You wouldn’t necessarily think it, but live music can be really tough to photograph — especially for someone like me who is paranoid that I will stand in someone’s way or distract from the performance. This is extra-challenging when shooting formal classical and jazz performances in a concert hall!

But that’s just what I did for six nights in November at the newly-christened Dr. Bobbie Bailey and Family Performance Center at Kennesaw State University. I was given the job of photographing six nights of performances by the school’s own ensembles, including the KSU Orchestra and Chorale, the KSU Faculty Jazz and Percussion Ensembles, the KSU Student Mixed Chamber Music Ensemble, the KSU Wind Ensemble, the KSU Opera Gala, and the KSU Jazz Ensemble. I got to hear some great music; I had no idea KSU had such an incredible arts program!

Anyway, I just wanted to post a few of the photos I liked best… oh and to share a quick reminder to ALWAYS CAP YOUR LENSES. I rammed my 200mm lens into a doorknob as I rushed from one room to the next in the dark performance hall. I was rewarded with a long, unbuffable scratch right across the surface of the lens. ARGH! Thanks to Canon’s excellent repair services, it’ll be back in the camera bag in good form in no time. Yay!

Last but not least, it was a fun change of pace to photograph these members of the opera department. This shot was taken before the performance, and was a reenactment of a scene from an operetta that mimics the old daytime soap operas!