Rick Hawkins Photography

CCL gearing up for the 50th

Camp Country Lad is one of my favorite on-going photography projects. Of course I'm biased from being a camper there as a kid. It's a wonderful place that has kept it's traditions and place unchanged for 5o years. This month is the 50th birthday and I will be returning to photograph for the second time this summer. My July 4th visit was great and I got some interesting shots as the senior staff put on a great fireworks show. Large rockets zoomed overhead from the dam while others went straight up from a canoe. All reflected in the lake. I also did a few night shots that I liked that caught one of my favorite things about camp...the absence of ambient light pollution. The sky is bright with stars.


I have taken alot of photographs but never shot the big dipper. It's always fun to scratch one off the list. I'll blog again after the 50th and I'll see all you CCL folks there. If you are not a CCL person and have questions about this wonderful experience for your child contact me. I'm more than willing to describe to you how what I learned at the camp has benefitted my life and how it may be as valuable as any education I ever received. More photos in the CCL folder. Oh yeah...heres me at 14 with a big fish at camp. Thats another story for another time.

NYC abstracts

On my recent trip to NYC I found myself challenged. It's hard to photograph a place that has been photographed as much as any place on Earth. There are so many incredible photographers that have made NYC their subject if not their home. I quickly turned to one of my favorite techniques, in-camera double exposure. My camera allows me to make multiple exposures but I have a limited time to do it before the mode goes to sleep. So most of these exposures occur within a minute of each other. What usually happened is I would find something that was interesting, shoot and then make a mad scramble to find some kind of texture to mix in. Many of the times the second exposure was pavement or concrete. I also tried some multiple exposures of the same scene..one in and one out of focus. I shot probably 600 double exposures of which most were confusing and abstract to the point of silliness. I did get some I like and feel my attempt was fairly successful. The editing job has been monumental but I will continue to fine tune these until the get show worthy.




More in the in-camera double exposure folder.

NYC walkabout

I had the good fortune of being able to visit New York City this summer. I also benifited from having a great place to stay on Brooklyn. Long time friend Sammy Baker lives up there with his wonderful wife. I took many walks around the city. I found my self avoiding major NYC tourist spots and just focusing my walks through neighborhoods in and around their area. I found myself employing my standard walkabout technique. I'm a sucker for color and texture and NYC has an unending supply.


I had been to NY before but it was always a very quick trip. This time I was able to slow down and pay attention to the subtle details. I got lost several times on subways and was always given help by the friendly locals. I had an extended conversation with one of an extended group of fisherman...in Central Park! They had never fished anywhere else! I offered up free guide service if they ever came to Tennessee. I tried in vain to get in a couple of the world famous museums but the lines were long and I was actually enjoying the walking so much I gave up on that. After all NYC is like a living, breathing museum within itself. Ever changing culture and art is mixed with traditional ethnic pride into a soup that beautifully represents one of the most impressive cities in the world. NYC is the best example of the old American slogan...melting pot.

I became fans of these guys at the Puerto Rican Pride Parade. Retired guys working on bikes in the free time. The members of the Puerto Rican Schwinn club are all much older than they look. A couple were in their late 70's. I wanted to join up. Maybe I'll just have to start my own club. More photos in the dispatches from the road folder. Click on these images to enlarge.

Steve Miller

Again I got the call from American Songwriter to cover The Steve Miller Band at the Ryman. I love the Ryman and grew up with Steve Miller. His Book of Dreams record was the first record I ever bought with my own money. His career is interesting in that it was going nowhere then he almost died and during his recovery time wrote all the songs that would go on to be on the albums Book of Dreams and Fly Like an Eagle. Many huge hits came from that time and many of those songs have been run into the ground even to this day on classic rock radio. It was neat to see a performer that is basically an old blues dude who just happened to figure out how to write pop songs. He has sold over 35 million records!
At this show I tried some new things. I had been experimenting alot with in-camera double exposure while in NYC. I tried this technique for the first time on a "big" band at this show. I think I'll keep throwing it in the mix.

I love those Ryman windows! Click on photos to enlarge!

Willie Nelson

I photographed Willie Nelson this summer for American Songwriter magazine. It was great to gets so close to a living legend. There aren't many songwriters/performers of Willies caliber still alive and doing business. He belongs up there with Ray Charles and Johnny Cash and he performed and wrote songs for both of those fellows. People joke about his partying but he is one of the hardest working men in the business. His current tour helped raise funds for tornado relief in Alabama. He is 79 years old and still kicking butt.
The stories that guitar could tell! That instrument could have been in the Country Music Hall of Fame 30 years ago!

Bonnaroo Backstage

My access to Bonnaroo is due to my wonderful friend Lij Shaw. Lij is the man in charge of the backstage studio. He has a great crew of studio dudes that record an amazing amount of material in a short time span. They had around 30 artists come through the doors of the hay studio during the weekend. It really is amazing what they do. All the artists are so different from each other and the knowledge that the crew has of microphone placement and other technical nightmares is impressive. The session last about an hour and the artist is asked for three songs. Its amazing they pull this off. And with wonderful results. Google Bonnaroo radio and you'll find their recordings on any number of affiliates.




The studio is very challenging photography wise. It's a tight area with lights kept unobtrusive. I'll have to have some different gear next year. A faster lens would help alot. If you are interested in more of the Bonnaroo photography friend Jackson Pollock Microphone on facebook. I keep most of my music oriented projects there. If you are looking for a good studio. Look up Lij at the Toybox studio in Nashville.
They call it the Hay studio for obvious reasons. It's a trailer incased in hay bales. The sound from the other stages can bleed onto the tracks they are recording. This muffles the sound and helps immensely. I love the hay studio and look forward to getting in there again.

the summer of music and photography

My summer photography work changed before my eyes. I didn't seek it. It just happened that way. My early years in photography were dominated by music oriented projects so I guess it's natural for me to swing back that direction from time to time. This was my second year photographing the Bonnaroo music and Arts festival. I'm there due to my good friend Lij Shaw who runs the backstage recording studio. I get out in the festival proper as often as I can or should I say when I can muster up the gumption. It's HOT out there in the middle of the day and the dust can take a toll. That said, the collection of music that Bonnaroo brings in is amazing. You can hear all kinds of interesting sounds.


The band above is The Walkmen. I'm a big fan of their last record. I also photographed them in the backstage studio. The last photo shows what I was up against in the photo pit. I think there might have been more photographers than musicians. They were all generally nice but they definitely are very competitive.
Arcade Fire was another band I was looking forward to. Not just me apparently. The crowd got very large as the marched in riding high on their recent Grammy award. They brought the big show and had the epic sing along songs. I didn't even try to get close!


The first photo of these three is special to me. I was walking behind famed music photographer Danny Clinch. Mr. Clinch has taken many famous musician photographs. He has worked alot with Rolling Stone and is the official Bonnaroo photographer. He has the super duper access. He is usually ON the stage. As I was walking behind him he stopped suddenly to photograph the guy walking in front of him in a harsh beam of light. So I did the same. I'm sure he heard my camera fire. But he never turned around.
Shooting at Bonnaroo is always a challenge. I'm always glad I did it. Although I must admit it's not easy getting sleep at the tent with music vibrating your skull until 4 or 5 in the morning. I bet Danny Clinch has got the sweet hang!