Don Williams

Don on Stage at the Ritz Theater

Elizabeth, New Jersey - October 1982

Gallery 8

A Tribute to

Don Williams

I'm not exactly sure when we first started listening to the music of Don Williams or when Bonnie and I first saw him in concert. But as these early photos show, we've been "Gentle Giant" fans, since at least the early 1980s.

In those years, Country Music was riding high on the music charts, thanks in part to a string of popular motion picture releases that crossed over many areas and brought in new listeners.

Movies like Burt Reynolds' "W. W. and the Dixie Dance Kings" (1975) and "Smoky & the Bandit" (1977), John Travolta's "Urban Cowboy" (1979) and Sissy Spacek's portrayal of Loretta Lynn in the 1980 film "Coal Miner's Daughter", all helped to introduce new audiences to the sound of tangy steel guitars backed by a southern beat.

Those movies also portrayed the southern lifestyle in a positive light which appealed to even us young Northerners. And, like so many others at the time, Bonnie and I were soon hooked on the rhythms and sounds of Country Music.

Bonnie with Don - October 1982

(Probably Autographed at another Concert a year or two later)

Although we enjoyed many Country performers, Don Williams was by far our favorite. His smooth delivery and mellow style was always soothing to the ear and Don's choice of musical material seemed to reinforce the same values that Bonnie and I had as a young married couple.

Country has changed a lot over the years, and so have we as listeners. But while our interest in country music has had it's ups and downs, there has always remained one constant, the music of Don Williams. Many of his early songs have stood the test of time and still find their way into our CD rotation even today.

When Bonnie and I thought about it, we could remember at least 8 or 9 times when we saw Don and his band in concert and he always put on a great show.

So, it was with a sense of sadness when we received the news that Don would stop touring at the end of the 2006 season.

------------------ 2005 ------------------

In July of 2005, we saw Don and his band at concert near Lancaster, PA and I naturally brought along my camera to take some shots. Photography has been another constant through the years and I've photographed Don many times. Most Country Artists, don't seem to mind if the fans take photographs while they perform. Some object to flash photography, which is understandable, but luckily, I've never been a fan of using a flash at concerts anyway. All of the photos below were shot with stage lighting.

About 300 digital stills were taken that night in PA and many of them came out pretty cool. So as not to disturb anyone, I shot mainly from the back of the house near the sound board and naturally, I didn't use a flash.

The great thing about shooting digital is that you can change white balance at will to achieve just the right effect to totally capture the stage lighting.

The only tips I would give when shooting stage shows is to set your white balance for the predominant light source, (usually Tungsten) and be careful not to over-expose the frames. If possible, you should also shoot RAW, because it gives you more control back in the digital "Lab".

Take several test frames and when you find a good exposure setting, stick with it. With digital cameras, it's better to under-expose, rather than blow out your shots. If some of your shots are a little dark, you can probably brighten them up prior to printing.

Some shows use very low light levels, so you will probably have to use manual focus and long shutter speeds. Try to time your shots when people are pretty settled in the frame. If your camera system has image stabilization, use it. If you can use a tripod or monopod, all the better. Short of that, brace yourself against something solid and try to anticipate the action on stage.

At right, is one of my favorite frames from that night in Lancaster and in high resolution, you can easily see all the band members faces and the wall of endless "twinkle" lights behind the group.

With only Don and his five man band on stage, the theater's backdrop seemed enormous and just right for a super wide shot. Against the dark background, little twinkle lights glowed and shimmered with every movement. It was a cool effect, but with such a small amount of light on the performers I knew this was going to be a difficult shot to make.

Even with a fast ASA setting, exposures were fairly long. So, I braced myself against one of the pillars that held up the balcony and hoped for the best. I shot about 20 wide shot frames in all.

Several of the wide-shots turned out pretty neat, and I had the above image printed as an 8 x 12. The print looked fine, and everything was sharp but as sometimes happens, I felt that there was something missing. A month or so later I looked at the photo once again, this time with "new eyes". Right away, I knew what was needed. Luckily, digital technology once again came to the rescue.

I started by scanning the Don Williams logo into my computer from one of Don's CDs and then put it into Photoshop. Then, I replaced the original logo colors found on the album with the same shades of red and blue from the above image. Next, I played around with the Opacity of the colors and faded the red and blue together to make a smooth transition. When I finally got what I wanted, I put the new logo on top of a transparent background and saved it as a separate image. I merged the two images together by placing the new logo over the original photo. After that, I sized it and centered it on the frame. In the end, I think it looks pretty cool and adds just the right touch to the big wide shot.

My intension was to print up several copies of this shot and perhaps get Don and the band to autograph it at another show in 2006. Well, towards the end of 2005, I checked the Don Williams website for new show dates and found out that 2006 would be Don's last year of touring. With things changing rapidly in Don's world, I sensed some immediacy about getting the autographs and decided to act right away.

In December of 2005, I made up about ten 8 x 12 copies of the wide shot photo along with several other frames and sent them all to Don's tour manager for autographing. The understanding was that Don and the band members could gladly keep all the extra copies in exchange for one autographed photo. Well, several months later, I received two photos back from Don and the guys in his band.

The wide shot photo with the logo was autographed by Don and all the rest of the band, and the photo at left now has a big Thank You from Don himself. Both photos proudly have a place of honor in my photo collection.

------------------ 2006 ------------------

With the announcement that 2006 would be Don's last touring season, Bonnie and I naturally wanted to see him one last time when he came east. So, in July, it was off to Pennsylvania again for another show. The venue this time was Penn's Peak near Jim Thorpe, PA. Penn's Peak was a perfect place to listen to Don's music and shoot some frames. The theater was new, but it was built to resemble an old barn with seating on the main floor and a balcony that ran completely around three sides of the theater.

Penn's Peak near Jim Thorpe, PA

Most of these images were shot from the back balcony with my Canon 30d set for 1600 ASA. For lenses, I used either the Canon 24-105 or 100-400 mm. Both lenses were image stabilized. When I wasn't using the 100-400, Bonnie shot some frames with her camera and also got some neat shots.

When all was said and done, I took about 400 photos that night in PA. The best of these, (about 45 images) were printed up as 8 x 12s and sent to Don and the Band as a thank you for their many years on the road. The photos below were all taken at the Penn's Peak Concert, July 21, 2006.

He says its only Coffee

The Quartet

The Boys in the Band

Nobody has a successful touring career and stage show without the hard work and dedication of lots of talented performers, technicians and behind the scenes people. Some of the folks who you see below have been with Don for many seasons on the road and all are the tops in their field. To them and to the many others who make it possible for fans like us to enjoy the music, thanks for the good times. And, a Special thank you to Don's tour manager Jeff Hatfield.

Charles Cochran