Back in March, I had a unique opportunity to photograph Cody Lovaas at my old middle school. When I went to Muirlands, back in early 1980’s, I never thought I would want to return, but that all changed when I found out that Cody was going to perform there as part of an afternoon rally. I have always enjoyed watching and photographing Cody at a variety of venues and thought that this could be a cool opportunity to get some unique images.
The soundcheck was going great until Noah (Codys friend and photographer) walked off with the guitar. The reality was that Cody and Noah were a two-man team getting the gear ready for the performance. I, on the other hand, just kept taking photos and was no help at all.
One of the reasons that i enjoy working with Cody is that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He has a great sense of humor and will usually do something to get a laugh.
The event was put on by an organization called Natural High which ties to turn kids towards a natural high instead of drugs. You can find out more about their program at https://naturalhigh.org
Introducing Cody and discussing what Natural High is all about was Jon Sundt who founded Natural High as a response to the loss of his two younger brothers to drug addiction.
Shooting in the bright sunlight of a March afternoon on a middle school field was challenging. I used a wide open aperture t keep the background as blurry as possible.
This might be my favorite moment of the day. Cody asked if any of the kids wanted to come up and help him on a song. This girl was volunteered by her friends and it turns out she is a pretty big Cody fan and was slightly excited to be standing up with him.
All photos taken with the Nikon D4 and D750 DSLR camera bodies and the 70-200mm f/2.8 and 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor lenses.
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