Jenni Rivera in Concert for Cinco de Mayo, 2006 [Large Images Warning]

[DwightMcCann]

The casino does a Cinco de Mayo concert each year. This year there were two groups of performers. The headliner was Jenni Rivera, a somewhat plump and buxom singer. While I had not heard of her she clearly has a very large and expressive Latin following. All night long various men and women raced up to the front of stage to whisper in her ear or pass her notes ... it never got out of hand but was pretty regular throughout the performance. Part of her act includes putting four chairs up on stage and selecting four men to sit in them. Actually, she never got a chance to "select" as men knew what was coming and raced up, pulled themselves onto the stage and then played musical chairs for the seats ... without music ... some scuffling but no fights (security was on hand just in case)! Many left with very sad faces. Jenni then proceeded to do a very stylized interaction with each man while singing. The men were instructed to keep their hands behind their backs at all times. What she did with them reminded me of lap dancers! No wonder these guys were so hot to be up there ... but it must be a cultural thing as I would have no interest ... hmmm, maybe if it was LeAnn Rimes! :lol: Anyway, I am rambling so here's the shoot:

#1
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Images/ChumashCollages/JenniRiveraCollage-1000.jpg

#2
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Images/JenniRivera05052006/JR6299-1000.JPG

#3
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Images/JenniRivera05052006/JR6337-1000.JPG

#4
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Images/JenniRivera05052006/JR6479-1000.JPG

#5
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Images/JenniRivera05052006/JR6564-1000.JPG

There are eleven more on my website at http://www.dwightmccann.com/ChumashCasinoResort/JenniRivera05052006.htm for your listening pleasure. Also note that I went back after the Sin Bandera thread and added white drop shadows to all images on the collage ... see, I can listen and learn! :rolleyes:

[mijbril]

"Buxom", something of an understatement, but she seems to be a woman with great stage presence (that you've caught again). Was the entire show with her to the front & the band way to the background?? (glad you did not forget them!!!)

[DwightMcCann]

"Buxom", something of an understatement, but she seems to be a woman with great stage presence (that you've caught again). Was the entire show with her to the front & the band way to the background?? (glad you did not forget them!!!)

Yes, well, um, I thought combined with "plump" that I had it covered. Another odd thing was the huge percentage of overweight to obese women, mostly Latin, who were there and many voicing their admiration for someone who was "large" and yet successful ... almost as though "forgiving" themselves for being so heavy on the altar of Jenni.

And yes, the arrangement of musicians and Jenni you see in the one shot was the exact position that was maintained, much to my surprise, all evening. The following image is also on my website and gives a clearer impression of how the audience saw her:

http://www.dwightmccann.com/Images/JenniRivera05052006/JR6389-1000.JPG

While the musicians all looked a tad "stoned", they played very well, without music. The guy on the Sousaphone had several long and intricate solos that went flawlessly. BTW, the collage background is built around a substantial upsizing of an area cropped from this image around the drums in the lower right corner with some "effects" applied.

[PEACHMAN]

Dwight, I don't jump into your threads very often, just look usually looking ,as I have never lifted a camera at a performer giving me no authority to CC, ...But I gotta say from a laymans point of view, your work is superb...Interesting to see from a thread or two above that you say you have 38 or so years at it...that many in this venue??

[DwightMcCann]

Dwight, I don't jump into your threads very often, just look usually looking ,as I have never lifted a camera at a performer giving me no authority to CC, ...But I gotta say from a laymans point of view, your work is superb...Interesting to see from a thread or two above that you say you have 38 or so years at it...that many in this venue??
Welcome, Peachman! I have been shooting as an amateur for about 38 years. My father died while I was in the service and 23 years old and left me his Nikon F. I have been shooting on and off ever since. Started shooting bands about five or six years ago. Graduated from two bulb biker bar to nice Country Western bar(s) where I still shoot and about 18 months ago I started shooting here at the casino ... a friend actually got me the work before I even knew he was looking into it. About six months into the casino work I replaced my Fuji Pro body and Nikkor lenses with Canon equipment at the behest of Tom Casino, world reknown boxing photographer and have been plowing ahead ever since. I get paid pretty well for the casino work and I have two other small but ongoing clients. I am 60 and am creating this business for a retirement job as I have a four year old daughter and would never be able to quit at the University without some additional income. At present, all photography income goes into equipment and supplies ... $38K last year, sigh. This year will be leaner as the casino is hosting fewer events but I still have a 400mm f/2.8 in the equipment budget for Fall, which will be excellent in this venue on a Wimberley head and Gitzo carbon fiber legs (that I already have.)

Thanks for the complements. :D

[Curtis N]

At present, all photography income goes into equipment and supplies ... $38K last yearGood lord, I didn't think Playboy spent that much! I'm figuring to gross a couple grand this year and hoping most of it will be gravy! Is there any hope for profit?

[DwightMcCann]

Good lord, I didn't think Playboy spent that much! I'm figuring to gross a couple grand this year and hoping most of it will be gravy! Is there any hope for profit?
Profit for me? Oh, I hope so! But I am planning to buy everything my little heart wants with my photography income and write it all off. Well, I lie. For tax evasion purposes I need to take a profit two of five years, so next year my wife is taking $10K in my profit plus a couple of bucks of her own and whisking the three of us away ... she's talking Bora Bora or San Lucas or some such thing for about ten days. Of course, she has also talked about going to NYC or Washington, D.C., too, so who knows. But I have a good day job to pay the mortgage and car payments and her job pays almost what mine does. Hey, you can't even buy a lens for $2K! :confused:

[PEACHMAN]

It's great to see things going well in all fields for you...and a 4 year old daughter!!?! You gotta have some energy going in that 60 year old body ! I'm hoping to still be able to figure how to push the shutter when I hit 60 (2 years)..well, you have a great eye and are obviously putting it to good use...I've been hoping to do something with the camera for a few bucks myself , but I'm fiercly afraid of losing my love for it when there is business/money involved...do you find you lose the fun of it all when it becomes a scheduled event, or does doing well with it, monatarily, help compensate?

[DwightMcCann]

Peachman, it's like getting married. The relationship evolves and while sex is still a really fun thing, not everything revolves around it after a while. OTOH, finally being able to have the very best equipment there is because it pays for itself must be likened to having kids ... they don't all work out just exactly as you wish, but you can count on them in a pinch and with the right ones you can do so much more. So, I'd have to say it is different. I have a few landscapes around that valley that I want to shoot but I find I don't have enough edge to get my butt out of bed at 5:00 AM to catch the best light ... or even lug the equipment to the site ... but it is hard to tell if it because I am older with a coronary bypass under my belt or because the excitement is gone from shooting so much. So let me just say that I would not choose to go back! :-)

[kmb]

Dwight, I really like the first one for mood and the second one for, um, obvious reasons (and mood also). Nice to see you get to photograph something else than old men from time to time :).

In the third, I'd crop out some of the floor, now the foreground seems a bit empty to me. Otherwise that's also the type of shot that I'd like to take, but basically I forget to think the concerts through and get the variety of pictures I should take (My IQ seems to drop to half when the music starts - and further if the vocalist is a woman). Anyways, thinking about variety is something I've learned from your comments and pictures, thanks for that.

Excellent quality, as always.

[DwightMcCann]

Kalle, I get torn about crops sometimes ... it is so easy in this venue to wind up with too many "panorama" images. In that stage shot I decided I liked the sense of "space" with a couple of cables on the floor. I don't think most of the concert goers are aware of the amount of junk on the floor, from cables and guitar controls to set lists taped to the floor in various places. And I'm looking for variety, too, of course.

[mijbril]

....For tax evasion purposes I need to take a profit two of five years....

They're the light years in equipment outlay then :D

[DwightMcCann]

They're the light years in equipment outlay then :D

Yup ... about half, sigh. :(

[caljimw]

Great stuff, as usual. On the full stage shot (with Jenni to left), I might have cropped about 1" off the left side and bottom, still keeping most of the stage floor. But, I'm just a jealous old curmudgeon who gets his kicks nitpicking the work of my betters (especially those with an equipment inventory like yours).
Enjoy!
Jim

[DwightMcCann]

I'm just a jealous old curmudgeon.

Jim

Hmph! I'm 60, how old are you?

[caljimw]

67, kid.
enjoy!
Jim.

[DwightMcCann]

Finally, a father figure! :-)

[caljimw]

Put it this way: I was buying my first Leica (in Germany) when you were graduating from Elementary School, Kid.
If I had your talent, I coulda been a contender.
Enjoy!
Jim