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Is there anybody out there, one, two, three...

Hello! Fellow Steve Earle fans.

It was my great fortune to not only attend Mr. Earle's unbelievable show on 8/15 at Newburport, MA, but to wind up in the second row of this intimate Theater at Newburyport High School. As if all that wasn't enough, we showed up a little early for this general admission event, and didn't know which door was the correct entrance, so we waited around with a few guessing others by a door close to the tour bus.  Well, turned out it was the wrong door to be waiting at for the concert, but the very right door at the time as after a little bit along stolls Steve back toward his bus (presumably) following a sound check.  My heart leapt out of my chest, but I got myself under control enough to approach Steve, who was kind enough to greet us two very excited fans and even pose for a picture with my girlfriend.  I know, I ought to have tried to entertain his attention for a minute more and get a photo of him and me, but things were pretty happy and I didn't want to push my luck.  Plus, to tell you the truth, I was having a little trouble speaking.

Shortly after our chance encounter, we did find the correct entrance to the venue and while waiting in line I got approval from Steve via one of his handlers to bring my camera into the venue.  Here are the results...

http://www.acclaim.org/SteveEarle.html

I hope you like 'em.

Please let me know what you think.

About the show itself--what can I say?  Three hours with one 15 minute break after Allison Moorer's opener; gorgeous, passionate music--he played EVERYTHING; respectful yet very adoring and excited audience; quite possibly the best concert I've ever seen, and I'm 50 and have seen a lot.  One funny quip from Steve--"This may be the most time I've ever spent at a high school".  I couldn't sleep for hours afterward, and I was liking being awake.

I know the photos aren't going to bring the music back, but I hope they make you feel good.

Until next time....

Ernie

 

Wow, these are just great photos and thank you so much for sharing them with us.  I've seen Steve and company twice on this tour and it was a great experience both times.  Am looking forward to seeing him a 3rd time at the Take Back Labor Day rally in St. Paul too.  He is a compelling individual to say the least & I never tire of his music or news of his projects.  I am quite sure if I ever do get a chance to meet him, I will be speechless . 

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"I got me a fearless heart"

Ernie!  Thank you so much for sharing the story and the photos!  Wow!  It is no wonder that you were unable to sleep afterward.  What a night!  I'm so happy for you (and happy for us that you got to take you camera in!) Thanks again.

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A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us ~ Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

Thank you Indygochild & Iris.

For sure, that's one night I won't forget!

All the best to you,

Lucky Ernie

WOW....Ernie, these photos are simply fantastic....I can't thank you enough for sharing them with us... dang, boy, that's some camera you have there....and I might add that Steve looks like he's taken off some more weight... he'd better have a cheeseburger... I don't want him getting too skinny....

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" Shut up and learn something. "

Great photographs dude. If you ever come back, let me know what you're shooting with. They look fantastic.

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"Think for yourself. Question authority." - Timothy Leary

Hi and Thanks!

I was shooting with a Canon Rebel xti and a 28-135 AF lens with IS (image stabilization).  The IS aspect has been very helpful to me in low light without flash--at Steve Earle, it allowed me to shoot mostly at 800 ASA instead of 1600.  I shoot in RAW mode, which is a little tedious to work with after the shoot, but gets the better image--for one thing it allows you to correct the incandescent stage lighting to achieve more true-to-life skin tones, before converting to TIF then JPEG.  The Rebel xti is a great camera--less "bells and whistles" than the more expensive Canon models, but same sensor--and no amount of bells and whistles matters when shooting in RAW mode, anyway.

And of course being in the second row center helped get me better close-ups at the 135mm focal length!  I can't imagine getting to be at a Steve Earle show in second row again, though guess it's possible.  Being allowed in with the camera in the first place was quite a gift.  My luck was running very high that night.  I should have thought to package some of it for another time.  May have been lady luck with my wonderful girlfriend by me.  If that's true, I guess I didn't need to package it so long as she'll stick around.

Thank you again!

Ernie 

You sound like quite the camera buff Ernie. Just curious what the reason is for converting your Raw files to Tif before making them into jpegs?

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"You see things differently at 40 than you do at 31. Especially if you got to 40 the way I did."

Hi Kendall,

I convert to 16 bit tif, then to 8 bit tif, then to jpeg.

16 bit tif: Non-lossy format, perfect for any extra sharpening that might need to be done.  Twice the byte size of 8 bit tif.  Any further correction (red-eye fix, tweaking color correction, etc.) that can be done in 16 bit tif ought to be done in this format.  One thing you can't do in this format is move pixels around.

8 bit tif: Also non-lossy, and now you can move pixels around if you need to.  When I'm satisfied, I save these to dvd-r for use as "digital negatives" for any future manipulation including converting to B&W, sepia tone, partial coloring, etc.  These files can be resaved over and over while working on them, without loss in image quality.

jpeg: What I send to the lab for prints.  A lossy format that's best not resaved much as an image can quickly start getting a little fuzzy, and colors become blotchy.  If all you have to work with are jpeg files in the first place, and you want to make some corrections or changes, best to convert to 8 bit tif while you're making your changes; then when you're happy with what you've come up with, convert back to jpeg.

The program I use for converting RAW to 18 bit tif is called Capture One Pro.  It's very expensive, but works great and performs batch file conversion, which is essential when you're shooting a wedding and you've got several hundred image files to plow through.  However, most digital SLR cameras come with some kind of RAW conversion software that will do the trick for you and save you the expense of buying the program I use.

I hope I've been helpful!

Ernie

PS. Satellite Radio is the coolest fucking song I've ever heard.  Hillbilly hip-hop!  Too cool!  I can listen to that song ten times in a row and not get sick of it.  (I thought I'd throw that in for some relief from the techie-talk.)

I just want to thank everybody who've come to see my photos.  I thought maybe a dozen or so people would bother--but now 1700+ visitors!!  Makes it all that much more worthwhile.  I hope I can do this for you all again sometime.

Peace, Ernie

Thanks for the great photos,

My husband and I just saw Steve Earle with Allison in Keene New Hampshire, what a show wish he was in the area more.

a fan for a very long time.

 

Thank you, LoriC.

I couldn't make the show in Keene.

If you're still around, pick a photo from the images I posted, email me the image number, and I'll send you a high-resolution file you can have printed to as large as a 16x20 no problem.

All the best to you,

Ernie