganda... you name it! Of course we have the usual parade fare; bands, politicans, businesses and such.

But there are always a few that make you scratch your head. We use to have the Star Wars appreciation society march in everything. But for the past few years there has been another group with way too much time on their hands:
Yep, they have it all; authentic vehicles, costumes, props... it's the full package.

I went on a number of the rides this year. I don't know why they all have to spin. Enough with the spinning, people! I'm still a little dizzy... I hope that goes away soon. There was one ride that didn't spin. It just went back and forth. I'm sharing this photo of it just so you can laugh with me at the doofus in the middle talking on his cell phone (click to enlarge.)
Dude, you are a teenage boy that is lucky enough to be sitting next to a teenage girl on a carnival ride. Hang up your stupid phone and enjoy that moment. Don't you know that Last Fling is all about enjoying yourself?
It's over. Done. And not a moment too soon. My legs feel like I walked 20 miles this weekend. And according to Lightroom I took 3,864 photos. I think I'll give my cameras a week off. They deserve it.

I don't know how we'll top the success of this one, but I'm sure we'll give it our best shot.

Day Three- Music by Train... we can see the light at the end of the tunnel

Sunday Night- Train. This is the night we've all been looking forward to. It was a sold out show. I'm not sure about the actual number, because every time I spoke with someone else the number kept going up. I first heard 6500 people, then 8,000, then 10,000! So I'm not sure what to believe. All I know is that it was quite a crowd, and it looked amazing from the stage

The band was pretty good, and they get extra points in my book because they actually let us shoot for three (yes, 3!) whole songs. There were twice as many photographers trying to get into the pit area. I do have some admiration for the high school kids who manage to talk their way in by claiming that they're shooting for their school paper. But I tell each of them to please stay out of my way or I will run them the hell over. And bless them, they do.


It's a good thing they stayed out of my way. The lead singer was one of the more active front men I've photographed. He ran back and forth on that stage like his pants were on fire. It was difficult to find that perfect position because he didn't stay in one place for more than a second or two. Luckily I had three whole songs to figure it out.


The sponsor tent was so crowded that I decided to roam around the festival and see what else was going on. I was hanging out with some friends at the other Entertainment stage when I got a phone call. Apparently the Jaycees were going to get some photos with Train right after the show, and the show was about to end. So I hightailed it through the park to the backstage area again- the whole time thinking how glad I was that I brought my flash. I had been cursing the extra weight, but now it was worth the trouble.

The guys in the band were actually pretty decent and friendly. I think we stressed out their manager a bit... but managers are easy to stress out.


But enough about that! Because, the last big night concert was finally over and it was time to kick back and have some fun. My friend Stacy celebrated by demonstrating the techniques that she hopes will win an award at next year's Strongman competition.
And then we blew off some steam like only the Jaycees can do. I'm not sure what that kid's doing there... pretend that he's writing a report, or doing research for some homework assignment.

Last Fling - Day Two. Part Two - Jason Aldean

In a matter of minutes my status went from "No pictures!" to "You can take shoot for the first three songs only, but you have to shoot from out in the crowd." Now, the last thing I want to do is take my two cameras and all my gear out in a crowd of drunken suburbanites pretending to be rednecks for an evening (yes, I'm generalizing. There were one or two sober suburbanites.) Still, if that's where I have to be to get the best shot, then that's where I have to be.

As me and two other photographers were moving through the crowd to find the best position, the phone calls started coming in from Jaycees people behind the stage. Luckily one of them convinced Jason Aldean's people to let us be up by the stage for the first song. So we quickly ran up front and settled in again.




The story for me this night was the crowd. The place was packed! I think it was very close to being sold out. And for the most part everyone had a great time.

Last Fling 2009- Day 2. These images are from the earlier part of the day only. I ran back home to download and do some things around the house for awhile. It is nice only living a few blocks from the festival.

Last Fling is chock full o' crazy midwest family entertainment. I thought I'd show you some of the interesting things I've captured so far today. There was the giant tortoise (seen above). But what I would have to say was the most unexpectedly hilarious thing was the baby races, or as the Jaycees dubbed them 'The Diaper Derby."


Parents went absolutely nuts trying to lure their kid from one side of the mat to the other. The jangled keys, dragged their point-and-shoot camera on the ground, yelled, and just about every other thing your can think of to get them moving. One old lady even used her walking cane because (as she kept yelling out), "Here it is! You love Grannies cane! See, that's what he wants!"


And luckily it was sunny and warm because the water balloon dodge ball competition went pretty well too-

Here we are sliding down the back half of summer. Summer concerts are still all around us, though. Lollapalooza just wrapped up tonight in Chicago. I've been shooting some of the shows that we've had out in the 'burbs. I photographed most of the bands that played in Naperville's Ribfest for a local magazine. And I recently I was hired by a local venue to photograph the great Smokey Robinson.

It's a great place to catch a show-

Everyone really enjoyed the show, and luckily the bad weather just missed us. There was another concert going on in downtown Naperville and my friends told me they got about 10 minutes of rain.
And of course Smokey is smart enough to know that even if you are a musical legend, it never hurts to bring along some ladies in colorful costumes and skin-tight lycra pants.

In a matter of weeks I'll be covering Naperville's Last Fling festival. There's two acts I'm looking forward to then- Robert Cray on Friday night, and Train on Sunday. I'm in the Jaycees, and we put on the whole festival so I have my fingers crossed for good weather!