The Retina's Eye

About the series

Think back to when you were young.  Possibly as a teenager or perhaps when you just got into college.  The day finally happens when you are able to go to your first music concert.  The event was probably something you had looked forward to for a very long time.  The concert was a band you had been desperately wanting to see.  Finally, you are there.  In the front row, moving to the music, shouting at the band, taking in everything.  You probably thought that night was a dream come true.  Now, you look upon that day with great fondness.  You remember images ... the way one person held the guitar, or the expression on the singers face, or even how the lights set the mood for your favorite song that played.  Expressed in this series are those memories.  "In The Front Row" looks back to a time when there was no special stage props, no pyrotechnics, no extra dancers and videos everywhere.  There was just the band, the stage, and the audience.  For most people who grew up in the early 1980's and earlier, this is how a music concert was.  The photographs in this series takes those memories and moments and creates a sequence of dreams for the viewer.  The bands photographed for this series is documented from 1997 to present day.  At the time these photographs were taken, most of the bands documented had yet to top a chart or even get lots of play time on the radio.  But these bands still carry the raw intensity that their predecessors once had.  These photographs are for the viewers to dream and remember a time when they were "In The Front Row."