Page 55 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2023 Digital Edition

Marilyn Stringer, Joe Rosen and Jim Hartzell. Photo by Mark Thompson Laura Carbone. Photo by Richard Briggs

in some fashion. On his Flickr account, he has approximately other things. In 2002, as more bands started coming through
50,000 photos available for free download. “For me, it has his home turf on Florida’s Gulf Coast, he felt the urge again. “I
never been about the money. I just like to take a good picture.” got into digital, and it was all over after that. I want to capture
Having just semi-retired from her practice as a physician the moment, that one photo of a musician that tells everybody
and nephrologist, Laura Carbone has even more time to devote the story.” He bemoans the challenges of dealing with some
to live music. Her schedule can be a daunting adventure, of the stage lighting schemes, especially if the stage is washed
recently doing three music cruises in a matter of weeks. She in red light. He has been doing architectural drawings for the
got her start working on the yearbook in medical school. last 35 years, using one passion to finance another.
“Having a camera in my hand is like being with a friend, in a A late bloomer, Rick Lewis is strictly a product of the
way. You can take a picture, the camera sees what you see, digital age, purchasing his first camera in 1999 to take nature
and it’s beautiful. It helps me chronicle life.” Her love of blues pictures. Shortly after that, a musical event had a profound
music stems from a period in the 1980s in Chicago, when she effect on his direction. “It was a show with Tommy Castro.
would hit the blues clubs late at night after finishing her shift I got a couple of good photos of him, which made me think
at the hospital. She remembers, “I would sit there exhausted, that if I could do that with a tiny, crappy camera, maybe I
listening to incredible music.” In addition to her photographic can do even better with a real camera.” About 15 years ago,
endeavors, Carbone also books and promotes a number of he moved to the next level with the purchase of a digital SLR
live shows in her local area. camera and hasn’t looked back. He stays busy as a Nuclear
Once he joined the U.S. Navy, Jim Hartzell bought a Medicine Technologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa,
camera and started shooting slide photos across the countries FL, specializing in PET/CT scans. His work schedule can limit
surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. By 1970, he owned a the time he’s able to spend on photographing live music shows.
Yashica camera that he used to shoot musical events. After “To me, music is about emotion. The appeal of photography
a robbery left him without any photo gear, he moved on to for me is to capture that emotion.”
The other photographers had similar sentiments. Stringer
was touched by a comment from guitarist Bob Margolin. “Bob
told me, ‘Marilyn, when I look at your photos, I can hear the
music.’” It is a goal that every one of these fine photographers
share – to get “the shot,” the photo that captures the moment
when an artist is lost in the music, at the peak of their musical
expression. The photographers included here are just a few
among the many who are so passionate about preserving the
blues in photograph, and we owe them all a debt of gratitude
for sharing that joy with us.

Mark Thompson is a senior writer for Blues Blast Magazine, a
contributing writer for Blues Music Magazine and a contributor
to the Chicago Blues Guide website. Additionally, he has
penned liner notes for 10 recording projects, the latest being
Bang At The Door by Donna Herula. Connect with Mark via
Bob Hakins. Photo by Ÿ Marilyn Stringer email: mark.thompson@bluesmusicmag.com.

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