Timeless Concert Images
Bill O’Leary
Yeah, today everyone is waving their iPhone at the stage, but none of those amateur pictures will ever look like anything other than like you waving your iPhone from the second balcony. Meet Bill O’Leary, one of the best rock photographers alive. He started early; back in mid 1970’s he brought his Minolta SLR camera in to a show, and shot 2 rolls of 35 mm. Back then you could do that, the bands hadn’t gotten all fussy about copyrights and live images and the “three song” rule. Bill had the knack, the opportunity and the equipment. It wasn’t super-duper equipment, but it wasn’t a point and shoot. And unlike today digital images, he had a limited number of frames and he wouldn’t know if any were good until a week after the show. Eventually became house photographer for The Fox Theater in Boulder, CO.
In this book we peek at 50 bands from The Outlaws to The Police to obscurities like Yngwie Malmsteen. Even I had to Google that last one. Each band is show with one image and a page or so of reminiscences about the band, the evening, and the vibe. He also gives us some back stage and tour bus tales. This is WAY too much fun to count as a day job, but O’Leary’s made of living off his eye. While there aren’t any unexpected stories, these ARE some of the best images of classic rock I’ve seen. You weren’t there, but you can pretend you were.
http://chasingthelightart.com/colorado-photographer-bill-oleary/
