If you spend any time with me, you know I have a passion for music. I spent a lot of my early career chasing light on stage, looking for those little moments where the performance and art blended and magic emerged.

Socially relevant? Not always, but a ringing guitar can salve a lot of souls.

An early favorite was the BoDeans, who I photographed several times in the late 1980s and 1990s. Last time, though, was in 1997 – meaning that film is old enough to buy a PBR at the bar.

A friend messaged me a few days ago, they were coming to Athens, small venue … dude, sign us up.

The Mrs. and I are trying to get better about getting out of the house. With both kids off to college, the time is there … though we’ve both managed to get busier this spring. We had a grand time, and I only wandered off two or three times to try and make some frames.

I remember when everyone was focused on the performance, lost in trances, lost in dances. It’s a little different now, the need to prove attendance is not something I really get. I go for me, not to prove to others I was there.

Of course, then I start publishing photos, so what do I know …

Stared for a while but I could not figure out why they tore up these bricks.

Pro tip: If you take photojournalism students to the Washington, D.C., area and offer to take them to see the Lincoln Memorial before departing on a Sunday morning, they may agree … and then they may negotiate.

“You said leave the hotel at 7:00 a.m., but the sun rises at 6:36 a.m. And the Lincoln Memorial faces into the sun. And the weather shows clear skies … can we leave at 5:30 a.m., instead? It’ll make for better photos …”

Old friends and heroes were all around, some had more arduous journeys – David Burnett needed a plane, train and a taxi transfer on the New Jersey Turnpike to make it for his closing keynote, arriving just 15 minutes before his slot.

The volunteers and staff cheered him on as he came in, complete with a, “Virginia or Bust” sign.

While we were ensconsed in a hotel for three days, a tremendous Nor’easter blew through the area with 60+ mph winds. Walking to lunch was a challenge and trees were down all around the area.

Take a bunch of photojournalism students to a conference, let them prove they belong and people will line up to talk to them. A very good first day.

Off in the corners, old friends balance work and conference life.

Spent the day in a 12 passenger van hauling nine students from Georgia to Virginia for the National Press Photographers Association Northern Short Course, piling out at various rest stops for fuel and food. Someone will not be happy a few miles down the road.