Unistock 2012 - Before the Deluge

Unistock is a local bluegrass / country / jam concert here in Northern Virginia. I could only attend on Friday evening this year - and even that was cut short. More about that later.
 
(Click Here) to go to the Unistock home page.
 

 

Unistock 2012, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f5, 1/125 sec

 

 
Arriving late afternoon at Clover Hill Farm, I found the place hot, sticky, stagnant, yet filled with fun, creative young people, out to have a good time.
 
 

Friends, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f3.2, 1/125 sec

Before the sun went down, we heard about the impending storm. It was so hot and calm, it was difficult to imagine a storm being anything but an improvement. People were doing anything to stay cool.
 

Cooling Off, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Heliar in LTM

iso 400, f-stop unrecorded, 1/160 sec

As the sunset came and went, Jake and the Burtones laid down their tunes for the crowd, who was quite interactive at this point. These guys are old favorites around hear, although none of them are old, obviously. The stage was the flatbed of an old Chevy truck - very cool.
 
 

Sunset and the Burtones, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 800, f1.4, 1/30 sec

Jack and Josh of the Burtones, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Heliar in LTM

iso 6400, f2.5, 1/80 sec

Tmony of the Burtones, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Heliar in LTM

iso 400, f2.5, 1/100 sec

Fireworks were also part of the equation. I really like this picture of several dancers with fireworks, which I made using the waterproof Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 on "Starry Sky" mode. I knew it was about to rain, so I had put my G3s in the car, relying on the weatherproof properties of the TS3.
 

Firework Dancers, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3, Starry Sky mode

iso 100, f3.3, 15 seconds

 

 
Then came the storm. Soon after the Hot Seats took the stage, all power was lost in a flash. The dead calm air turned to a cold wave of high velocity wind. People were frantic, running through the dark, looking for their friends. I went directly to my car, having to get home that night anyway. It took me three completely different routes, the first two blocked by huge downed trees, to get home. Wild animals were panicked - I saw a deer bound across the road, jumping the roadside fence, rabbits, even a snake desperately seeking safety. The trees lining these country roads represented real and present danger. I truly feel lucky to have not been hit by one as I saw them crashing down around me.
 
I grew up in tornado country, in Oklahoma. I can honestly say that I've never felt more personally threatened by a storm than I did by this one. Some people weren't so lucky. I read an account of one person killed while trying to clear a downed tree from the road; they were hit by another falling tree. I could easily have witnessed the same, as I watched people from the cars in front of me out doing exactly the same. Or, I could have been hit in my car.
 
I was worried about what happened to the people who stayed. It turns out that they moved into a barn, and the music kept going, even through the next day. From what I can see, the power is still out at the location, some five days hence. This didn't stop their party. Oh, the enthusiasm of youth. This old man was happy to get out whole on the first night.
 
For more pictures from before the storm, (Click Here) to go to my photo site www.creativeobjective.com.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com