The Legendary Johnny Winter

[cenelsonfoto]

Sometimes I can't believe my ability to get myself into the right place at the

right time - Dumb luck, I reckon.<p />

Tonight, I shot a legend.<p />

Enjoy!<p />

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Earl's Garage opened for 'em:

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[jacob_brown]

Half right?

[cenelsonfoto]

You win.

[Alex_Es]

Very, very nice. The Mamiya 67?

[cenelsonfoto]

D70s, actually - Tamron 28-75 Di LD.

 

Loaded the RB with some Delta 3200, but the roll jammed on me. D70s had to pick up the slack.

 

Best,

C.

[jack_lo_..._t_o]

How was the show?

[cenelsonfoto]

Jack, it was good, though I wasn't there to listen so much as to shoot.

<p>

I had been on the street most of the day, shooting portraits, and I was sweated out and hotter than hell. I had seen the marquee earlier in the day, but mistakenly read the show date as the 13th.

<p>

The brewmaster at the brewpub a short distance from the club corrected me on the date, so I then got the wild hair up my ass to see if I could get a moment of two with Johnny before nightfall - just wanted an historical record, really. Here's this great bluesman in town, and he's getting quite old now... probably not going to be around for years and years... it was a good opportunity.

<p>

I found the club's booking manager - who I'd had brief contact with a month or two back - and we reacquainted, then I put forth my interest in a quick headshot with Winter. Harold told me Johnny hadn't arrived yet, probably wouldn't be there until 08:00p.

<p>

I went back to shooting portraits until then. Harold introducedmeto Paul Nelson, Johnny's manager who then informed me that Johnny doesn't move or walk around much these days. Getting frail, and I'm sure some complications from the albinism he and brother Edgar suffer from. Well, I had my mind on an available light headshot - the interior of the tour vehicle was simply too dark.

<p>

I had the D70s on me, so I suggested stage access would be good too. Actually glad it turned out that way, though I would have preferred to pin it on TMZ or Delta rather than the D70s.

<p>

So to answer the question: Yes, it was good. I was shooting inches from Johhny with a 28-75mm/2.8 Tamron and working as wide as I could. Winter's either legally blind, or completely blind at this point; he sat playing with eyes closed, and I never was concious of him being aware of my kneeling so close by the monitors - One frame I took has him with eyes open, so perhaps he was on to me. Doesn't matter. Not a lot going on on-stage, so I shot a couple dozen frames to make sure I got some decent exposures - tough, at 1/15th in manual and at 1600ISO. Not the best lighting, small club, and so on.

<p>

All I've ever known of the Winter brothers was Edgar's "Frankenstein" and the elder Johnny's "Rock 'n' Roll Hoochie Koo." Growing up in NC Florida, I was surrounded by hard-livin' southern rock-n-roll and blues, plenty of roots country also, but my real love was for other genres. Still, one couldn't escape the influence, especially when the hometown hero was Tom Petty, and Bo Diddly living in your back yard, and others. Hell, I used to buy guitar strings and used records from Charlie Hargrett of Blackfoot... I wish like hell that I'd discovered photography in my twenties, as I could have had terrific access to many living legends. Always nice to have this sort of shot in one's portfolio, I think.

<p>

Best,<br>

C.

[john falkenstine]

Great pictures, last time I saw him he moved around with great difficulty.

[neilambrose]

<p>CE - these are very good. I've seen a lot of your work on this forum and not all of it has

been on my wavelength, but this set is really excellent.</p>

[sitemistic]

Great shots. Man, he is getting old! Off topic but maybe interesting. When I was a lad of 13, I

played (really bad) guitar in a little blues band that was playing with dozens of other bands in

Beaumont, Texas at a "Battle of the bands." Johnny and his band dropped in, without

instruments, and everyone wanted them to play. My little group offered them our instruments

which they played a couple of numbers on. Winters was wearing this huge belt buckle and,

while playing my Strat, scratched the back up really bad. I've kept that guitar all these years

just so I could say Johnny Winters trashed my guitar! LOL

[Ian Taylor]

For a guy who was supposed to be dead a long time ago it's good to see he can still get out there.