Friday night was interesting with the opening of Lumen Lounge, which is by far the nicest looking club in probably all of South Texas. After a great opening night we walked around to look at all the other new places that are popping up and found a after hours taco stand. I don't think we could pass up the chance and grabbed some food before calling it a night.
Here's a little mini blog.... I seriously love Lumen's bar area... The BeatNik's... Silly girls... Jessica and one of her many friends... The infamous Mark and a few crazy people in the background... Zar and Terri.... Hector and his own little party... Alfie and friend.... Dope after clubbing tacos...
Well the DGE Crew decided to have a party last night and without a doubt they out did themselves. There were laughs, there was some crying but at the end of the night everyone did their best to live it up and just get f*cked up. Its clear to say that everyone isn't ready for the Summer to be over...I know I'm not....
but this morning was a different story haha
CLICK the picture to see you a few drunken photos.
I've always heard of photographers going up on a small Cessna and taking pictures high in the sky. I had never really done anything like that, except for the occasional snap shot from a window seat on a commercial airline. So when my friend Nathan invited me to go up and do some aerial photography I was not going to pass on that.
I went up on this Cessna RGII and literally stuck my head out of the window to the pictures, and when you're 1,000+ ft up in the air and at 100knots its kind of intense! My friend was nice enough to let me take the controls for awhile on the way back, so now I've not only done aerial photography but have flown a plane too!
here are a few shots I got from my first ride. a view from my seat. I believe that's one of the high schools in Edinburg dried up water ways. salt mining pools That's "La Sal Vieja" they used it for salt mining I thought this land looked cool. another view of "La Sal Vieja" canals and the edge of the lake. landing on lucky 13 The plane, Cessna Cutlass RG II We parked next to the Air Force
DGE Concerts throws so many shows that its hard to keep up with them all. I even forget what bands I have shot and which I haven't. The sad part is that McAllen really doesn't have a great venue for shows. The guys at DGE work hard at trying to get the best shows to the kids in the area and the other day when they found out that the show was going to sell out, they decided to move it outdoors so that more fans could enjoy themselves. I personally loved the outdoor venue, it gave it a different feel.
I took a few shots, not many though. It seems that Hey Monday does not like to have pictures taken of them. Their tour manager kicked the man that runs the venue and me out, basically telling me that he didn't want to see my face around. I still managed to snap like three pictures.
As this all happened last night, I was reminded of a twitter that John Mayer talked about how "rock photography has died" because of PR people and tour managers. Most of the time it is not the band that controls the photography passes or the limit on pictures. Its their management that does all that and usually have a "3 song limit" with "no flash photography" and can only shoot in front of the barracade. That basically takes any true art to the photography out of the equation. Its rare but it happens when I get fun bands like FTSK or Shwayze that encourage me to be on the stage and right there next to them shooting.
ANYWAYS here are the pictures, just click the picture to see them all.
Last week DGE Concerts had a show with Cash Cash and Every Avenue. The show was crazy with tons of kids dancing the night away. I got there a little late, but was lucky enough to take some shots of the two main bands. Here are a few....
I've been following a DJ for awhile that goes by the name Paparazzi. I just always thought it would be clever and hilarious that if the time ever came to take pictures of him that our names would rhyme. It just so happens that this past weekend the LA based DJ came down to McAllen and had a great turn out of kids. Some friends of mine called me up to come take pictures and well, I never pass up on some fun.
There's always something to do on 4th of July and this year was no different. My friends at Mooncussers decided to have a day time party and end the night with LMFAO performing. I was lucky enough to go out and document the day. I had a great time out there and if you haven't been, make a trip and visit my friends working. They have jet ski and kayak rentals that will cool you down on the bay and some great food if you get hungry.
