Somebody I know and hold dear texted me tonight and asked me if I was shooting Ariana Grande at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Sadly, that part of my life is over for now.
When I left journalism for communications, I knew my ticket to do that had been revoked, at least for the time being.
Officially, I’ve been to 106 concerts in my life.
I’ve shot probably close to 90 of them, I’m guessing.
The Barenaked Ladies were the first, back in 1999 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H.
My next one was Green Day at the Cumberland County Civic Center in 2006.
The first show I shot at Mohegan Sun was Pink in 2013. Next came, Fleetwood Mac, followed by Bob Segar, Rush and Sting.
My surge had started.
From 2013 to April of 2017, I went to 87 concerts and shot most of them.
The last one was Lorde, 11 months go.
In the summer of 2016, I was supposed to shoot Grande, but a New England Regional baseball tournament got in the way, so I missed.
In February of 2017, I got my second chance and clicked away a couple of hundred shots.
For the most part, pop singers who dance around a lot have bad lighting.
That’s how it went with Ariana. I wasn’t happy with most of my photos. The cover photo of this post is one of favorites from that night.
I’m not a huge fan of her music, but the kid has talent and she’s beloved by millions so she must be doing something right.
I wish I could have been there tonight, camera up to my nose, Ariana in my viewfinder.
I wish I could go back and shoot another hundred concerts.
Sadly, that part of my life is over.
I can still go to concerts, but I’ve got to shell out the greenbacks now.
I’m sure I’ll see another one or two before they bury me and my Nikon.
I’m just not seeing Ariana Grande tonight at Mohegan Sun.
THE OCTOBER WEEKEND 