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My Favorite Photos #1 - 25In case you missed the previous posts, I went through all my photos from the last two years with the Dixie Chicks, ranked my 75 favorite (approved) pics, and added brief commentary. I've already posted # 51 - 75 and #26 - 50. Here below, at last, are my Top 25. #1: I love this photo, as a photo, and I love remembering the exact moment I took the photo. Martie was practicing “Landslide” backstage in New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center before the Time 100 event. This was one of the rare moments where I heard Martie sing and play an instrument, all by herself. (I’ve heard Natalie sing a cappella and practice the acoustic guitar plenty of times. I’ve also heard Emily pick up the banjo a few times before a show to warm up.) It was one of those moments were I realized the full extent of the privilege of following the Dixie Chicks. #2: Dirty Sexy Money! I told Natalie I wanted a photo of her with her $100 winnings, which she received from Emily for saying “Borgata” ten times during the show at the Borgata Hotel & Casino. She obliged and gave me a stunning pose with five portraits of Alexander Hamilton. #3: I have an entire collection of photos of Emily making ridiculous poses and faces like this one. Her self-deprecation is one of her greatest assets. Her ability to wear a tiger print dress is another.
#4: In the arcade of a bowling alley in Albany, New York, Natalie was playing a shooting game. When I walked up to snap a pic, she turned to me and made this pose for half a second, right when I snapped the photo, and then went back to her game. After I posted this, fans used it as their avatars and altered it to make all kinds of crazy spin-offs. Too bad this photo couldn’t have been sold as tour merchandise. If I got rid of the background, enlarged it, and added the tagline “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” I’m pretty sure the resulting poster would’ve been one of the biggest selling items on the tour. By the way, that's bass player Sebastian Steinberg in the background looking like a loony grandmother. #5: When it comes to photos triggering an emotional response, this picture is #1 in my book. I took this picture in the Chicks’ dressing room at the Grammy Awards at the exact moment when the Chicks won the "Record of the Year" Grammy. All their handlers and assistants were watching the TV screen with pure joy on their face. Many of the people involved in show business are jaded and rarely moved, but this was a clear exception. It was probably the first time that I asborbed how much love everyone had for the chicks. By the way, that's publicist Cindi Berger in the middle who looks like her child had just won the national spelling bee. #6: This is not a posed picture. Cory, the Tour Assistant, has the job of doing a million tasks, including whatever the Dixie Chicks request/ask/demand. One of the few moments where she gets to relax is when the Chicks are on stage. In Las Vegas, I captured this photo of her, utterly exhausted, while "Taking The Long Way" was being performed. #7: After Natalie saw this photo of her doing sudoku on stage in London, she said something to me along the lines of, “Hey, your photography skills are getting better. Too bad Chad seems to be picking his nose.” #8: There’s not many people who can pull off a pink guitar ... but here’s one. #9: Martie will apparently use any means to get rid of the things stuck between her teeth. #10: I can tell that two years have passed when I look back at this – we look so young! This is the first one the four of us took together. I had a few friends who didn’t believe that I was actually spending my time with the Dixie Chicks; for them, this photo served as the photographic evidence that silenced their accusations of lies. My thanks to Mindi Pelletier for taking this photo and giving me the best souvenier from the experience. #11: Natalie and Dean wanted to take a picture for Trent who runs the excellent blog, “Pink is the New Blog” (http://pinkisthenewblog.com). We took this backstage in Austin City Limits. Trent put the photo on his main page and gave me photo credit. I approve! LOLOLOL! #12: I could be the most aggressive macho juiced-up defensive tackle and I would still have to acknowledge that this photo is pretty damn adorable. #13: Like many other hardcore DCX fans, these two girls were having the time of their lives during the show. When I handed them a pick that Natalie’s tech gave me, they were thrilled beyond measure. Here's hoping they've used this pick to learn guitar and become the next great singer-songwriters. I'm going to be mighty disappointed if I find it, in a few years, at a garage sale underneath their torn Hannah Montana charms. #14: Emily gets the credit for the idea behind this photograph. However, that won’t stop me from taking home the blue ribbon in my county fair’s color photography contest. #15: This photo – a sign at Shepherd’s Bush in London – is enlarged and framed on my wall. When Martie saw it, she suggested that it would be a great addition to the tourbook. Sadly, that tourbook never actually ended up being produced.
#16: Emily really loves performing on stage ... even to an entirely empty arena during rehearsals. #17: I’m still waiting, US Weekly, for your call, asking my permission to reprint this photo of Martie in a tight wetsuit on the Australian waves. #18: Oh, the rock and roll lifestyle may sound glamorous, but we had some very long days during the tour. This is Larry Knechtel, the keyboard legend, catching 40 winks. #19: There were moments when I would forget that the Dixie Chicks have millions of fans. The moment when I took this photo at the top level of a packed hockey arena in Winnipeg ... was not one of them. Look how many people are standing! #20: This is the first moment when the Dixie Chicks actually held five Grammy Awards in their hands. Most of the time I see them pose for press photos, they rarely smile. (And when they do smile, it’s usually manufactured.) But in this photo, those smiles are nothing but genuine. #21: Here are Emily’s twins, Henry and Juliana. During the tour, each of the seven peeps had headphones with their names on it. I like this pic because of Juliana's deep stare, which often makes me think that she has the gentle soul of an older poet. #22: I took this photo of Martie in a dressing room in a rehearsal space. I credit Emily (the budding photographer) for giving me the idea to take this picture. #23: I don’t know what Martie is staring at, but whatever it is, it’s obviously disgusting to Martie. I like that you can see both sides of Martie's profile. #24: It’s one thing to have a great Streisand costume. It’s another thing to embody Babs, right down to the hand poses. #25: Plenty of fans wore custom-designed shirts to the shows. But not many were tough-looking, middle-aged, balding Brits with ale in their hands. These guys remind me that Dixie Chicks fans come in all shapes and sizes and that I should never refer to myself as Earl. Comments (7)
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