Before “Selfies” were #selfies

oldiesbutgoodies charr crailJust yesterday I had to go back and find some pictures from awhile back and came across this fun one I blogged many years ago, even before blogging was a household word.

At the time I was hired buy a midwest newspaper to go photograph Gary Puckett— aka Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.  He was performing along with a whole bunch of fabulous “oldie” acts out at Raley Field in West Sacramento.

Though I was only there for Puckett I stuck around for the day long show and had a blast photographing them all.

In those days I had a super wide angle lens for my camera, which I took everywhere and it’s what I used do do “selfies” before it was a super trend.  And I called my selfie project “101 horrible photos of myself with famous people”.  🙂

And these guys, in their day, were UBER famous!

In 1968 Gary Puckett and The Union Gap had six consecutive gold records and sold more records than any other recording act— including the Beatles!

BJ Thomas is a five time Grammy Award winner and won the Academy Award for Best Song in 1970— Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid movie soundtrack.

And then there’s Jack Ely who sang “Louie Louie” with The Kingsmen, that HUGE one-hit-wonder in 1963 that everyone believed to have racy lyrics, but it didn’t!  I’m sad to say I just found out Ely passed just this past April at the age of 71.

Being a professional photographer has been so much fun and so rewarding.  What a great life it has been because I’ve had the pleasure to see, do and have the most remarkable experiences.  The business and the tools of photography are changing so much and so fast but I’m still managing to keep up, whew!  It’s good to take a few minutes out now and then and look at where I have been as well as reflect on where I am going.

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About charr

Charr Crail is a Northern California photographer and artist with an avid passion for creating unique digital imagery. Charr, a full-time freelance photographer, spans the divide between photojournalism and extraordinary art via photography and can trace back her evolution as an photographer/artist from three dominant sources. Her father made his living as a newspaper photographer and as soon as he could, was taking young Charr, then four, on assignments to capture a lifetime of experiences and images. He instilled a sense of adventure and curiosity in her as they would often meander down unknown country roads of the South – just to see and capture what was out there. Soon after, Charr would develop her eye for photography and journalism as “the river that runs through everything she does”. Charr’s mother blessed her daughter with the ability to appreciate art in its various mediums. Further, her mother was able to pass along the joy, satisfaction and excitement one can experience in actively creating something beautiful. It’s no surprise, then, that Charr would become a photojournalist and later a photo editor spanning two decades working for Northern California publications including The Sacramento Bee. Often, her assignments would include community events with a “close to home” theme woven into every image and story she captured. Her photojournalistic experience has therefore been nuanced through everything she produces. She’s also drawn to the wonder of color and the beauty that can be found in the composure of a face and the make-up of the human bodyscape. Charr has won countless awards for masterful pieces including; the Professional Photographers of America LOAN Collection for two consecutive years, WPPI Grand Award and her work has been featured in the Di Rosa Museum in California’s beautiful Napa Wine Region and is also part of the permanent collection. Separately, she instructs digital photography workshops that teach students how to blow out the creativity of their photography in simple methods using programs like Adobe Photoshop and how to market using mobile devices-- Visual Content Creation using Mobile Devices.. Charr lives in Sacramento with her husband Chris and kitties Leeloo and Sadie.

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