What’s that Yoda saying? “Do, or do not, there is no try.” / December 20, 2019 by Danette Davis

Sometimes you get the shot that makes you smile, and other times, you curse about missing the moment. There are no do-overs at live shows or even at some photo shoots. What’s that Yoda saying? “Do, or do not, there is no try”…? I really do put every effort into getting the ultimate shot, but some days, the odds are not in my favor. Just a brief digression here, I don’t just watch franchise movies, hell, I definitely don’t keep up with that Marvel series.

Quite frequently, there’s one person who changes position, as soon as I press the shutter. The audience member who decides to take a cellphone photo. The tall person. The drunk person. The dancer. The person with an interesting personality that you want to photograph. The thing is, these are all distractions for possibly missing a shot, but there is a rule I subscribe to of always trying to respect the audience and hoping they return the favor. Still, it’s always a little sad to realize the photo is everything you wanted and then…boom.

But, hey, why wallow in what went wrong? Every shot is a lesson in being a better photographer and you gotta keep moving forward. Besides, there’s always at least one photo that makes me scream out loud and dance around the room. It’s generally the photo that means something to me, but possibly not a wider audience. It triggers an unspeakable joy and reminds me I’m pretty good. These photos I keep to myself and some I occasionally put out into the social media universe.

2019 was a most excellent year for me. Thank you to my artist friends for allowing me into your space and for supporting my work. These are some favorites in no particular order.

Featured

Cool! Sophisticated! Stylish! Fun!

Jim DeJoie rarely takes a bad photo and is always fun to hear and photograph. I love the sound of the bass clarinet. I think that’s partly because of Jim and P.J. Harvey.

Drop the Mike!

Mike Peterson never fails my camera. That’s all that needs to be said.

Geoff Harper

I’m always in awe of every local musician I see perform. I don’t know what to say to them in person. Geoff is one of those people. He walks into a room, orders a drink, and takes to the stage. In my head he’s a sardonic teddy bear and I don’t know what to say to him. To me he is mellow, clever, and a concentrated player. I generally have a hard time getting his facial expressions. There’s often a stand or he’s not facing my lens. This night everything fell into place.

Roy Babbington - I Fell in Love with Another Bass Player.

I must have a thing for bass players. My partner, who is a Chapman Stick player, traveled with Soft Machine on their West Coast tour. He arrived home for their last show in Seattle at the Triple Door. He talked about Roy the entire trip home from the rental car service. Who was this Roy? I was charmed by him too after two concerts. The lighting at the show was optimal. The color of Roy’s bass caught my attention in the light. Roy, similar to bass player, Geoff Harper, is subtle with expressions. He also sometimes avoided my lens, but then it happened. The right frame and light. I fell in love with another bass player.

Octopus Tatoos

There are always challenges to photographing musicians in clubs. One of them is lighting and another is the music stands. I’ve seen Kate Olson play many times with other groups and really wanted a photo leading her band K.O. Electric. I tried all sorts of strange angles. The band started taking solos. I was waiting for Kate to rejoin the band and noticed the alignment of her sax, the tilt of her head, and the subtle smile on her face. I always wonder what the musician is thinking during these moments. I’ve seen many old black and white jazz photos with similar contemplative expressions. Did she hear a cool note or Did someone mess up?

Andy Andy, what can’t you do?

I didn’t get to finish my conversation with Andy the night I took this photo. I must make proper time for that. I really wanted this photo to be digitally perfect, but then I remember my own philosophy, sometimes the best photo is the imperfect photo. It was my first time photographing at the Blue Moon Tavern. The back wall is covered in stickers and metal relics. Andy was playing a beautiful red Rickenbacker, which I later learned belonged to a dear friend. I think that is what makes this photo ethereal and meaningful to me. It has a ghostly quality and the red lights behind him make the photo pop.

Goodbye! Kevin

When Kevin left for Arizona, I lost a photographic muse, something I don’t generally reveal. I always loved it when he smiled. At his farewell party, I put on my documentary hat. I was surrounded by familiar friends and new people. I decided to bring along a prime lens that’s useful in low light. The challenge is you have to move frequently and frame your shot. Moraine’s stage was limited and I try not to be a part of the show. There was no choice that night. I squeezed myself between Dennis and Jim onto the stage. At the end of the set, Kevin did something I’ve never seen him do - clasped hands, closed eyes, a gesture of gratitude. Later I reviewed my photos and there it was. Every time I see that photo, I am humbled.

Moraine

I reviewed my back photography catalog. I have a ton of Moraine photos. These are some serious musicians on stage. All right! not in this photo. I tend to avoid using flash but it was way too dark. I also prefer natural poses. It’s usually the least casual snaps that capture the spirit of the band. I believe, it’s the first time, I’ve seen Moraine members crack a smile on camera. Dennis Rea’s smile on camera is a first for me.

Steve Miller - Not that Steve Miller

Steve’s style caught my attention. He was playing organ and keyboard with the band Pinto Wagon Fire at the Substation. I ventured out to the entrance area of the Substation to people watch. The entrance was awash with red, blues, and green. It seemed to me a picture of Steve would be really interesting in that light. I don’t often pose people. I prefer them unaware. I asked Steve to stand in the doorway. Joy!

In These Shoes

The entire time I worked on this photo I kept thinking of the Kirsty MacColl song, “In These Shoes”. The way she sings the lyric “I said: In these shoes? I don't think so.” expresses a woman who is powerful and sexy. Joe Fischer you wear these shoes well.

Shaina Shepherd

Brown girl power is real. This space is lonely and if you look and you wait you will find another who is like you. Earlier this year I wrote a blog about finding my tribe. I grew up an outsider in white and brown spaces. I was the weird girl who listened to all types of music. This night Shaina was performing solo. She broke into a song for all the weirdos. She played, “Creep” by Radiohead. I let out a cheer. Why? I was wearing a Thom Yorke t-shirt from the ANIMA tour. At his show I was the only brown girl in the sea. Shaina is a raw and unfiltered performer.

Kate Voss - Lady Sings the Blues

I often turn my lens to the audience. Kate was attending a party for Mr. D at the Parliament. In true Seattle musician fashion, her guy, Mr. Goessel was playing with K.O. Electric, and they had just finished another show. They are the hardest working couple in Seattle. She sings, tells corny jokes, and he plays guitar. They dress up for their shows. Kate makes me laugh and my favorite track by them is “One Note Samba.” Kate’s rapid riff of the lyrics and change of vocal range on the track makes me dance around the room. She was watching Mr. G from the bar. The red light bouncing off the flower in her hair. Perfect!

Jason Goessel

Sometimes, I just want to remember the lighting and color of a place. In the mirror is a reflection of guitarist, Jason Goessel.

Beth Fleenor

It is the year of Beth Fleenor for me. This woman has been circling my orbit. Her record “Push Thru” is on replay along side Thom Yorke’s ANIMA. Why? Their music is cathartic and relevant to personal events in my life. It is also proof that light and darkness can coincide. During soundcheck I noticed Beth sitting in front of my favorite instrument, the bass clarinet, stretching. I see this photo and feel quiet reflection.

Bill Horist

The first time I ever saw Bill Horist play was at the front room at Seaprog. Mr. D, my guy, kept telling me. He plays all these objects on his guitar. All right! So, what’s his sound? I got nothing from him that made anything clearer to me. The day of Bill’s show I see a collection of strange objects…metal objects and rocks. What the “F” am I supposed to photograph? I’ll take a few shots then leave. I think to myself. I stayed for the whole thing. Mr. D, I say later, he’s reminds me of Michael Brooks. He’s fucking amazing. Years later I saw Bill play with Afrocop and then again this year with Troot. Again, I’ll say it. Seattle musicians are not only fun, but extremely talented. Bill hides from my camera. He always turns. However, the light at this show, made me determined to get him without the stand. The paisley shirt, the reddish guitar, and the perfect pose made me a happy photographer.

The Troot Challenge

Never have I run the Columbia City gauntlet so hard at Seaprog. In order to photograph the stage, particularly with a large energetic band, you have to walk through the green room, located upstairs, then down stairs, pass the bar and through the crowd to reach the very front or the side of the stage. I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve photographed large bands at Seaprog before, but Troot was other worldly. One minute Julie Slick and Bill Hoirst are riffing back and forth. The next Alessandro Inolti is doing something crazy on the drums and then I see Tim Root bouncing up and down. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. They were incredible and the crowd went insane. The entire time I kept thinking how am I gonna get the whole band, and I also wanted to dance a little. Argh!!!! all work and no play (hee! hee! hee!).

Steve Ball

Joy is a constant theme for me. Even in the darkest periods it appears in mysterious ways. I photographed Tiny Orchestral Moments at Seaprog. It is collective of global musicians, and at their helm is Steve Ball. At the Seaprog show, members of the group left the stage and started dancing. What is this? Who dances to progressive music? Years later Steve returned, this time with the band Troot, another collection of global musicians, led by Tim Root. The common thread besides Steve was the crazy fun vibe. This photo was taken at Tiny Orchestral Moments’ performance at Kirkland Center. Steve encouraged me to move anywhere to photograph the show. The light show was impressive. Steve’s silhouette jumped out. His familiar green cap and glasses, the way he stands with his guitar. Please forgive me Steve, but I suddenly had visions of U2’s The Edge in my head.

Unexpected - Tiny Orchestral Moments #1

The older and wiser I grow, the more I don’t care about dancing at a show in which no one else is dancing. I just want to be who I really am. When Steve Ball gave me approval to photograph Tiny Orchestral Moments. I didn’t expect all the women in the band to break into dance. It happened so fast. I snapped and snapped hoping I caught something. The thing was I wanted join them. I remember feeling really blue that day. I buried myself in photographing that concert. I absorbed the music and came out in a happy space. Thank you!

Unexpected - Tiny Orchestral Moments #2

More dancing…Yes!!!

Unexpected - Tiny Orchestral Moments #3

Sometimes you get twenty-plus people on stage in your photo and some times you don’t. There were some really casually dressed people seated in front of the stage. Surprise, it was a collective of dancers. What amuses me about this photo, is that while all the dancers are freely moving, the band is looking towards band leader Steve Ball.

Amy Denio

Listen, when Amy is in the room, and you may hear her singing. I forget the number of photos from this Tiny Orchestral Moments performance I took. Amy, Beth Fleenor, and Susan Dumett have unique vocal styles that catch my attention. A lot of my pictures of Amy are with a horn instrument. This show she played the accordion and sang. The warm light, Sonia Wilson in the foreground, and Amy’s closed eyes, singing. Joy!

Blue, Blue, Electric Blue - Dave Hoskins

I was recently asked to photograph Guitar Cult, a band I’ve never seen live. The band is comprised of seven guitarists all of different styles and sounds. I asked Ben McAllister about attending a practice to observe the band. I squeezed myself between Dave Hoskins and Eric Amrine. At some point during a break in playing, Dave turned around and posed for me. I obliged. His guitar perfectly coordinated with his sweater, jeans, and shoes. All he needed was my blue Totoro hat… which I wore to their show.

Blood Moon Orchestra

I will make more time to see Blood Moon Orchestra in 2020 especially if I’m having a crap day and want to have fun. How do you explain this band? A super group of talented Seattle female musicians, who create music and lyrics on the fly. Sort of, but then, all the super musicians are joined by audience members who seem to bring their own set of instruments or play the bands instruments. This is not an impeccable photo, but the red lighting worked for me in a Wong Kar Wai way.

Where’s Ollie? Finding The Pulsations at West Seattle Soul / December 7, 2019 by Danette Davis

A few years ago I noticed a West Seattle Blog post about an event called West Seattle Soul at The Parliament Tavern. What? I thought. Who are these people with soul? I noticed a musician friend Bill Wolford posting Facebook notices about their shows, then I started meeting other musicians who mentioned playing with the band. One of these people was drummer Ollie Klomp. I told Ollie that I love to photograph drummers and I didn’t have any of him. Of course, he brought up West Seattle Soul - coincidentally on the same day, I met Maurice Caldwell Jr., who shared that he was their singer. I kept seeing photos posted of large crowds dancing. This is a strange phenomenon to me. No one dances at Seattle shows! All right, this band is circling around my orbit.

I finally made it to their last show of 2019. For the last two years they’ve been filling The Parliament, one of a handful of live music venues in Seattle - Thank you Tom Langen. The band is called The Pulsations, and it was started two years ago by Wolford, Klomp, and Tige DeCoster with a rotating cast of Seattle’s best musicians, which includes the vocals of Maurice Caldwell, Jr. They play for West Seattle Soul the first Thursday of every month.

I’ve photographed at The Parliament before and expected to be greeted by red lighting, so I brought a prime lens that’s happy in low light. The downside is it requires moving to a position for the shot. The crowd was kind and often asked if I wanted to move up front. Sometimes, I shook my head no, and other times I obliged. Everyone was having a great time. It was all about the music. Where am I? Is this really a Seattle crowd? I loved it! While I didn’t get the full band shot that I wanted, there were up to fifteen people on the stage, I did manage some nice portraits and group photos. I also got my first shot of Ollie playing. I will see you all again, West Seattle Soul, in 2020 and I will get my full group shot. Plus, I need to work off all that Christmas cheer on January 2, 2020.

The Collector / December 1, 2019 by Danette Davis

I’m a collector of photography books. The first section I head towards in any bookstore or thrift store is the photography section. I keep a running list in my head of books I wish to collect. I’ve never paid more than $100 for a book, even with shipping. The lowest was probably around $15. My best finds have been on trips to Japan. On a recent trip, I laughed to myself when the customs officer asked if all the books in my the suitcase were for resale. Hell no! I get excited when I find used copy of a book of work by Carrie Mae Weems or some other female artist whose work I want to restudy. A photograph is always more dramatic in person on quality paper. The same effect is not always captured on a computer screen. There are times I splurge for a new photo book. Perhaps it’s a new artist or a fellow photographer I know whom I want to support.

It’s always been my goal to self-publish my own photo book. It’s an overwhelming process putting your work out into the universe. What photos to publish? What type of paper? How many copies? How to promote your work? Captions? No Captions? A preface? How to fund? How much to charge? I think you’re getting my point. Indeed collecting photography books can be costly and no different than keeping an exclusive collection of wine. Most books are rarely repeat productions. You may find publishers who release the same photo in another collection, but some books are elusive. W. Eugene Smith is an example of this. I’m not sure why, but a publisher released what was a contact sheet version of Smith’s photos. I saw a copy of it in a Japanese bookstore. It was sealed and I don’t buy books that are sealed. I plopped myself down on a bookstore bench and found a review along with some sample photos. Nope, I’m not spending money on a book that weighs over 10 pounds. It paid to wait. A year or so later, I came across a used copy of photos published by Aperture of Smith’s work. It’s not his complete work, but the photos are large enough to review over and over.

A considerable portion of my collection features female photographers. I want to know the work of women often buried in the discourse of photography. Think about it, the first names you always hear are Walker Evans, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Edward Stiegliz, and so on. My curiosity about female music photographers lead me to Autumn de Wilde, Linda McCartney, Jini Dellaccio, Linda Wolf, Lynn Goldsmith, and others (Thank you! UW Library, Seattle Public Library, and King County Library for that).

Recently I saw Lynn Goldsmith and Patti Smith being interviewed on the CBS Morning News. I sat down with my coffee and absorbed that interview like a sponge. I watched how Smith responded to Goldsmith’s camera. I also thought, how crazy is it that a photo of female armpit hair was considered controversial? The record company airbrushed the hair originally, but then acquiesced. According to Smith, “It caused the record not to be racked even when it had a hit song on it. It hurt the album… It wound up a picture teenage boys were tacking up on their wall.” The photos shared to promote their photo collaboration burst with color, strength, and female fragility. A thing I’ve learned about collecting photo books, is the minute you hear about them, is that you must seek them out right away. I really wanted to study Goldsmith’s work with Patti more, but here’s the kicker, the cost of the book is $700 for a limited-edition 1300-copy pressing. The books will be signed by Goldsmith and Smith.

My heart sank. I wondered, who is this book for? Is it the wealthy Patti Smith fan? An art collector? Then I questioned myself, doesn’t Goldsmith deserve to earn what her work is worth? Then, I thought, perhaps when I’m seventy-five, I’ll find a discarded, roughed up, cheap copy in a thrift store… now that would be so punk.

See description of Goldsmith’s book on Artnet

CBS Morning News Story

Bee Gees, Rain and Lijiang / November 24, 2019 by Danette Davis

Rainy Day Lijiang and the Bee Gees on Repeat

When I started to take this journey into photography, I set out with intent of learning the work of other female photographers. Those close to me know I listen to headphones at night and often remark about a feature story that has me wide awake at 2 a.m. One of these stories was about Eve Arnold, an interview, that took place shortly before her death. Arnold discussed photographing Malcolm X and visiting China - two things that made my ears perk up. My partner had spent time in China for three years and I would visit him. I hadn’t quite found my photographic voice, but I look at those photos and see glimpses of my views on travel photography. Arnold made me wish that we had spent more time in Lijiang, a city located in the Yunnan province. It was the furthest place I had traveled outside of Beijing. At that time, even though tourism was picking up, there were still pockets in the city undeveloped. I won’t lie. There were restaurants designed to engage tourist in traditional dances and people that appeared to be in costume. I didn’t care. Those were merely small distractions. For the first time, I was in a part of China uncrowded by millions and millions of people. The place I chose to stay was a bed and breakfast. It required walking up a steep cobble hill. For once, the pictures didn’t lie. There in front of us was an amazing wood structure. Our room accommodated Western and Chinese sleeping (a wooden bed) styles and every morning we crossed a bridge, inside the house, that passed by a koi pond to breakfast. We were the only ones there other than the owners. Finally, I was able to start relaxing.

There are canals that run through the city of Lijiang lined with businesses. One day the rain was completely overwhelming and we stepped into a restaurant to the sound of the Bee Gees playing. The greeter sat us by the window were we watched people with umbrellas, a calligrapher working, locals attempting to escape the rain and the canal directly below us. I’m always try to eat local - Thank you! Anthony Bourdain. I ordered what became my favorite, spicy lamb, so much so that we ate there twice - again Bee Gees greatest hits on constant replay. I also drank yak milk tea.

A Japanese tourist with a Canon sat in my view. He was eating spicy crickets and took a photograph of me and Mr. D together. I share this long story because it was my first lesson in photography before I studied the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson. I was learning to observe people and patterns, to immerse myself. The skill of patience is difficult to embrace. Digital photography allows a person to take unlimited shots. Sometimes I don’t take the shot. I absorb the moment. I let it go.

My trips to China have lead me to visit Japan multiple times, and Taiwan. I love those spaces. I walk around the city well into dark. I let photos escape me. I try to find spaces were I am the only foreigner. My camera allows me to connect with people, particularly on my last adventure. I haven’t shared many of those photos online. I feel some photos require seeing them up close on paper. I believe the impact is more powerful. Plus, I want to want to be a fly on the wall. In the meantime, here are some old photos. They aren’t perfect, but they have an interesting story.