The Wandering Photographer

Detroit's Best Festival: The 2011 Concert of Colors

The Indigo Girls with Alison Brown at the 2006 Concert of Colors

My favorite festival of the Summer is back with more acts and more days. The 19th Annual World Music and Diversity festival, the Concert of Colors, is set to go, starting Thursday July 14th and finishing up on Sunday night July17th. First held in 1994 as a celebration of metro Detroit, its diversity, its music and the music of its people, the Festival's goal is ". . . bringing together metro Detroit’s diverse communities and ethnic groups by presenting musical acts from around the world." (from the COC website).

This year the Concert expands to four days.

Thursday, with doors opening at 6pm, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History hosts a number of acts including African/Hip Hop, Soul, and traditional dance. Over at the Scarab Club the "Woodward Line Poetry" series will present the spoken word and music.

Friday night things move to the Detroit Institute of Arts with Latin Jazz and Blues performances. A screening of the movie "From Britain with Love: Africa United" will be presented. Doors open at 4pm.

 Jazz at the 2006 Festival

Saturday it all begins at 2pm at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. Three stages will be filled with a veriety of music and dance. Acts include; Japanese Drum, Reggae, Irish Folk, Arab Dance, Classical and much more. The evening ends with, what is for me, the highlight of the weekend. Each year Oak Park native Don Was (Was not Was) pulls together a diverse group of Detroit based musicians and puts on the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue. The performances are truly a tour de force of Detroit culture. This year's ensemble includes Mitch Ryder, Melvin Davis, the Muggs and a whole lot of others.

 Former Funk Brother Dennis Coffey rocks the 2010 COC with Don Was playing bass in the background

 The Final day of the Festival opens at 2pm on Sunday at "The Max". The line-up on Sunday is as eclectic as Saturday's. It includes such local standouts as The Layabouts, and the Hamtramck World Music Ensemble. The highlight of the day should be the great Bettye LaVette. Born in Muskegon and raised in Detroit, Bettye has been belting out R&B hits since 1962. Ms. LaVette has lost none of her charisma, she retains her soul.

 Bettye LaVette performing at the Detroit Festival of the Arts in 2006

 This is a festival not-to-be-missed. The music is great and the ultimate goal of bringing us together, a mish-mash of cultures, city and suburbs, black and white, men and women is important and worthy. We may be different, but WE ARE ALL DETROIT.

The entire festival schedule can be found at the Concert of Colors web site.

See you at the Festival.

© Tim Marks 2011

Celebrate the Diversity of Detroit: The Concert of Colors July 16 -18

The Concert of Colors

Celebrate the diversity of the metro Detroit area this weekend. Head on down to the FREE Concert of Colors. As far as I'm concerned this is the music festival of the year. Celebrating the diversity of our great city, is a worthy activity. And did I remember to say it's FREE

FREE Music dance and fun with:

• Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• The Don Was Detroit All Star Review
• The Southwest Detroit Latin Super Session
• Kenga Kenga
• R&B and Gospel sensation Mavis Staples
• Simon Shaheen with the DSO

And much more!

• July 16th at The Detroit Institute of arts starting at 4:00pm
• July 17th at the Max Fisher Music Center starting at 4:00pm
• July 18th at the Max starting at 2:30pm

The festival is completely FREE and a great time for all!

For more information and a full schedule, visit the festival web site at http://concertofcolors.com

Photos are from previous years.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Walking around Bilbao

Bilbao, in the Basque region of Spain, is a major seaport and industrial city located on an estuary leading to the Bay of Biscay. Most recently steel and iron making have been the major economic engine for Bilbao. The steel industry in Bilbao, like in the US and the rest of Europe, has fallen on hard times.

Fortunately Bilbao has been able to re-invent itself as a tourist destination. Opened in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum has helped transform the economy and save this wonderful old city. See my earlier post about the Guggenheim here.

In 2005 we had the opportunity to visit the Basque Country of Spain and our journey began in Bilbao. We were able to take a walking tour of the city  before setting out on the rest of our tour of the country side. Over the next couple of posts I'll be offering some views of the city taken during that walking tour.

As you cross the river, leaving new Bilbao behind, and enter the "Old City" you view the old market place building and this beautiful old church. The Church of St. Anton was build about 1366 and is an appropriate welcome to the old section of town.

The neo-baroque, Joaquin Rucoba designed opera house, el Teatro Arriaga, was built in 1890 and is an important part of the culture of Bilbao. The unusual flag flying in front of the building is the banner of the Basque Autonomous Region. The flag is the symbol of Basque nationalism and many of the people consider themselves Basque rather than Spanish.

When we arrived at the town square it was time for lunch. The Basque Country, like the rest of Spain, is full of Tapas bars. In the Basque country however the small plate fare are called Pintxos. Wonderful bite-size morsels often made with aged/cured ham, cheese or seafood. Just what the doctor ordered after a morning of walking and photography.

Come back next week for some more views of this great old city.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Singing the Beale Street Blues

One of the required stops while on a visit to Memphis, TN is the famous Beale Street, home of the Memphis Blues.  In the early 1900s Beale Street, then Beale Ave, was home to many African American clubs, Restaurants and other businesses.  From the 1920s through the 1940s the greats of Jazz and the Blues made Beale Street a regular stop on their national tours. 

By the 1960s, Beale Street had become rundown and many of the stores and clubs began to close.  After the declaration of Beale Street as a National Historic Landmark and a congressional resolution naming Beale Street the “Home of the Blues,” the street began to take on new life as a center for entertainment and dining.

One afternoon and evening in 2003, while on vacation in Memphis, we decided to take in some of the sights and sounds of the famous blues corridor.  As always, I had my trusty point & shoot camera with me (at that time a Canon Powershot G2). 

A multiband concert was going on in the park late in the afternoon.

Buskers were kickin’ out mean blues along the street.

The clubs were crowded.  I managed to get some shots inside the clubs but the high ISO settings caused some serious digital noise.

Of course, in some cases the noise added to the ambiance rather than detracted from it.

Here the noise makes the blues seem to come to life.

If you like the blues, you must make it to the “Home of the Blues,” Beale Street in Memphis Tennessee.

© Tim Marks 2009 all rights reserved

Detroit Photo Exhibition at Bean & Leaf Café

flyer design by Rebecca_Mich (flickr)

The local photography group Exposure.Detroit is presenting an exhibition of member photographs at the Bean and Leaf Café on Main Street in Downtown Royal Oak.  I am honored to have one of my images included in the show.

The exhibition, entitled "Detroit, Let Us Show You Around," is meant to highlight the character and value of the city of Detroit.  Each picture will be accompanied by a narrative that will showcase something about Detroit that is worthwhile and worth seeing.  Hopefully the show will inspire people to head into the city and enjoy its amenities.

The opening party is this Friday, August 7^th from 7:00pm – 10:00pm and the show will run for about 3 months.

All are welcome to the party to help to celebrate the D!

© Tim Marks all right reserved

Photographing History: Old Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina is a destination steeped in the history of our land.  Church yards in the old section of town hold the remains of signers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.  Scores of antebellum homes line the streets and horse drawn carriages tote tourists around the town making for a quaint atmosphere.  Photo opportunities abound!

Nikon D200,  Tamron 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 32mm,  1/250 @ f/11

The view from the town square shows a church steeple framed by trees including the native Palmetto tree.  The day we were there (Thanksgiving week) there was a minor festival going on in the park.

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 @ 24mm,  1/250 @ f/4.5

We were able to get a room in a wonderful inn that is housed in a former indigo factory.  The location of the Indigo Inn was perfect, within walking distance of everything and just down the street from one of the great soul food joints in the world, Jestine’s Kitchen. 

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 @ 12mm,  1/20 @ f/4.5

This is a view of the inn’s open courtyard, our morning breakfast spot.  The breakfasts were very good and except for Thanksgiving morning (light snow and 35 degrees) the weather was perfect for eating in the courtyard.  As cold weather Yankees, we braved the weather and ate out in the light snow which about paralyzed the city for a few hours.

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 @ 12mm,  1/20 @ f/4.5

Bright colors dominated the buildings in several parts of town.  In this shot I was struck by the symmetry of the two windows on the yellow wall.

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 @ 24mm,  1/80 @ f/4.5

Pink, yellow, green and blues seemed to be dominant colors all over the city.  This is the entrance to an Interior Design firm’s offices.  From the looks of the building I guess I’d trust them to design my rooms.

Charleston is definitely worth a visit especially for anyone interested in the history of colonial America, the early republic and the civil war.  Spend some time wandering the streets of the city and take in the beauty of the waterfront.

It is going to take a few blog posts to adequately cover Charleston.  On Wednesday I’ll explore Charleston’s Fort Sumter, the flash point that began the civil war.

© Tim Marks all rights reserved

Photo Friday: Detroit Concert of Colors, Celebrating Diversity

Back in May I wrote about photographing music festivals and I used the Detroit Concert of Colors as my example.  Well, since the concert is scheduled for July 18^th and 19^th I wanted to highlight a few more of the shots I got at the 2006 festival.  It’s an opportunity to showcase one of Detroit’s great events.

The Concert of Colors was conceived as a way to celebrate the vast diversity of the Detroit community.  Bringing together music from all over the world, the concert hopes to bring together people from all over metro Detroit, Michigan and points distant.

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 @ 70mm,  ISO 800,  1/20 @ f/4.5

Here is a shot of the flugelhorn player with a jazz band as they entertain the enthusiastic concert goers at the Diversity Stage.  The Concert is held at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, home of the world renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  The “Diversity Stage” is in the intimate performance venue called the Music Box.

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm,  ISO 800,  1/40 @ f/2.8

This one is a shot of a bass player/vocalist for one of the soul/rock bands that played the Diversity Stage in 2006.  The Music Box has a dance floor and the crowd makes liberal use of it.

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm,  ISO 800,  1/180 @ f/2.8

The Main Stage is located in the acoustically perfect Orchestra Hall.  In 2006 one of the headlining acts was the well known and loved folk duo, the Indigo Girls, joined in this photo by the acclaimed banjo picker Alison Brown.  Alison had played earlier in the day and joined Amy and Emily for a couple of tunes.

The Concert of Colors is presented free with the goal of spreading love, understanding and peace throughout the Detroit family.  The crowd is friendly, enthusiastic and tuned-in.  Come on down for two days of fun, music, dancing and peace. 

The Concert of Colors is presented by ACCESS, The Arab American National Museum, New Detroit and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

The Concert of Colors
July 18 & 19, 2009
The Max M. Fisher Music Center
Detroit, Michigan
Free Admission

Thanks to Debbie of Delicious Baby for organizing Photo Friday and spreading such wonderful images across the Web.

© Tim Marks 2009 all rights reserved

Americans in Paris: A Jazz Band on the Bridge

As a follow up to Wednesday’s blog about Paris, I wanted to share these photos with you,  After visiting and photographing the Cathedral of Notre Dame on the Ile de Cite in Paris, we decided to walk over to the Ile Saint-Louis to find a place for an early dinner.  As we left the grounds of the cathedral, to our surprise, we came upon a jazz quintet playing in the middle the street on the Pont (bridge) Saint-Louis.  To our even greater surprise we found out that they were an American jazz quintet.

Nikon CoolPix 8800,  Zoom @ 140mm,  ISO 50,  1/65 @ f/4.8

We decided to stay and listen for a while.  Almost felt like we were in an old movie, especially the way the guys were dressed.

Nikon CoolPix 8800,  Zoom @ 350mm,  ISO 50,  1/60 @ f/5.2

After listening to a few tunes and dropping a few Euros into the guitar case we continued on our way.  Dinner ended up in a very nice little Moroccan restaurant on the small island.  Let’s see, American jazz then Moroccan food, sound good to me.  Tastes good to!

Thanks to Debbie of Delicious Baby for organizing Photo Friday and spreading such wonderful images across the Web.

See you back here on Monday.

© Tim Marks 2009