August 23rd – Do Not Mess with roller derby girls – especially ones from New Jersey. They are tough! Murder Beach Militia vs. Anchor Assassins yesterday….it was fierce.  A night of jamming in the rink and slamming (beers) in the bleachers.  It rocked.  Murder Beach Militia will battle it out in the finals on November 28th back at Convention Hall.

My assistant took this photo a couple of years ago when I did an Xmas photo shoot with Les Paul for Guitar Center.  He was a blast to work with and was always lovely to talk to.  Les continued to do what he truly loved until his final days – and for that he will remain one of the greatest inspirations I have experienced in my life.

August 8, 2009 – This classy guy SPIT on me as I photographed the crowd from the photo pit at the Mayhem Festival in Camden, NJ.  Outrageously disgusting! I was furious. So I hit him.  That’s right – i slammed the body of my camera into his shin.  Sent him home with a nice bruise. He and I exchanged some words and I was out of there. What a loser.  Luckily, I got my updated Tetanus shot this summer!

July 29, 2009 – It was so great to be back in Dublin – this time to experience the excitement surrounding U2’s hometown gigs.  3 shows at Croke Park!  I worked on capturing the Irish crowds inside and outside of the stadium.  There’s a road called Windmill Lane where U2 recorded at the beginning of their career. The walls of this now vacant studio are covered with graffiti created by fans who have come from all over the world to pay tribute to these 4 Irish lads. I took this photo to remember one of my favorite notes left by a South African fan. It reads, “God is a U2 fan.”  Yeah, she probably is.

June 30, 2009 – Drove from Seattle to Glacier National Park last week. Breathtaking scenery every minute of the way. Liz and I stopped at random to explore unmarked roads….Perhaps our greatest discovery was the 9 Mile House – a very old saloon where I had the best onion rings of my life! (This is a must if you’re ever near Missoula)

I thought this gigantic eagle was marking the entrance to a hotel or museum…but it turned out to be a private residence! What happened to mailboxes?

June 18, 2009 – Well this pic below just about sums up Bonnaroo.  Phish fans. Lots of them. It was a particularly smelly few days.

My favorite festival moment: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band singing “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” on a hot summer night.  Genius. I was particularly entertained watching thousands of tripping phish-heads get converted by The Boss.  I roamed around that huge field throughout his set and by the end of the show the spinning hippies had their fists in the air screaming for more. Weird, yet wonderful.

Other highlights: “Bonnapoo 2009″ with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Wilco, David Byrne, MGMT, Zac Brown Band, Al Green, The Decemberists…

Wished I had caught Girl Talk…I heard THAT was a great party!