Cloud coverage at Jazz Fest (Photo: Golden Richard III)

My primary goal in music photography is to capture as much of the energy of live performances as possible—it sounds a bit corny, but I really mean it. While shooting for the Jazz and Heritage Archive, however, I’ve been strongly encouraged to back it up (or else)—and I’ve tried so hard to listen. Many crowd shots at Jazz Fest, of course, are taken during the hottest parts of the day, under a blazing sun. Washed-out skies and squinting fans don’t exactly fit my style, so I had to try something else. High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is not something I use often, because it’s easy to over-process and cross the HDR “cheese barrier,” but it was just the ticket on a hot afternoon at Jazz Fest in 2011, as a large crowd was watching Red Baraat. I shot nine frames, handheld, varying exposure between each, and then used HDR processing to bring out the foreboding sky and capture some the movement of the dancers. After the shot, well, I got to be a dancer

—Golden Richard III