No Photography, Please.

I went to a great concert last night. U2 at Giant's Stadium. I was in general admission on the floor actually sort of "inside" the circle of the stage. I could see Bono's 5 o'clock shadow, the frayed bottoms of The Edge's jeans. Amazingly close.

It used to be that no cameras were allowed at concerts. Nowadays, what with camera phones, they've given up. So everyone, and I mean just about every single person (but me) had an actual camera.

And bou did they use them. I found it really distracting. And actually disturbing.

I want to be in the moment and enjoy the event. Taking pictures pulls you out of it. We supposedly take pictures to remember, but this is a concert. It's music. You can't really capture that.

I wouldn't begrudge someone a pic or two, but it was relentless and ubiquitous. I feel bad for them, actually.

You can't hold onto an experience like that. Bono's 10 feet away! Look! Enjoy it! Be present! Don't look at him through a screen.

Won't your ticket stub be enough?

It's Electric.

Polaroid Transfer, Tower
Originally uploaded by Ryan Thomas

I've almost always prefered city-scapes to landscapes.
This one captures a mood pefectly.

Teen Magazine Pic from the Late 80's #2

Lots of times, the pictures in fashion and teen magazines in the 80's depicted styles we never actually wore growing up. They were too flashy, too revealing, too crazy, and not in dress code at my school.

Now this, THIS is how we used to dress at school. Those rubber shoes were the jam on rainy days. Actually, not the bright green ones, but the blue or brown ones.

And we for sure "pegged" our jeans. And wore enormous sweaters. And that hat would have been pretty kickin', too, had it been allowed during school hours. That would have been more for a football game or visit to the mall.

Teen Magazine Pic from the Late 80's #1

More on this later... but for now, just enjoy the visual.