John Gellman Photography

Blackberry Smoke… and the return of Dean Parris

April 13, 2013 Posted in Blackberry Smoke, Friends, Music show hide 6 comments

Blackberry Smoke invaded Winston-Salem, NC on Friday night to perform for an enthusiastic sell-out crowd that included Dean Parris, who is well on his way to recovery from the injuries he sustained in a scooter accident last October during the Simple Man Cruise. A video crew captured the entire show. They were like friendly cyborgs swarming around the venue and the stage. I tried my best to stay out of their way and out of the video. Below is a shot of Dean hanging out in the parking lot with family and friends before the show. Welcome back, Dean!

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Random rock shots – Frank Zappa

March 22, 2013 Posted in Music No comments

The latest from my scanning project is this 1972 shot of the incomparable Frank Zappa performing in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Clueless photographer stumbles upon rare shot

March 19, 2013 Posted in Marshall Tucker Band, Music show hide 4 comments

Here’s one you don’t see every day. Two Southern rock icons – Toy Caldwell jamming with Dickey Betts. In October 1975 I rode along with the Outlaws for a week in California. They opened several shows for the Marshall Tucker Band and one stadium show for MTB and the Allman Brothers Band. This was from the MTB set at the Santa Monica Civic Center, the last of the shows I attended. The Allman Brothers did not play that night, and I have absolutely no recollection of Dickey even being there, much less jamming on stage.

As I was looking through old negatives to scan this afternoon (yep, I’m still at it) I noticed a short sequence of someone jamming with Toy Caldwell. I could see that it wasn’t George McCorkle and I took a closer look. Just about then, Can’t You See started playing on my assistant’s Pandora feed. A good omen, I guess. Then it hit me. Damn! That’s Dickey Betts. How could I have possibly had no idea that I had these shots? Apparently, there’s not much you can’t forget if you put your mind to it. In my defense, it was 38 years ago and I can barely remember what I did last week. At least I had the good sense to sneak behind the drum kit and get a few shots over Paul Riddle’s shoulder. My friend, Wallace Wiggam, who I did not yet know at the time, was in the audience for this show. I wonder if he remembers this happening?

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Only in Walmart

March 18, 2013 Posted in Juvenile humor show hide 1 comment

I’ve had my iPhone for over a year, with lots of opportunities to get some beautiful shots, and what do I use it for? Juvenile body part humor at Walmart, what else. So if anyone was thinking this blog is getting a little too classy, this should dispel any concerns. How exactly are those slips printed anyway?

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Last light on the tree tops

March 10, 2013 Posted in Landscapes show hide 1 comment

Here’s one last pic from yesterday. We started at Grandfather Mountain, but the park closes at 5 PM and there was an hour of daylight left. We drove to nearby Beech Mountain and got there just in time to get a few shots before the sun was blocked by one of the mountains. In this pic, only the tree tops are still getting direct sunlight. The rime ice is shimmering above the shadows, looking a bit like the Milky Way. I was lying on my back in the snow looking straight up to get this view. Check out yesterday’s post to get the low down on rime ice. Thank God for the thermos of piping hot coffee I had in the car to warm me up.

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No global warming allowed

March 9, 2013 Posted in Landscapes No comments

Towards the end of last December, Mitzi and I drove to the mountains in search of rime ice, with no luck. It had melted by the time we got there. We had better luck today. It was suitably cold at the top of Grandfather Mountain and the rime ice was spectacular under a clear Carolina blue sky. Rime ice forms when water droplets in clouds or fog freeze on the trees. The conditions have to be just right. When Mitzi called and told me there was rime ice in the mountains, I knew it was time to grab the camera, get my ass in the car, and go with her. It was almost sixty degrees and sunny at my house, but only an hour and a half away and six thousand feet up, it’s a different world. To give a little perspective, the scene below was behind me when I took the shot above. Frankly, it’s a miracle I didn’t fall off the mountain.

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Chuck Berry – it’s living legend day on the ol’ blog

February 27, 2013 Posted in Music No comments

Got a real oldie for you today. None other than Chuck Berry, one of rock’s founding fathers performing in Chapel Hill, NC in May 1971. Is there a more influential guitarist in rock ‘n roll? I got several decent shots of him that day, but had been unable to find the negatives until this morning. These shots are going to need some hard core restoration. I got this one cleaned up enough to show. I have one more I’m working on that I will post soon. I shot this the same day as the pics I’ve posted of Duane Allman. Mr. Berry, who is 86 years old now, would have been 44 when this was shot. Chuck Berry and Duane Allman on the same day – not bad.

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