It was a darn good thing to have attended and shot China Crisis’ gig last night at McKinley Hill. There is something about gigs, music lovers, and I guess, photographers. At a time when many people are borderline paranoid-distrustful, such camaraderie is such a breath of fresh air!  Sometime during the gig, a total stranger handed me his camera, an apparently very new EOS 60D, and asked me to figure out the movie function controls! I was so sorry that a 60D is a piece of gear that  I haven’t tried, and couldn’t be of much help. That little encounter made me smile, though. Later on, the same guy handed me his camera again, this time for me to take his picture with China Crisis jamming it up in the background. I was happy to oblige. Afterwards, I went for a cigarette break at the side. This time two guys approached me, asking to be photographed, but they didn’t bring their cameras. Easy. One of them gave me his calling card with his email address on it. Gave him mine, in exchange. Of course I’m not exactly hoping that they will be my new best friends, but encounters like these are certainly one of the perks of the job.  Sure, standing for hours with several kilos of gear hanging on you can be a literal pain, but it sure is worth it.  Posting some outtakes now; it is 1am, and shots of China Crisis will have to wait another day.

Two of them are my friends; the rest just asked to be photographed. Perhaps I’ll never see them again, but the exchange of goodwill was great!