Posts in Category: Commercial
Merlefest 2017 | 30 Years of Exhilarating Music | music festival photos by Pixels On Paper
Another Merlefest is in the books, you guys and it was epic. Hot as one of the circles of Dante’s Inferno, if you’ll permit me to put too fine a point on it <smiling>. It was epic. So much to see and so much to share. This was the 30th anniversary and our 3rd year as official photographers. We covered 26 bands, plus the 12 who performed in the annual Chris Austin Songwriter’s Competition and we each walked 15 miles over the 4 days we were there. Frankly, we loved every second of it.
As previously mentioned, the temperatures were not springy. It was always a minimum of 80+ with two of the four days posting at just below 90 degrees, because Mother Nature has an audacious sense of humor. We usually layer clothing and then put items back on in the evenings. Nope. This year, a couple of morning showers added to the humidity and we wore just what we needed. The weather wasn’t going to stop us and it did not stop 80,000 other visitors from coming to enjoy the festival atmosphere we were all basking in. God Bless water and sunscreen. 
The crowd size for this celebration of 3 decades of music and merriment was comprised of every age from infants to 80 years olds and the age range of the performers was expansive too. The youngest performer was 8 and of course there were veterans of Merlefest who’ve played every year since 1987, like Sam Bush and Peter Rowan. 
Highlights for Ryan were seeing James Taylor (who drew one of the biggest crowds) and the Avett Brothers (who also attracted the hoards) and he relished the Bass Workshop with Bob Crawford, since he’s fascinated by all things bass. (Their combined set with the Avett Brothers blew the place up.) Finally, the crowd noise as they announced that Linda Jean Stokley was the winner of the Chris Austin songwriter’s competition was a thrill. Linda Jean – of The Local Honeys – played her winning song for grateful fans. “Cigarette Trees“ is about the destruction of coal mining and is positively beautiful.
For me, the top moments were watching and listening to Sam Bush, who’s not only an incredible musician, but loves to surprise the audience with guests he brings on stage. And Sarah Jarosz is another performer that I looked forward to seeing for months. I’d listened to her streaming online, so I was jazzed to see her perform and she did not disappoint!
We both always enjoy seeing Chatham County Line, the Avett Brothers, Mandolin Orange and Scythian. This year we discovered Sierra Hull, Mountain Heart, Mipso, and The Steel Wheels. We hope to see them again next year.
Every year, we try to store up our energy and prepare to throw ourselves into Merlefest. We are fans. We were fans before becoming official photographers in 2015 and have enjoyed the experience more than we can say. It’s hot, it’s busy (we’re working from when the first eye opens until we crash late at night), it’s exhausting and it’s a blast. We come home spent but grateful and with songs, notes, riffs and phrasing in our heads to remind us. It’s one of the coolest gigs we work all year. Till 2018, Merlefest fans!
Rattle & Hum | MerleFest 2017
If you combine jangley guitars, fiddling, soulful singing, drums, stomping, brilliant songwriting, mountain inspiration and camping, you’re probably at Merlesfest. And if you’ve never been, consider making it this year.
It’s spring in the North Carolina mountains and, more specifically in Wilkesboro, where MerleFest was born. For nearly 30 years (the festival began in 1988), crowds of music lovers, players, and entertainers have gathered to listen to and contribute to the festival atmosphere. Like so many other music festivals, MerleFest is singular… the fans, the musicians, the inspirations, the talent, the views, and the overwhelming sense of family, culture and heritage.For the last couple of years, Ryan and I have been official photographers and we’re going again this year in that capacity – from April 27th – 30th. Let the preparations – and energy conservation – commence.
Merlefest: we’re looking at you, kid
It’s the MOST wonderful tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime of the year!!
Yes, Christmas is actually the title holder, but as professional photographers who love documenting events as much as celebrations and the daily lives of our clients, MerleFest is in second place. Once again, we’re going as Official Photographers and full-time music fans and we’re psyched. This is our third year to get the announcement from them that we’re going to this amazing music festival. Count down is on to one of our absolute favorite and hardest jobs of the year!
Lindsay Lou & Flatbelly (2016)
Steep Canyon Rangers (2016)
We Banjo 3 (2016)
Sarah Potenza (2016)
Emi Sunshine (2016)
Merlefest 2015 for Pixels was spectacular and we walked 12 million steps – give or take. We took some of our favorite event photos including this one of the Avett Brothers.
The Avett Brothers
2016 was even busier as Ryan and I split up visiting stages, shooting various artists and bands and then loading images. A blast! Merlefest this year runs from Thursday, April 27 to Sunday the 30th and we’re already trying to figure out how to store sleep and vitamin C (not possible) and looking forward to the crazy pace. This year will be one of the largest yet as they’re celebrating the event’s 30th year. The lineup this year is amazing. The Avett Brothers will be back, along with Scythian, the Zach Brown Band, Andy May, The Contenders, The Waybacks, the Steep Canyon Rangers and dozens of others. Get your tickets and meet us there!
Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brid
Boondocks Brewery | some commercial photography with a beer chaser
American forefather Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” This isn’t actually true. What he wrote was, “Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”
What is true is that both rain and beer can put a smile on our faces, and one place that handles the beer part is Boondocks Brewing Taproom and Restaurant. These guys have been open since August 1, 2012, which makes today their 4th anniversary! Well done, team.
It’s a 40 minute drive for us, but it’s our neighborhood spot because we love them, they love us, the food is fab and the craft beer is exceptional. And while “boondocks” means out-of-the-way, backwood, or rural, the set up the Boondocks Brew Haus, just down from the restaurant on South Jefferson Avenue, is all modern. They just updated the brew system a week ago to a larger one and it is sleek, sophisticated and state of the art. Equally cool is that everything about the brew system was customized, from the piping, the control panel, motor/pump mounting all the way down to the Boondocks logo on the lids for the tanks.
Because we consider owner Gary Brown, head chef/general manager Jared Yelton and the staff family, we offered to help with the installation of the new equipment. When we arrived however, all the heavy lifting of getting the 3 new large tanks in place had already happened. Gary was still doing some fitting work so we stayed a little while to take some photos to help document the history of the installation, even getting a couple “proud poppa” photos with Gary at the tanks.
The brew haus is responsible for creating the amazing craft beer for the restaurant, but the space is also open for events like monthly beer and wine dinners, private functions, rehearsal dinners and family reunions. The gang at Boondocks is very active in the Ashe County community, as well, supporting local farms and hosting events. They were just awarded the Ashe County Small Business of the Year award for 2016. Finally, manager and chef Jared came to the Pixels anniversary party in 2015 and provided appetizers and cooked other items on site. We just love these guys and are raising a glass to them. Here’s to many more years of making people happy. CHEERS!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
pixels takes a [quick] break from humans…… for a little architecture & real estate photography
… and the house sold almost as soon as it listed.
We had the privilege and fun of shooting photos for a couple who were planning to put their gorgeous home on the market. Talk about forethought. This amazing mid-century modern house deserved to be treated with the right lighting, time of year and staging. We mean no offense to real estate agents who take photos of the homes they’ve been asked to sell, but this couple wanted to capture their home at its best and contacted us to make it happen.
The shoots took place on two occasions. We photographed the exterior in April when the grounds were a knockout and everything was in bloom. We then returned in June to take the interior photos. Between the landscaping, the furnishings, the staging and the times of year, we and they were so pleased with the results.
This home in Wilkesboro is unique in that it is a true sprawling, original mid-century modern home with spectacular landscape design and a guest cottage. 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 3 dens and an indoor pool, totaling over 4000 sq ft. The clients forwarded our photos to their agent and the house was sold very quickly and the now former owners credit the photography for helping expedite the offer and sell.
Incorporating nature, architectural structures and details into our photographs is not something new for us. We’re looking forward to many more of this type of photo shoot for families who want to sell their homes or celebrate a completed renovation or remodel. You’ll never be sorry if you hire a professional.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.